Pastila with red currants at home for the winter: 7 of the best recipes with photos and videos - tasty, healthy and simple!

Let’s say a word about dietary marshmallows...

Our tasty and healthy character is of venerable age. Pastila from Kievan Rus became famous for its taste and usefulness. They say that it used to be called postila (apparently because of the method of production - it was posted). It was also believed that the sweetness was brought by overseas merchants. It doesn’t matter how it was, what it was called. The main thing is that recipes for making marshmallows from red currants and other berries and fruits have reached us. And we added our own to it, which made this delicacy universal.

Benefits of homemade redcurrant marshmallows

• Soft but dense, it has a delicious aroma and taste that reminds many of childhood.
• Useful for everyone - vitamins strengthen the immune system, especially during flu and colds, and the sweetness itself is ideal for cardiovascular diseases.
• Children, fasting people, and everyone who tries to keep their weight normal are happy to eat it, because it is a low-calorie snack.
• Finally, marshmallow can be used in different forms.

What berries and fruits are best to add to redcurrant pastille?

Yes, we have before us a sour berry. But not everyone can afford a lot of sugar. Therefore, the presence of sweet berries or fruits is always appropriate here. Red currant tandems are ideal with sweet varieties:

1. apricot,
2. strawberries,
3. banana,
4. grapes,
5. melons,
6. pears, etc.

With them, a pleasant sour currant flavor will remain, and other accents will be added - tasteful and decorative (after all, the mass can be laid out in beautiful patterns). And the absence of sugar will make the layer more elastic.

What else can you add to marshmallows to prepare for the winter?

It all depends on preference! After all, you can add:

• various berries and fruits,
• cinnamon,
• vanilla,
• cereal (oatmeal, etc.),
• seeds,
• roasted nuts, sesame seeds and other goodies that will make the marshmallow more unusual, tastier, healthier and even more satisfying.

Sugar or honey?

This is your choice. If you add a lot of sugar, the pastille will become tougher and will break. With honey (especially if it is acacia) it will become more aromatic. But he won't let it freeze as it should. That’s why they use rapeseed more often.

About raw materials

The berries have to be the best! It doesn't matter what size they are. The main thing is that they are of the same variety, whole and ripe (even slightly overripe!).

Methods for preparing redcurrant marshmallows: general principles

No difficulty. First you need raw materials:

1. sort through carefully
2. grind in a convenient way,
3. boil, removing excess moisture,
4. place on a raft lined with parchment or in a tray, grease it with oil,
5. dry in a convenient way - in the oven, in the dryer or in the sun.

As you know, marshmallows are prepared at home in different ways. Firstly, in the oven, dryer or in the sun. Secondly, with or without sugar. Thirdly, with the addition of berries or other ingredients. So let's look at them.

In an electric dryer

This is a very convenient way. The products are whipped in a blender or in another convenient way. Then they are laid out in a thin layer to dry on trays, greased with oil and set at 55 degrees overnight. In the morning you need to roll the layers into tubes.

Marshmallow in the dryer, recipe No. 1 - with sugar

Let's take it: 300g red (or black) currants, 250g sugar, 50g powdered sugar, 1-2 tbsp. starch.

Cooking

First, the berries are prepared; after washing, they are allowed to dry.

Then the currants must be chopped in a convenient way (and rubbed if desired).

After combining the mass with sugar, it is boiled.In the meantime, prepare the pallets, covering them with parchment.

The cooled mass is poured over the surface in a thin layer and immediately placed in the dryer for 5-6 hours at a temperature of 60⁰.

The finished layers are cut into pieces and the marshmallows are carefully separated.

You can do it a little differently - add sugar to the berries, and as soon as they release juice, boil for about 5 minutes. After rubbing the cooled berries through a sieve, boil the mixture again for several minutes. And then perform the same drying steps. Cut nicely.

Marshmallow in the dryer, recipe No. 2 - with honey

Let's take it: 1kg red currants, 0.5kg honey, chopped nuts, ginger, lemon zest to taste

Cooking

Having crushed the berries in a blender, rub them through a sieve and, after mixing with honey, boil them, add nuts, grated ginger, and lemon zest to taste.

Pastila in the dryer recipe No. 3 - with bananas and apples

Let's take it: a glass of berries, a banana, a glass of chopped apples, 3 tbsp. sugar, a tablespoon of water.

Cooking

Berries, banana and apples are crushed to a puree. Add sugar, a tablespoon of water and cook for a minute or two. Place into trays and prepare as described above.

Pastila in the dryer, recipe No. 4 - with apricot

We take: half a liter of red currant juice, 1 kg (pitted) apricot, half a kilogram of sugar.

Cooking

The crushed berries are squeezed out. Sugar is added to the juice. Beat apricots until smooth and mix with currant juice. After mixing the mass, it is laid out on trays covered with paper. Pour the mixture about 1cm thick and dry, changing their position.

Pastila in the dryer recipe No. 5 – with black currants and raspberries without sugar

Let's take it: equal parts red, black currants and raspberries

Cooking

The berries are crushed, wiped, then the mass is distributed in a thin layer over a tray covered with oiled tracing paper.Dry in the dryer, checking for readiness. The cooled sheet is cut into pieces and sent to the refrigerator, wrapped in food paper.

In the oven

As practice has shown, cooking marshmallows in the oven is not as easy as in a special dryer. But oven drying is also an option, and one that has been tested by many housewives.

Marshmallow in the oven, recipe No. 1 - with red currants

Let's take it: 1 kg of red currants (you can add half black), 600 g of sugar, 0.75 cups of water.

Cooking

The sorted berries are washed, filled with water and boiled until they become soft. After rubbing it in a convenient way until it becomes pureed, add sugar and, after mixing everything, boil the mass. After letting it cool, it is whipped and laid out on plywood trays. Dry in a warm oven for 1-2 days. Store in trays in a cool, dry place. Great in powdered sugar!

Marshmallow in the oven, recipe No. 2 - with red and black currants

We take: 1 kg of berries, 0.7 kg of sugar, 0.75 glasses of water.

Cooking

After processing whole ripe berries, they are poured with water in a saucepan and boiled until softened. The cooled mass is rubbed through a sieve. Pour sugar into it. Boil until the consistency of thick sour cream. The whipped mass is distributed in a thin layer on parchment laid on a baking sheet. Keep in a warm oven, with the door slightly open, for a couple of days.

In the sun

Yes, marshmallows can “keep up” perfectly in the sun. The mass is spread on parchment, laying it on plywood or something else. Keep it until it dries to the desired state.

How do you know if the treat is ready? Bend the dried layer - does it not stick, is it elastic? Great. Is it broken? You have dried out the marshmallow. But don't be upset. You can simply break it up and enjoy it. In short, let's cook.

Video

Red currant paste in the WOLTERA 1000 electric dryer, filmed by HAPPY PEOPLE

How to properly store and use redcurrant marshmallows

Once you have dried the marshmallow, you understand that it does not need a lot of moisture. Those. it must be folded where the marshmallow will remain elastic for a long time and where it will not crack when squeezed with your fingers. Has it become loose and sticky? This means you are storing the product incorrectly.

Proper storage

So, not only the place is important, but also the form in which you will store the finished marshmallow. After removing the berry leaves, divide them into several parts that are convenient for rolling into a tube. Afterwards, wrap each of them in cling film and place in a tightly closed bottle, placing it in a cool but dark place.

You can cut these tubes into pieces, storing them in a hermetically sealed container. You will last with this delicacy until the new harvest!

Using redcurrant marshmallows

It’s hard to imagine where these layers can be consumed other than as treats. Meanwhile, it (both sweet, i.e. with sugar or honey, and sour) is not only eaten:

1. In pieces, it is good as tea leaves, raw material for compote or tincture.
2. If you store the marshmallows in layers, they will become an ideal layer in pies or desserts.
3. Prepared without sugar, it will become the basis for a delicious sauce for meat.
4. When you have a cold, this is a great way to strengthen your immune system.
5. You can make jam from finely planed marshmallows.
6. Make a dessert - just roll the marshmallow slices in something sweet, coconut flakes or nuts!

Experiment by adding nuts and other foods you like to the berry mixture. Cook according to the same recipes, drying in the sun - the effect is the same, the main thing is that there is sun.And enjoy such a tasty and healthy product all year round!