Content
One of the most delicious winter desserts that can please family and friends is pine cone jam. This exquisite Siberian dish made from cedar buds contains a rich set of all kinds of vitamins necessary for a person accustomed to wintering in the most severe cold conditions. How to choose the right ingredients and follow the recipe from pine cones and nuts is worth considering in detail.
Why is pine cones and nuts jam useful?
The cedar cone is filled with the seeds of the tree. For the northern peoples of Russia, it has long become synonymous with all the most useful that nature has given to man. To give birth to a living tree, a small cone contains the entire set of necessary elements.
The composition of cedar jam contains the following elements:
- vitamin C, B, PP, K;
- vitamin C;
- lipids;
- phytoncides;
- essential oils;
- linoleic acid;
- bioflavonoids.
Using a natural preservative - sugar, cooks preserve all the beneficial properties of a coniferous tree. Product recipe contains no starch or thickener. All that is needed to preserve pine nuts and cones is the fruits themselves, sugar and citric acid.
The benefits of pine cone jam
It is difficult to overestimate the benefits and effects of taking pine cone jam. It is not only a sweet and sour dessert for tea, but also a cure for many diseases. This product has long been used in the treatment of:
- colds;
- gastrointestinal disorders;
- of cardio-vascular system;
- off-season hypochondria;
- viral diseases;
- decreased hemoglobin;
- hypertension.
In addition, it is used as a prophylactic composition against cancer and as a diuretic and expectorant. Jam has no contraindications, except that a person may be allergic to certain components.
The benefits of pine nut jam
Not only can pine nuts be fried and dried for the winter, they can also be used to make jam. It is as beneficial as cone jam and has a unique taste of nuts in pine syrup. Pine nut jam is also popular in medicine among taiga medicine men and local people. Pine nuts are known even abroad as a powerful source of energy, both physical and spiritual.
Nut jam is used as a medicine in the following cases:
- as an immunostimulant;
- to improve the functioning of the stomach and restore the mucous membrane in case of ulcers;
- with a lack of iron in the blood;
- in the treatment of tuberculous lesions of the lungs;
- for skin rejuvenation and renewal of the epithelial layer;
- with inflammatory processes of various origins;
- as a prophylaxis for cancerous tumors.
Nuts are even used to make cosmetics for hair and nails, and nut oil can heal skin diseases. A few tablespoons of pine nut jam will provide strong immunity for the whole winter and spring.
Which pine cones are suitable for cooking
The collection of pine cones begins in July-August. To choose the right bud, you need to pay attention to its color and density. The younger and softer the fruit, the more fit it is. The cone ripe for jam should not be overripe and hard.The unsuitable one is already beginning to open up and harden. We need to pluck the bud between ripening and opening. It should be small and green, soft to the touch. Only during this period is it edible and healthy - before it releases seeds and becomes stiff.
How to make jam
There are many recipes for making pine cones and nuts jam. Some housewives cook cones, others just make syrup. Someone grinds the fruit with sugar. The ingredients include various spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, ginger. When boiled, pine cone jam takes on a color ranging from bright red to dark brown. Regardless of the recipe chosen, it should be borne in mind that cones and nuts are rolled up whole, without crushing or breaking the structure. For jam, you must choose whole fruits plucked from a healthy tree.
Cones jam with pine nuts
A festive assortment of pine cones and nuts in the form of jam is prepared according to some recommendations regarding the ingredients themselves. You need to choose the right nuts. They should be fresh, not dry, slightly soft. Only such fruits contain still fresh essential oil, which will appear if you lightly press on a fresh nut.
Ingredients:
- water - 1 l;
- pine nuts - 800 g;
- pine cones - 1 kg;
- sugar - 1 kg.
Cooking method:
- First, the nuts are prepared. Homogeneous fruits are chosen, washed, dried and fried until the smell appears. Do not darken.
- Prepare syrup. Mix sugar with water and cook until completely dissolved.
- Add nuts and cones and cook for 2 hours, skimming off the foam.
- Pour hot jam into jars, so that there is more liquid than fruits and roll up.
- Wrap a blanket over the jars to cool slowly.
Instead of sugar, you can add honey, in the amount of 500 g. Boiled honey will not have the same beneficial properties as usual, but it is an alternative for people with diabetes.
Pine nut jam
Making pine nut jam is as easy as making pine cones. Consider a recipe with honey as a substitute for sugar. You must also choose the nuts carefully, but this time without roasting.
The ingredients are as follows:
- 500 g of honey;
- 100 ml of water;
- 400 g of nuts.
You need to cook like this:
- Wash the sorted nuts and let dry.
- In a deep bowl, you need to heat the nuts a little, but do not break them, this must be done so that the fruits begin to release essential oil.
- Mix honey with water and bring to a homogeneous mass, then add nuts.
- Cook everything for 5 minutes.
- After that, let the jam cool and repeat the cooking process 3 more times.
- After finishing the third cooking, pour hot jam over sterile jars and roll up.
This delicacy is used mainly for colds. Honey with nuts has always had a high vitamin content, and the absence of sugar made the jam natural for a long time.
How to use it correctly
If you use pine cone jam as a medicine, then its intake should be rational. It is better to take on an empty stomach, since absorption into the blood increases on an empty stomach, and the desired effect is more likely to be achieved. For angina or flu, take 1 teaspoonful of jam three times a day, do not drink it, so that the healing syrup envelops the throat, absorbing into its walls. After taking it, it is worth refraining from drinking for an hour.
You should not eat too much cone jam as it is sweet. Due to the presence of essential oils in it, it can cause allergies, accumulating in tissues, especially if a person has problems with the kidneys, which do not have time to excrete substances.
Contraindications
Despite its rich benefits, cedar jam also has contraindications. People with food allergies, especially nuts, should not take cedar jam or try very small doses.Pregnant and lactating mothers should refrain from this delicacy, and it is also not recommended to give it to children under 12 years old.
Other contraindications are:
- kidney disease;
- exacerbation of stomach and duodenal ulcers;
- hypertension;
- hepatitis of various forms.
The rest of the cedar dessert is healthy and nutritious. Even if it is consumed by a person with the above diseases in small doses, it will produce a calming effect on the nervous system.
Terms and conditions of storage
Any jam is nutritious and healthy if stored in a dark place, protected from direct sunlight and not left unopened in the refrigerator for a long time. Open jam can get moldy.
It is also important to monitor the correct clogging of the product. The dessert will be stored for two years without losing vitamins. It is believed that after this period has expired, the jam must be thrown away, but there are recipes for making wine from expired jam. This will give him a second life.
Conclusion
Pine cones jam - the ability to preserve the product for future use. Choosing this particular option, the hostess will provide her family with home remedies for almost all diseases for a whole year. And if the jar is beautifully decorated, then it can become a pleasant and refined gift.
