How to dry hawthorn

How to dry hawthorn at home is a question of interest to people who do not want to use medicines. Hawthorn (in the people of the boyar) 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 preparations 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 consumed with cereals, ice cream, as an additive to other fruits.

Useful properties of dried hawthorn:

1. In addition to vitamins and various trace elements, 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

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

Rules for collecting boyars for drying:

1. Only ripe berries of bright red or, as they 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 collect overripe berries due to the fact that moldy fungi begin to develop on the surface.
4. It is necessary to collect boyarka for subsequent drying during the day, in dry weather.
5. Cut in bunches, not individually. Lay in the container carefully so as not to violate the integrity.

How to dry hawthorn

Drying hawthorn at home is not particularly 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 air grill;
• electric dryer.

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

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

Do I need to wash hawthorn before drying?

The hostesses 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 plenty of warm water in a basin.

Remove the berries from the basin into a colander, let the water drain. Then spread them in 1 layer on a dry towel, cover with a second one on top so that the berries dry 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 will also work for hawthorn. The process of freeing raw materials from natural moisture is short-lived, and besides, it is easy to control. The result is 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 exceeding 60 degrees. You also need a clean baking sheet and baking paper on which the berries are laid out. The oven is heated in advance and kept warm until the raw material becomes solid.

How long to dry hawthorn in the oven

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

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 an ajar oven. This is a necessary condition, otherwise the evaporating moisture will again settle on the berries in the form of condensate, 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 dimensions.
4. On average, drying the boyarka in the oven lasts 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, allows you to get a dried product in a short time.

Stages of work:

1. Preheat the oven to 40 degrees. A higher value will destroy the beneficial properties of hawthorn.
2. Keep the leaf for 5-7 hours until the berries decrease in size and dry out.
3. Open the cabinet door from time to time to let the moisture out.

How to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer

The presence of an electric dryer allows you to speed up the process of drying 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 the drying takes place evenly.
2. The pallet is placed on the middle level. Here the raw material will not burn.

At what temperature to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer

When using a dryer for harvesting 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, you need to dry the hawthorn in an electric dryer by changing the temperature, the time spent is about 6 hours.

How to dry hawthorn in the microwave

Another useful household appliance is the microwave. It is also used for harvesting dry hawthorn. Raw material spreads in one layer. Power 300 W is used. Drying lasts 2 days.

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

How to dry hawthorn in an air grill

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

How to dry hawthorn at home

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

The nuances of drying hawthorn fruits:

1. Arrange the berries on trays that have previously been covered with cloth or paper.
2. Put the trays in a room with a roof so that the direct rays of the sun do not fall on the raw materials, but, most importantly, that the berries do not get caught in 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 manually, but, as a rule, hawthorn berries dry out in 4-5 days if the weather is sunny.
5. At night, the pallets are brought into the house so that the dried products do not become damp.
6. Every day you need to change the substrate under the fruits to dry.
7. At the end of drying, the boyarka can be exposed to the sun for 30-45 minutes so that the remaining moisture evaporates.

The use of dried hawthorn

Dried hawthorn has been used for medical and cosmetic purposes for many centuries. It is not necessary to be surprised at this scope, because the berries have medicinal properties:

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

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

How to store dried hawthorn

Drying allows you to save 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 get to 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, like any dried fruits, in fabric bags. Moths can damage them.

Conclusion

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