Yoshta: ways to freeze for the winter in the freezer

What is yoshta?

The yoshta plant belongs to the gooseberry family, but the appearance of the bush is borrowed from black currant: carved, odorless leaves, thornless branches.

The berries grow in clusters of 3-5 pieces and have a spherical shape. The fruit size is usually 1.2 - 1.5 millimeters in diameter. The color of the berries is dark blue, almost black with a purple tint. The taste of the berries is sweetish with a strong sourness.

Yoshta is rich in its vitamin and mineral composition. The vitamin C content in these fruits is almost twice as high as in black currant berries, so yoshta helps to increase the body's protective functions and resistance to disease.

Methods for freezing yoshta

Whole berries

The collected fruits are thoroughly washed to remove dust, dirt and cobwebs. Place clean berries on a towel to dry thoroughly. The berries will dry faster in a small draft. To do this, you can lay them out on the windowsill and open the window slightly.The main thing is that the berries should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

Dry berries should be sorted, removing spoiled and damaged specimens.

If you plan to freeze the berries for making compote, then you don’t have to peel them from the sepals and stalks. If you plan to use freezing for baking and desserts, then before placing the berries in the freezer you will have to use kitchen scissors or a knife.

The sorted fruits are laid out on a pallet in a layer of no more than 2 centimeters and sent to the frost. After 4 hours, the berries can be taken out and poured into one bag.

Yoshta with sugar

The washed and peeled berries are placed in a container in 1-2 layers, then sprinkled with granulated sugar and the berries are laid out again. There is no need to fill the container to the very top. Close the filled container tightly with a lid and shake lightly so that the sugar is distributed more evenly.

Watch the video from Natasha Kasyanik - How to freeze berries for the winter

Berry pureed with sugar

Yoshta with sugar is crushed with a blender or passed through a meat grinder. For 1 kilogram of berries you will need 200 - 300 grams of sugar. The finished puree is placed in small containers, covered with a lid and stored in the freezer. If you plan to freeze the berries and then add them to the porridge, then it is more convenient to freeze the puree in ice cube trays. After the berry mass freezes, it is removed from the molds and transferred to a separate bag and container.

Yoshta in syrup

To prepare the syrup you will need water and sugar in a 1:1 ratio. The amount of starting products depends on how many berries you plan to freeze. The calculation must be made so that the berries can be completely immersed in sweet syrup.Before pouring the berries, the liquid should be cooled in the refrigerator.

Yoshta is placed in containers and filled with syrup. Keep in mind that liquid expands when it freezes, so leave plenty of room.

Watch the video from the channel “Everything will be fine!” — How to freeze berries correctly?

How to properly store and defrost yoshta

Berries should be stored in labeled containers so that when frozen they are not confused with dark gooseberries or black currants.

The shelf life, subject to temperature conditions, can reach one year. The optimal temperature is -16ºС.

To defrost the berries without losing the vitamins, they need to be placed in the main compartment of the refrigerator for 12 hours, and then finally defrosted at room temperature.