How to dry hawthorn

How to dry hawthorn at home is a question of interest to people who do not want to use medications. 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 mixtures for various diseases.

Useful properties and contraindications of dried hawthorn

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

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

Beneficial properties of dried hawthorn:

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

When is hawthorn harvested for drying?

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

Rules for collecting boyarka for drying:

1. Only ripe berries of bright red or, as people say, bloody color are suitable for further processing.
2. You should not wait for frost, as these fruits are too soft and not suitable for drying.
3. It is also impossible to pick overripe berries because moldy fungi begin to develop on the surface.
4. You need to collect boyarka for subsequent drying during the day, in dry weather.
5. Cut in clusters, not individually. Place in the container carefully so as not to damage the integrity.

How to dry hawthorn correctly

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 fryer;
• electric dryer.

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

1. After picking the berries, the petioles and sepals (scutellum) are removed from the bunches.
2. Then the raw materials are sorted. Leaves, branches, green or damaged fruits should be thrown away to avoid spoiling the dried product.
3. Large berries are placed separately from small ones, since they will dry at different times.
4. If you need seedless raw materials, they should be removed.

Do I need to wash hawthorn before drying?

Housewives who are drying 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 place them under running water or pour a large amount of warm water into a basin.

Remove the berries from the bowl into a colander and 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 take a long time to dry, they can also ferment.

How to dry hawthorn in the oven

The oven is an excellent 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, and it is easy to control. The result is dried hawthorn, as in the photo.

At what temperature should you 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 tray and baking paper on which to place the berries. The oven is heated in advance and maintained warm until the raw material becomes solid.

How long does it take to dry hawthorn in the oven?

It is difficult to say 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 the 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. The baking sheet with the raw materials is placed on the middle shelf of the oven.
2. If the stove has a ventilation mode, then close the door.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 the drying time will increase.
3. When exposed to temperature, raw materials in the oven change not only color, but also size.
4. On average, drying 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 and allows you to obtain a dried product in a short time.

Stages of work:

1. Preheat the oven to 40 degrees in advance. A higher rate will destroy the beneficial properties of hawthorn.
2. Keep the sheet for 5-7 hours until the berries reduce in size 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 placed on a special tray and distributed in one layer so that drying occurs evenly.
2. The pallet is placed on the middle level. The raw materials will not burn here.

At what temperature should you dry hawthorn in an electric dryer?

When using a dryer to prepare vitamin raw materials, you first need to place 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 value.

So, you need to dry hawthorn in an electric dryer by changing the temperature, which takes about 6 hours.

How to dry hawthorn in the microwave

Another useful household appliance is a microwave. It is also used for harvesting 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 only put a small amount of raw material on the bowl.

How to dry hawthorn in an air fryer

An air fryer is also suitable equipment. Moreover, the berries dry faster than in other devices. The air temperature is within 45-60 degrees. The air fryer door must 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 collecting the berries and appropriate preparation, begin drying.

The nuances of drying hawthorn fruits:

1. Place the berries on trays that have been previously covered with cloth or paper.
2. Place the trays in a room with a roof so that the raw materials are not exposed to direct rays of the sun, but most importantly, the berries are not exposed to rain.
3. The raw materials are stirred for several days to ensure even drying.
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 outside.
5. At night, the pallets are brought into the house so that the 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 to the sun for 30-45 minutes so that the remaining moisture evaporates.

Uses of dried hawthorn

Dried hawthorn has been used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes for many centuries. This area of ​​application should not be surprising, because the berries have medicinal properties:

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

It should be understood that taking any herbs and berries is unsafe. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a doctor to avoid harm to health.

How to store dried hawthorn

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

1. After drying, the fruits can be placed 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 and has ventilation at a temperature of +10 to +18 degrees.
3. It is prohibited to store dried boyarka, like any dried fruit, in fabric bags. They can be damaged by moths.

Conclusion

Drying hawthorn at home is not difficult, and you can use any convenient methods: using electrical appliances and outdoors. As a result, the family will receive vitamin tea all winter.In addition, hawthorn improves immunity, lowers blood pressure, and helps with colds and other ailments.

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