How many berries can you pick alone in the forest in a day and how much money can you get for it? Blueberries pureed with sugar without cooking - recipes for the winter, proportions How much does 3 liters of currants weigh?

Blueberry picking season is in full swing. Experienced berry growers boast: every summer they take it out of the forest by the bucketful and make decent money selling it. Some pay off their loans with the proceeds from the berries, others go to the seaside, and still others manage to save up for their children’s university studies. The "R" correspondent left the comfortable office and went into the forest: she found out how many blueberries you can pick in a day, how much the berries cost these days, and how easy it is to get rich in such a business.

Berry to berry

Experienced butchers claim that they know the local forest like the back of their hand. And indeed: after just a couple of minutes we found a clearing rich in the coveted berry.
Photo by the author

In the forests of the Shchuchinsky region, as in Polesie, there are many “blueberry barons”. You go into the forest in the morning with the first roosters, and they are already dragging several buckets of berries on a bicycle. They rest and go back to battle. The locals teach me, a beginner, that I need to go for wild plants as early as possible, otherwise they will take everything out - only twigs and leaves will remain.

The alarm clock rings at 4.30. We leave in half an hour, no later: it’s very difficult to work under the scorching sun. Lyudmila and Galina kindly agree to become my guides - experienced butchers assure that they know these places like the back of their hands. And indeed: after just a couple of minutes we found a clearing rich in the coveted berry. While I rejoice with joy, my colleagues are lamenting - the harvest is modest, but richer than last season:

In 2017, the blueberries froze, but this year the dry weather did not allow the berries to be filled with enough juice - the forest is again not pampering. But there are still berries if you know the places.

And we find the necessary clearings easily: in a couple of hours I fill my three-liter can. The interlocutors are getting ahead - they already have 5 kg of blueberries! My interest in sports makes me work faster, but with a mandatory condition: pick the berries only by hand. There are several reasons: if you use a special harvester, you can get a serious fine, and a scoop for picking berries can destroy the bush - next season it will be bald and dry. However, neither one nor the other frightens the woman who comes our way. She continues the lightning-fast “harvest” of blueberries and explains:

While you’re here carefully placing berry after berry, I’ll clear the bush in five seconds!

We decide not to follow a bad example. At a normal pace, each of us collects approximately 1.5 kg of berries in 1 hour. We work with short breaks almost the whole day - each of us has 15 kg. Fatigue takes its toll. It’s decided: we’ll wind down.

There are a lot of blueberries on the seasonal markets right now. Sellers compete, but they are in no hurry to reduce prices. On average, black berries cost 6.5 rubles per liter.

Blueberries appeared not only in forests, but also in markets. I’m going to do some reconnaissance: find out how much black berries are these days. At the counters, the mood improves: the price tags are normal, which means that the “hunchback” was not in vain. For 1 kg of wild plants, sellers ask on average 6.5 rubles. I start a conversation with an avid berry lover, who, in addition to buckets of blueberries, is given away by burgundy fingers on her hands. Teresa, as she appears, often goes to the berry plantations:

First, I pick blueberries for myself: for jam, compotes and freezing for all family members. When I have replenished my supplies for the winter, I collect them for sale. My daughter and I usually take two 8 kg buckets. It’s more profitable to stand at the market, but you can sell the berries.

Sellers are divided: blueberries are accepted both by raipo stores, and by home harvesters and private traders. The purchasing price on average ranges from 3 to 4 rubles per 1 kg. It turns out that, theoretically, for 15 kg of berries I can earn 52 rubles or more. This is what we decide to do with my forest spoils - literally in 15 minutes I find my buyer. It wasn’t difficult: during the season, notices about berry picking in the countryside are posted on almost every post and fence. You choose a profitable cash offer and go there with buckets.

Lyudmila, with whom I picked an equal number of berries in a day, decides to sell them at the market. It didn't take long to get tested and book a place. But it required money: to test for radiation, I gave half a liter of berries and almost 3 rubles; a counter on a popular row cost 4 rubles.

Come and try it for free! - unexpectedly for me, a colleague shouted to the whole market. - Buy it, you won’t regret it! You will only remember with kind words!

In general, he sells skillfully - people stop at our counter and are interested in the price. Half-liter cups of blueberries for 3 rubles were snapped up the fastest. But by the end of the day, liter cans were also gone - some were sold for 6, others for 7 rubles.

We didn’t get rich, but we made decent money, we conclude by calculating the profit. - If you subtract the costs of organizing a market place, the net cost is 90 rubles for 15 kg of berries.

“You haven’t earned much yet, newbies,” the salesman at the next counter grins. She sells raspberries, but she also knows all the ins and outs about blueberries. - I have a friend who earns up to 4 thousand rubles during the berry season. True, he is cunning: he picks berries with a combine, and in a day, in such a barbaric way, he collects from 20 kg.

During the experiment, I briefly felt like a businessman, but there was little joy from such income: I worked for ten hours, and now I just want to lie down and relax. Out of curiosity, I found out how much profit the woman who picked blueberries with a combine made that day. In just half a day, she collected 15 kg of berries and sold them near the highway - she received 120 rubles in profit.

To trade forest products at the market, you need to have a certificate of fluorography, submit blueberries for analysis (it does not take much time), after which you can rent a stall.

Despite the complaints of many berry growers about the meager harvest, scientists are not so pessimistic. Tatyana Moiseeva, a researcher at the Forest Institute of the National Academy of Sciences, comments on the situation with the gifts of nature:

There is no disaster this year. Last season, things were much worse: due to frost, the blueberries did not have time to bloom and set fruit. This spring has been warm. Then the drought gave way to heavy rains. In many areas of the Minsk and Grodno regions, the monthly norm of precipitation fell in the first half of July, and in the Brest region - almost two monthly norms. There are blueberries in our forests, but you won’t find a good harvest everywhere. Large berries can be found in swampy areas, while smaller berries are found in pine forests. Warm, rainy weather was observed in the country this week as well.

Tatyana Moiseeva notes: if it were not for the long-awaited downpours, the blueberry bushes would dry up.

And the cranberries could turn yellow and leave us without a harvest. But the weather was kind - there should be a lot of these berries. The same goes for lingonberries. True, in recent years you will find this berry more in the northern part of the country. There are very few lingonberries in the Gomel region.

Those who actively make money from the gifts of the forest do not have to worry about the mushroom harvest. It rained heavily and thoroughly soaked the soil. If this continues, mushroom pickers will rejoice in August and September. Tatyana Moiseeva is encouraging: porcini mushrooms, aspen mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, chanterelles, russula, and summer honey mushrooms are already found in the forests. According to forecasts, there will be a lot of mushrooms in the fall. This means that the market price will not go through the roof. By the way, today at the popular Minsk seasonal market, a kilogram of blueberries costs 6-7 rubles, wild blueberries - 8-9 rubles, a bucket of chanterelles and boletuses - 12 and 10 rubles, respectively.

Do you know why it is imperative to preserve fresh blueberries for the winter without cooking them with sugar? The berry is amazingly healthy. Our ancestors also noted that blueberries improve vision, fill the body with energy, and prolong youth. It was then that they came up with recipes that made it possible to make “raw jam” by grinding the berries with sugar and freezing them.

With the advent of the refrigerator, it has become very easy to prepare shrub fruits, since the berries retain all their valuable substances in the freezer. And recently it has been proven that frozen blueberries are even healthier than raw ones.

How to prepare blueberries with sugar without cooking

It is very important to maintain the proportions of sugar and blueberries, since the workpiece is not hot processed. That is why, despite the sweetness of the berries, a little more sugar is taken: per kilogram of blueberries - 1.5 kg. sweets.

How much sugar per liter of blueberries:

A liter jar usually contains approximately 600 grams. berries, if they are large. A little more shallow. You'll have to do a little math here. For every 100 gr. You will need 150 grams of fruit. granulated sugar. Multiply by 6, you get 900 g. sand on a jar.

Recipe for pureed blueberries with sugar without cooking for the winter

Take:

• Sugar – 1.5 kg.
• Berries - kilogram.

How to cook:

1. Sort through the fruits, remove debris and leaves. Rinse thoroughly, preferably under running water, if the berries are not overripe.
2. Be sure to dry it on paper or a towel.
3. Grind blueberries using any available method. How to wipe the berries? Use a blender, masher, pass through a sieve and meat grinder. I like it when whole berries float in the puree, so I don’t try too hard.
4. Pour sweet blueberry puree into the pan, stir and go about your business.
5. After an hour, stir again. Divide the mixture into jars or containers. It is advisable to sterilize jars intended for storage on the refrigerator shelf. You don’t have to roll them up; lately I’ve been using screw caps more often – they’re very convenient.
6. Place trays of grated blueberries in the freezer and store all winter.

Blueberries in their own juice with sugar

The advantage of harvesting is the ability to leave the fruits whole. It is very convenient to prepare dumplings in winter, stuff bagels, pies and other baked goods. The berries do not need to be cooked, so they will have to be stored in the freezer. There are no specific proportions in the recipe.

How to freeze:

1. Fill the jar up to the hangers. Sprinkle as much sugar on top as will fit.
2. Leave for several hours. Depending on the juiciness, blueberries will release juice after 2-4 hours.
3. Distribute into trays and stack in the freezer. Blueberries frozen this way can be stored for up to 2 years.

Blueberries, pureed with strawberries and sugar without cooking

The berries ripen at the same time and are usually harvested together. I feel sorry for wasting time sorting and separating the fruits from the strawberries. That's why I often prepare them together. According to the recipe, you can make a preparation with raspberries, forest or garden ones.

• Blueberries and strawberries – 1 kg.
• Sugar – 1 kg.

How to prepare:

1. Wash the berries carefully, as strawberries are extremely delicate berries. Place on a sheet of paper or a napkin to drain off excess moisture.
2. Wipe in any way, add sugar to the puree.
3. Stir, cover and leave for a couple of hours. Stir the contents periodically.
4. During this time, sterilize the lids and jars.
5. When the sugar has completely dissolved, place it in a container. Sprinkle a layer of sugar on top (the original recipe uses powdered sugar) - this is an additional preservative. Roll it up and put it in the pantry for the winter.

Video recipe for preparing blueberries for the winter without cooking them with sugar. Good luck with your preparations and winter tea parties.

Table of weights and measures for cooking. Product volumes are measured in glasses, tablespoons and teaspoons.

How to use a table of weights and volumes

In the recipes posted on the site, a glass = 250 g of water (it is also called a “thin tea glass”).

I measure using simple tea cups of the same capacity. I didn’t give measurements of the weight of food in a faceted glass (=200 g of water), I suggest using the same ordinary tea cup, focusing on the approximate consistency and basic principles of cooking, on the proportions and idea of ​​the dish, which are described in each recipe posted on website.

The weight of the product is indicated in a glass filled to the top, and in spoons - with the maximum possible filling (to the brim for liquid ones, with a slide for dry and viscous ones).

Dry products such as flour and starch should be poured into a measuring cup using a spoon using light movements.

If you scoop, voids will appear between the flour waves and you will not get the required volume, but if you compact, the weight of the product will increase, therefore, the consistency of the dish will change.

If you plan to sift flour, first measure the required amount, and then start sifting.

Other useful proportions

1. How many berries are in 1 liter (in a liter jar)

On average, a 1-liter container holds:

• liter meadow strawberry – wild strawberry– 400 g;
• liter garden strawberries– about 600 g;
• liter raspberries or blackberries(kumaniki) – 600 g;
• liter cherries or sweet cherries– 800 g;
• liter currants black, red, white - about 700-750 g;
• liter gooseberries– 840-850 g;
• liter w Christmas trees(mulberry) – 780-800 g;
• liter blueberries– 800 g;
• liter cranberries– 580-600 g.

What container contains 1 kg of berries?

1 kg of different types of berries is placed in containers (jars, glasses, pots, basins) of the following size:

• meadow (field) strawberries, wild strawberries – 2.5 liters;
• garden strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cranberries – 1.5 liters + almost a full glass;
• cherries, cherries, blueberries, mulberries (mulberries) – 1 liter + glass;
• various currants, approximately 1.5 liters or a little less;
• gooseberries – 1 liter + 1 glass with top.

The weight of all berries and the volumes they occupy are given approximately. No one knows what type of berries you picked or how you arranged the berries. But using these guidelines is convenient for cooking all jams and compotes if you don’t have scales.

2. How to make table vinegar from vinegar essence 70% - 6% - 9% and 3%

Follow the instructions on the bottle of vinegar essence - 70% acetic acid

Proportions of acetic essence (acid) to obtain vinegar

• 3% vinegar: 1:22 = 1 part essence diluted in 22 parts water (1 tablespoon of acid per 22 tablespoons of water);
• 6% vinegar – 1:11 = 1 part essence to 11 parts water;
• 9% vinegar – 1:7 = Dissolve 1 part essence in 7 parts water.

3. How to replace sugar with powdered sugar in a recipe

If the recipe gives the weight of sugar, then you need the same amount of powder by weight.

We base it on the weight of the product. From 100 g of sugar you will get 100 g of powdered sugar (but it will be larger in volume). That is. 1 glass of sugar will produce a larger volume of powder; it will not fit back into the same glass. Therefore, if the recipe is converted to glasses, then more powder will be needed in this measurement. And if in grams (by weight), then it is the same as sugar.

• In 1 glass (in a container equal to 250 ml of water) = 230 g of sugar or 180 g of powdered sugar.

How much powdered sugar comes out of 1 cup of sugar?

From 1 glass of sugar (this is 230 g) you will get 230 g of powdered sugar.

• If the recipe specifies 1 glass of sugar, then you need to take approximately 1.5 cups powdered sugar.
• If the recipe calls for 1 cup of powder, then you need approximately 4/5 cup sugar.