How to dry hawthorn

How to dry a hawthorn at home is a question of interest to people who do not want to use medicines. Hawthorn (popularly boyarka) is a medicinal plant in which almost all parts are useful: bark, flowers, leaves and berries. They are used by pharmacists and traditional healers to prepare medications for various diseases.

Useful properties and contraindications of dried hawthorn

You can make jam, compote from hawthorn, but most often it is dried for the winter, so vitamins and nutrients are better preserved.

Boyarka can be used with cereals, ice cream, as an additive to other fruits.

Useful properties of dried hawthorn:

1. In addition to vitamins and various microelements, it contains Omega-3 - a source of beauty.
2. Helps to cope with problems of the cardiovascular system and intestines.
3. Herbal tea lowers blood pressure.

When hawthorn is harvested for drying

Boyarka ripen in mid-September. At this time, their collection begins.

Rules for collecting boyarka for drying:

1. Only ripe berries of a bright red or, as the people say, bloody color are suitable for further processing.
2. Do not wait for frost, as such fruits are too soft and not suitable for drying.
3. It is also impossible to pick overripe berries due to the fact that moldy fungi begin to develop on the surface.
4. You need to collect the boyarka for subsequent drying in the afternoon, in dry weather.
5. Cut in bunches, not piece by piece. Place in a container carefully so as not to violate the integrity.

How to properly dry hawthorn

Drying hawthorn at home is not difficult. Previously, the fruits were laid out in the open air and dried naturally. Modern housewives can use various household appliances:

• electric oven and gas stove oven;
• microwave and airfryer;
• electric dryer.

But before you start drying, the boyarka needs to be specially prepared:

1. After picking berries from bunches, petioles and sepals (shields) are removed.
2. Then the raw materials are sorted out. Leaves, twigs, green or damaged fruits should be thrown away so as not to spoil the dried produce.
3. Large berries are stacked separately from small ones, since they will dry at different times.
4. If pitted raw materials are needed, they should be removed.

Do I need to wash hawthorn before drying

The housewives who dry the boyarka for the first time are interested in whether the raw materials are washed before the procedure. It is important to understand that dirt should not remain on the fruit. You can put the raw materials in a colander and put under running water or pour a large amount of warm water into the basin.

Remove the berries from the basin into a colander, drain the water. Then spread them in 1 layer on a dry towel, cover with the second on top so that the berries dry out better.Drying begins when there is no moisture left on the fruits. The fact is that raw berries not only dry for a long time, they can still ferment.

How to dry hawthorn in the oven

The oven is a great option for drying fruits, vegetables and berries. It is also suitable for hawthorn. The process of freeing raw materials from natural moisture is short-lived, moreover, it is easy to control. The result is a dried hawthorn, as in the photo.

At what temperature to dry hawthorn in the oven

Drying of raw materials is carried out at a temperature not higher than 60 degrees. You also need a clean baking sheet and baking paper on which the berries are laid out. The broiler is preheated and kept warm until the raw material is solid.

How long does it take to dry hawthorn in the oven

How long it takes to dry a hawthorn in an electric oven at home is difficult to name. It all depends on the moisture content and the size of the berries. As a rule, the readiness of the raw material is checked manually: if the boyarka does not deform when pressed, then the drying can be stopped.

How to dry hawthorn in an electric oven

And now about how to properly dry hawthorn at home in the oven:

1. A baking sheet with raw materials is placed on the middle shelf of the oven.
2. If the stove has a ventilation mode, then the door is closed. Otherwise, drying should take place in a slightly open oven. This is a necessary condition, otherwise the evaporated moisture will again settle on the berries in the form of condensation, which means that the drying time will increase.
3. Raw materials in the oven under the influence of temperature change not only color, but also size.
4. On average, drying a boyarka in the oven takes 6-7 hours or a little less.

How to dry hawthorn in a gas stove oven

If the apartment has a gas stove with an oven, then it can be used for drying vegetables, fruits, berries, including hawthorn. The procedure is simple, it allows you to get a dried product in a short time.

Stages of work:

1. Preheat the oven to 40 degrees in advance. A higher value will destroy the beneficial properties of hawthorn.
2. Keep the leaf for 5-7 hours until the berries shrink and dry.
3. The cabinet door is opened from time to time to release moisture.

How to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer

The presence of an electric dryer allows you to speed up the drying process of hawthorn. The temperature is easy to control.

How to use the dryer:

1. The berries are laid out on a special tray and distributed in one layer so that drying takes place evenly.
2. The pallet is placed on the middle level. The raw materials will not burn here.

At what temperature to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer

When using a dryer for the preparation of vitamin raw materials, you first need to put the tray, and only then turn on the equipment. The initial temperature is 60 degrees. After 2 hours, the indicator is reduced to 40 degrees so that the moisture evaporates slowly. After another 2 hours, they return to the original indicator.

So, it is necessary to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer by changing the temperature, the time required is about 6 hours.

How to dry hawthorn in the microwave

Another useful household appliance is a microwave oven. It is also used to harvest dry hawthorn. The raw materials are laid out in one layer. Use a power of 300 W. Drying lasts 2 days.

The only drawback is that you can put a small amount of raw material on the bowl.

How to dry hawthorn in an airfryer

An airfryer is also suitable equipment. Moreover, the berry dries faster than in other devices. The blowing temperature is within 45-60 degrees. The door of the airfryer should be kept ajar.

How to dry hawthorn at home

It is not necessary to dry raw materials in electrical appliances. The natural process of removing moisture has been known for a long time.After picking berries and appropriate preparation, they begin to dry.

Nuances of drying hawthorn fruits:

1. Arrange the berries on trays that have been previously covered with a cloth or paper.
2. Place the trays in a room with a roof so that the raw rays of the sun do not fall on the raw materials, but, most importantly, so that the berries do not fall under the rain.
3. For several days, the raw materials are stirred so that the drying takes place evenly.
4. The readiness of vitamin products is checked by hand, but, as a rule, hawthorn berries dry out in 4-5 days if the weather is sunny outside.
5. At night, pallets are brought into the house so that dried food does not become damp.
6. Every day you need to change the substrate under the fruit to a dry one.
7. At the end of drying, the boyarka can be exposed for 30-45 minutes in the sun so that the remaining moisture evaporates.

Application of dried hawthorn

Dried hawthorn has been used for medical and cosmetic purposes for many centuries. One should not be surprised at this area of ​​application, because the berries have medicinal properties:

1. Dried boyarka is brewed and drunk like tea after infusion. You can make compote from berries in winter or add any dried fruits to it. The drinks are aromatic and low-calorie.
2. Balms, extracts, decoctions are made from dry boyars. Each time a fresh potion is prepared.
3. Dried fruits are used to make alcohol tinctures.

It should be understood that it is not safe to take any herbs and berries. Therefore, it is advisable to use the advice of your doctor so as not to harm your health.

How to store dried hawthorn

Drying allows you to preserve vitamin and healthy products for 2 years, but only if the storage rules are observed:

1. After drying, the fruits can be put in paper bags for a short time. For long-term storage, it is better to use glass jars or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids so that moisture and pests cannot reach the dried product.
2. The containers are kept in a room where it is always dry, there is ventilation at a temperature of +10 to +18 degrees.
3. It is forbidden to store dried boyarka in fabric bags, like any dried fruit. They can be damaged by a mole.

Conclusion

Drying hawthorns at home is easy, and you can use any convenient method: using electrical appliances and in the open air. As a result, the family will receive vitamin tea throughout the winter. In addition, hawthorn improves immunity, lowers blood pressure, and helps with colds and other ailments.

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