In winter, the body suffers a shortage of vitamins, and in order to replenish their supply, we are happy to open summer blanks: compotes, juices, jams, preserves, jellies. Meanwhile, in jam, 20% of the initial amount of vitamin C will remain, while preparing compote berries are less exposed to heat and preserve vitamins better, besides, short-term heating is aimed at removing air from the product and destroying the enzyme system that oxidizes vitamins. Today we will analyze how to make a delicious and healthy red currant compote for the winter.
About the benefits of red currant compote
The main raw material for the drink is currants. And of course, it is better to use for cooking a product in which the content of vitamins is higher.
Did you know? Currant compote removes excess fluid from the body, reduces swelling, improves appetite, and has a positive effect on metabolism. With the purpose of treatment are used not only berries, but also currant leaves.
The content of vitamins is affected by:
- The ripeness of berries - the more ripe, the higher the content. Moreover, if the fruits are overripe, the amount of vitamins begins to fall sharply.
- Ascorbic acid content in clear weather is higher than in cloudy. Use raw materials collected on a sunny day.
- Many vitamins begin to break down when oxidized by air. Use the raw materials on the same day when the berries are harvested.
Red currant contains:
- 250 mg of vitamin C;
- B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9;
- vitamin E.
Daily intake of vitamin C - 50-100 mg. It does not accumulate in the body, so currant drinks will be an excellent source of vitamin C in the winter. Vitamin complex of red currant has a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels. Due to its high pectin content, the berry is good for the digestive system.
Important! Currant is not recommended for people with an increased tendency to blood clots. Vitamin K and phenolic compounds can trigger an increase in blood clotting.
Currant Preparation
At the stage of preparation for the preparation of compote raw materials need to be processed: to sort, sort, wash. Separate the berries from the stem, remove the leaves. To remove small leaves and twigs, pour currant with water: debris and spoiled fruit will float to the surface of the water, and you can easily separate the clean berries. Wash the raw material again. 
Preparation of cans and lids
The drink is closed in a three-liter jars. To prepare for canning, rinse the jars thoroughly with soda and preferably sterilize.
Did you know? Soda is considered one of the best substances for washing containers for conservation: it leaves no traces and smell, removes any contamination well. Soda is extracted from soda lakes. In 1736, the French chemist Henri de Monceau for the first time received pure soda from soda lake.
Most often banks sterilized for a couple. To do this, put a grid on a pan with boiling water, and place a bank on the grid. Sterilization time of a three-liter can is 10-15 minutes. 
The second method of sterilization - oven. Oven temperature - 160 ° C. Processing time banks - to dry water droplets. 
The purpose of sterilization is to prevent fermentation processes. The source of fermentation can be unnoticed dirt or rotten berries. If you are sure that the banks have been thoroughly washed and the fruit processed, then you can do without this process.
The lids are boiled just before the cans are rolled up. Boiling time - 1 minute.
Learn how to make red currant jam and jam.
Kitchen tools
Used in the preparation of beverage inventory:
- jars and lids;
- sealing machine;
- capacity for processing raw materials;
- pan.
For the preparation of berry compotes used stainless steel utensils or enamel, without chips.
Important! Stainless steel does not react with acids and is therefore easy to use. A pot with damaged enamel can react with acid, and then metal particles will fall into your compote, which will lead to fermentation and spoilage of the drink.
Ingredients
For 1 kg of berries should be taken:
- 2 liters of water;
- 300 g of sugar;
- 20 g of citric acid.
For lovers of very sweet compotes, you can increase the proportion of sugar to 500 g
Recipe
- Fill clean sterile jars with berries up to half the capacity.
To prepare the compote using two methods:
- Pouring syrup. Separately, in a saucepan, the syrup is prepared from water, sugar and citric acid. Boiling time - 5 minutes, to a good dissolution of sugar. Hot syrup is poured berries and roll covers.
- With pre-blanching. Berries in banks are filled with boiling water. When the banks are warm, the resulting liquid is poured into a saucepan, add sugar and citric acid. Boil for 10 minutes and pour berries with syrup.
Blanching destroys enzymes that lead to darkening of the raw material. In addition, blanched berries give juice to a drink better and are soaked with sweetness than berries in syrup.
Important! Tara can be filled with fruits up to the neck, but remember that pouring should completely cover the berries. The more berries - the higher the concentration of the drink.
Video: red currant compote recipe
What can be added for taste and aroma
For flavor and change the flavor in compote, you can add a little bit of spices. Clove and mint give a pleasant taste, and a slice of lemon will complement the drink with the taste and aroma of real fruit.
Try to cook for the winter compote of cherries, sea buckthorn, strawberries, apricots, plums, cherries.
What can be combined in one bank
In the preparation of compote can be used several types of raw materials: it is appropriate to mix red and white currants or red currants in combination with apples, strawberries, gooseberries. New combinations of tastes will add variety to your winter table. 
Usually, the ratio of different types of raw materials in a 1: 1 compote is kept - one part of red currant is taken from the same part of white currant. For the currant and apple compote, apples are considered the main component, therefore their share varies in different recipes from 1: 1 to 1: 2 - 2 parts of apples are taken for one part of the currant.
Familiarize yourself with recipes for preparing strawberries (jam, frosts), gooseberries (pickled, sauce, preserves, marmalade, wine), apples (“Five minutes” jam, jam, applesauce with condensed milk, juice, vinegar, boiled).
How and where to store the workpiece
Usually, preservation is stored in a dry and dark place. In terms of the apartment - it is a pantry. In a country house it can be a cellar. It should be remembered that sunlight accelerates chemical processes, so a dark storage place is imperative.
It is recommended to use compotes for one year, as long-term storage adversely affects the content of vitamins in the workpiece. Therefore, it is convenient to sign banks with conservation by year to spend the conservation of the previous season in the first place. 
The optimal storage temperature of billets is from +4 to + 15 ° С.
Read also about the black currant blanks: jam ("Five minutes", cold), tincture, wine.
Compotes are the source of vitamins that are so necessary in winter, because they do not use long-term heating, which leads to a decrease in beneficial elements. The recipe of red currant compote we considered will help you prepare a drink that will compensate for the lack of vitamins in the winter and remind you of summer.
