The chef gave tips on cooking strawberry blanks.

Fresh strawberries are stored for a very short time, so it is better to immediately turn part of the harvest into homemade preparations — "quick" jams, delicate jelly or fragrant filling for baking, Oleg Olkhov, a consultant at the Danilov Monastery cuisine, told the Izvestia gastronomic project "Food without Borders".

To make a "quick" jam, you will need 1 kg of strawberries, 1 kg of sugar and one lemon, the expert shared. Strawberries should be peeled from the stalks, rinsed and dried well on a paper towel. Then cover with sugar and leave for two hours so that the berries let out the juice, and then punch this mass with an immersion blender until mashed. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the berry puree and mix. Put the jam preparation on the fire and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly and periodically removing the foam. Pour the finished strawberry jam into sterilized jars and seal tightly, the chef advises.

"In the case of strawberry jelly, you will need a selected berry. Peel the strawberries from the stalks, rinse in running water and dry on paper towels. Cut the berries into slices or slices and transfer to a wide saucepan. Add 100 grams of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 200 ml of drinking water, then mix gently," Olkhov emphasized.

Next, put the saucepan on high heat and quickly bring the contents to a boil. Remove the foam with a slotted spoon, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Rub two thirds of the berries through a fine metal sieve, squeezing out the juice as much as possible. Coarsely chop the remaining strawberries and set aside. Put 10 g of gelatin in a small bowl and pour a little cold water over it. Leave for 10 minutes to swell, then add it to the hot strawberry juice and mix thoroughly until completely dissolved. Pour the resulting mixture into the molds, add the chopped strawberries on top and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Garnish the jelly with fresh berries before serving.

Wash the strawberries thoroughly for the filling, dry them and cut the berries into 2-4 pieces. Mix with 10 grams of sugar and put in a saucepan. Put it on a small fire so that the strawberries let out the juice. Dilute 30 g of corn starch in 90 ml of cold water, pour into a saucepan with strawberries and, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, heat until thickened. Then remove from heat.

"This filling can be used not only for pies, but also for pies, pancakes and other homemade pastries," advises chef Olkhov.

You can read more tips from chefs and exclusive recipes on the Izvestia Zen channel "Food Without Borders".