Rowan berries redden in September, but the best time to pick them is after frost. Captured by frost, they are not so bitter. Rowan is removed in clusters, together with peduncles and leaves, hung in the attic or in the barn when it is cold and the temperature does not rise above zero. You can dry it near the stove, and then, in winter, cook stewed fruit, jelly, filling for pies. And of course, mountain ash is boiled with sugar. Here are some recipes.
Jam. For 1 kg of berries - 1 kg of sugar, 2 glasses of water.
Sort ripe berries, rinse and boil in boiling water until softened (do not allow them to boil!). Drain the water. When the berries have cooled, put them in a bowl, pour sugar with pre-prepared sugar syrup and cook in several stages until cooked, removing from heat and holding for 3-4 hours, as rowan berries absorb sugar very slowly. Pour the finished jam into deep earthenware plates and hold for 10-12 hours, then transfer to prepared jars.
To preserve the color of the jam, as well as to improve the taste at the end of cooking, you can add citric acid at the rate of 1 g of acid per 1 kg of sugar.
Fig. Wash the selected berries, put them in a saucepan, and preferably in an earthenware pot (without water!) And soak in the oven at a temperature of 50–70 ° C for 4–5 hours until softened. Then rub the berries through a frequent sieve. Mix the puree with sugar in a 1: 1 ratio and cook until thickened over low heat. Spread the resulting mass evenly on a porcelain dish moistened with water, and put in a warm place for 2-3 days. Cut the dried mass into pieces, sprinkle with icing sugar, pack in glass jars, cover with parchment paper, tie and store in a cool dry place.
Candied fruit. They are boiled in the same way as jam, only longer, so that the syrup becomes completely viscous. Immediately after cooking, pour the berries along with the syrup onto a sieve and leave for 2 hours to completely drain the syrup. After that, lay the berries in one layer on a sieve and dry in a non-hot oven, opening the door. Sprinkle the candied fruit with sugar and dry again. Arrange candied berries in jars and close tightly, and pour the cooled syrup into bottles.
Marmalade. For 1 kg of berries - 1.5 kg of sugar. Pour the berries with a small amount of water and cook over moderate heat until they become soft, then rub through a sieve. Put on the fire again, add sugar and, stirring, bring to a density. Pour marmalade hot in heated jars, and when it cools and thickens, cover with parchment, tie and bring to the cold.
You can pour the marmalade with a layer of 3-4 cm on plywood boxes lined with parchment or plastic wrap. Pull up the boxes like parcels on top of plywood and transfer them to the cellar. In this case, marmalade is easier to cut into “sweets” and serve, and it looks so spectacular.
Rowan in sugar. From 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, boil the syrup and, leaving it on low heat, immerse each branch of mountain ash into it separately. Then roll in fine sugar and dry in a non-hot oven. It is very beautiful when along with pies served rowan in sugar on a separate dish!