How to freeze red currants for the winter at home

Collection and preparation of red currants for freezing

The berries are collected as they ripen, picking off the currants along with the twig.

At home I need to sort it out. To do this, all the fruits are removed from the tassels, and the bruised and rotten berries are thrown away.

You need to wash red currants in a large saucepan or basin so that the stream of water does not fall on the berries. The pressure of the water may cause the delicate skin to burst.

If you collect currants in your garden and are completely confident in their purity, then it is better not to wash the berries at all.

The washed red currants must be thoroughly dried. You can do this on a cotton or paper towel. The top of the fruit can also be blotted with a cloth.

Methods for freezing red currants for the winter

Dry method of freezing currants

This is the simplest and least expensive method. The berries are prepared for freezing as described above.

If the currants are perfectly dry, then they can be immediately placed in plastic bags and sent to the freezer.

If the berry remains slightly damp after drying, then it must first be frozen on a flat surface in bulk for several hours. After the currants have set in the cold, they are laid out in containers or bags.

See the video from the channel “Marinkina Tvorinki” - Freezing red currants for the winter

How to freeze currants with sugar

With this method, clean berries are placed in containers, sprinkled with granulated sugar. How much sugar do you need? This is a matter of everyone’s taste preferences, but experienced housewives recommend using about a glass of granulated sugar per 1 kilogram of berries.

How to freeze berries in their own juice

Some of the berries are placed in containers lined with cling film on the inside. The other part of the berries is pureed by grinding them using a blender. You can add sugar to the puree to taste.

Trays with red currants are filled with puree and placed in the freezer for a day. After 24 hours, take out the containers, take out the berries frozen in their own juice, and wrap the briquettes in cling film. In this form, the currants are stored in the freezer.

See the video from the channel “Marinkina Tvorinki” - Currants for the winter

How to freeze pureed currants with sugar

You can puree the currants and sugar by hand or with a blender.

The manual method allows you to get currant puree interspersed with whole berries, and grinding with a blender will make the consistency more uniform.

You can also freeze the puree, pureed through a sieve, then the berry mass will be completely homogeneous, without peels and seeds. It is very convenient to freeze currants in this form for small children.

The ratio of berries to sugar is approximately 5:1, that is, for 1 kilogram of berry mass you will need about 200 grams of granulated sugar.

See video: Preparations for the winter. Red currants with sugar

How to freeze redcurrant juice

The berries are passed through a juicer, the juice is poured into plastic cups, covered tightly with cling film, and sent to the cold.

The berry pulp is not thrown away. It is also frozen and used later as a filling for pies.

How to freeze berries on branches

This method can only be used if you collect currants from your garden, and after freezing you will use them for cooking compotes.

Each branch must be inspected before freezing and, if necessary, spoiled berries must be removed. Then the currants are laid out on a cutting board or on a special freezer tray for small products, and sent to the freezer.

After preliminary freezing, the berries are transferred to containers, tightly closed, and put back into the cold.

Shelf life of red currants in the freezer

Frozen red currants can be stored in the freezer until the next harvest. The main thing is to package the berries so that they are not exposed to unnecessary heat.