What is confiture? Benefits and unusual cooking recipes.

Jam, jam, jelly, confiture and jam ... Many of us mistakenly believe that the listed berry goodies have minimal differences. Experienced housewives and chefs fundamentally disagree with this point of view, because the process of preparing each dessert has its own characteristics.

What is confiture?

The mysterious word "confiture" came to us from the French language and translated as "cooked in sugar". Confiture is a whole (crushed) berries and some types of vegetables, cooked in sugar with the addition of agar-agar or pectin.

The first semblance of a jelly-like fruit delicacy was invented in Hungary, but it was the French culinary specialists who improved the recipe considerably. Gelatin was first used for dessert, which was later replaced with inexpensive beet sugar.

Benefits of sweets

Sweet recipes of confiture have always been popular, and it's not just a great taste. Preparation of the product in special vacuum units on high heat preserves many minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber, which play an important role in the gastrointestinal tract.

Vegetables, fruits and healthy ingredients - that's what confiture is. As we have already said, one of three components is added to the dessert to form a jelly-like mass:

1. Agar-agar. Obtained from brown and red algae. The product contains a large amount of calcium, iron and iodine. Agar-agar stimulates the work of the liver, cleanses the blood and the body, normalizes the level of glucose and cholesterol.
2. Gelatin. The source of collagen. Beneficial effect on the condition of nails, hair and skin, and also strengthens the heart muscle and stimulates brain activity.
3. Pectin. It helps to normalize the metabolism, removes heavy metals from the body and improves the work of the digestive tract.

Confiture made with gelatin, agar-agar or pectin, can safely be called a useful treat. Exception is made only by patients with diabetes mellitus, but for them there is an alternative - a dessert based on fructose, that is, without sugar.

Carrot recipe

What is confiture, we have already figured out and in the second part of the review we will get acquainted with the most delicious recipes.

To prepare an unusual confiture, you will need:

- 500 g of carrots;

- 400 g of sugar;

- two lemons;

- 2 tbsp. L. Cognac;

- almonds (about 10 pieces).

First step. Preparation of the main ingredient: carrots are cleaned and cut with large rings. Spread into a saucepan and pour cold water to cover the vegetables a little. After boiling, cook until ready (15-20 minutes), and then grind with a blender.

Second phase. We squeeze out juice from two lemons, we remove the zest from only one fruit. In a wide pan is laid out carrot puree, sugar, lemon juice and peel. The mixture is brought to the boil and left for 25 minutes. At the very end, add ground almonds and cognac. The finished product is poured into small jars.

Even if your guests know what a confiture is, they can not exactly guess the name of the main ingredient. Carrots delicacy is eaten with cottage cheese or yogurt, and also spread over butter on white bread.

For colds

One of the most useful desserts in the winter season will be confiture of oranges, lemons and ginger.

List of ingredients:

- three oranges and three lemons (total 1.3 kg);

- fresh ginger - 150 g;

- water - 200-250 ml;

- sugar - 1,5 kg.

Citrus is carefully washed and cut into small slices, and then passed through a meat grinder or chopped into a blender. Add the water to the resulting mass and wait for two minutes after boiling.

In the saucepan, let's fall asleep sugar, bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Fresh ginger is cleaned, crushed in a blender and added to the ready-made confit. We spread the dessert into small jars and store it in the fridge - the best medicine for cold is ready.

With seasonal fruits

The most popular among beginners culinary sweet recipes with the addition of agar-agar - such a confiture of strawberries is almost impossible to spoil.

Cooking method:

1. Take a pound of strawberries and use a blender to turn the berries into a fragrant puree.
2. Transfer the mass into a pan with a thick bottom, add sugar (200 g) and put on a small fire. After boiling, cook the strawberries for ten minutes.
3. Simultaneously, fall asleep agar-agar (1 tsp with a slide) in 100 ml of cold water and wait for swelling about 15 minutes.
4. Add the agar-agar to the brewed strawberry and leave it for another 10 minutes to completely dissolve after boiling.

With this recipe, you can prepare a peach, blueberry or cherry confiture. Experienced cooks offer a variety of dessert with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and even mint. For example, to get a mild aftertaste, take a small bunch of greens and pour a glass of boiling water for one hour. Then just add mint vodichku while cooking fruits, it will give freshness to the delicacy and remind you of hot summer days.

The variety of fruits and vegetables that are used to make confiture, suggests that such a dessert can not be tasteless. We advise not to be afraid of experiments and to go to the store in the next weekend for the necessary ingredients.