What happens if you dry hawthorn on threads? How to dry hawthorn in different ways? Useful tips. How to use fitness body anti-cellulite cream correctly

Hawthorn is a fairly common and well-known plant, widely used throughout the world. There are many types of hawthorn, which differ from each other in the shape of the leaves, the color of the flowers, the presence of spines and their length. Some species are used as decorative. Thanks to its thorns and lush crown, hawthorn is often used as a hedge. But the main value of this plant is its fruits.

Benefits of hawthorn

The fruits have excellent taste qualities and are famous for their healing properties. You can use fresh berries at the end of summer, autumn and before the first frost. . Dried flowers and fruits can be stored for quite a long time, while maintaining the beneficial qualities of fresh berries. Therefore, the issue of drying and saving hawthorn at home is especially relevant.

Hawthorn is not uncommon in summer cottages and gardens. During flowering it is very beautiful and fragrant. In nature, it is often found in parks and forest areas.

Rules for preparing for the winter

Preparing a plant for the winter will not be difficult, but you need to remember that flowers and fruits grown far away are suitable for collecting:

from roads and railways;
from industrial enterprises;
from landfills.

Drying flowers

Hawthorn blooms in spring, in May. The flowering period is short, so it is important not to miss the right time to collect. It is not recommended to collect in rainy weather or in the morning when dew has fallen. Flowers must be dry, free from mold and insect damage. Inflorescences must be picked carefully or cut off from the stalks.

Pick the petals from the buds and place them on a layer of parchment or place on a dry cloth. The drying place should be shaded, without direct sunlight, with constant air movement. To protect the petals from insects, cover them with gauze or a thin cloth. Turn over periodically during the drying process.

Dried petals must be collected in glass containers, wooden containers or fabric bags. Dried flowers can be used within two years, observing storage conditions.

Methods for drying fruits

The fruits are harvested for drying when they are fully ripe and deep red in color. Collection begins in early September and continues until the end of autumn. The most suitable for harvesting are the fruits of Blood Red (Siberian) and Common (Smoothed) hawthorn.

It is recommended to pick berries dry, warm, sunny weather. Fruits picked in rainy weather or in the morning when there is dew will take a long time to dry and may rot. The harvest is not harvested one berry at a time, but the whole bunch is carefully picked - the fruits along with the scutes.

After picking, the berries are not washed, but carefully sorted. Remove the stems, discard darkened, unripe fruits and those damaged by birds and insects. Then start drying. There are several ways how to dry hawthorn, how to preserve it for the winter at home so that it does not lose its beneficial properties throughout the cold period:

on air;
in the oven;
in an electric dryer.

Air drying

Arrange the sorted berries in one layer on trays covered with thin paper or a clean dry cloth, or place the fruits on a net. Then choose a place for drying. It should be well ventilated, protected from moisture and direct sunlight.

During the drying process, the fruits need to be turned over from time to time to dry evenly and spoiled fruits must be removed. Drying continues until the hawthorn is completely dry.. Dry berries contain no moisture and have a bright red-brown color.

Drying in the oven

The prepared fruits are laid out in one layer on a baking sheet. The baking sheet is placed on the middle level of the oven. The drying temperature in the oven is set in advance (60 degrees). The oven should be preheated to this temperature. The specified temperature regime is maintained until the end of drying. The oven door is left ajar so that the berries can dry rather than steam.

During drying, the fruits change shape and color. To check readiness (there is no specific time for drying in the oven), take the berry in your hand and squeeze it tightly. If the berry is soft, continue drying. If the berry has hardened, the drying process is complete. You can take a few berries and squeeze them tightly in your hand. If the fruits stick together and cannot be separated, continue drying. Dried fruits do not stick together and do not release juice.

Features of drying in an electric dryer

Place the berries on a tray and place it on a medium level (right in the center) so as not to dry out or dry out the fruits. We set the temperature in the electric dryer (60 degrees) after the tray with fruits has already been installed.

After one and a half to two hours, the temperature can be reduced to 40-50 degrees, and one and a half to two hours before readiness, it can be increased again to 60 degrees. The total drying time in an electric dryer is 5-8 hours.

Storage conditions

We collect dried hawthorn in fabric bags and thick paper bags. Glass and wooden containers are also suitable for storage. Properly dried fruits can be stored for up to two years subject to basic storage conditions:

dark cool place;
dryness;
absence of moisture and mold;
absence of foreign odors.

Using dried berries

Dried berries are added to tea, coffee, and compotes. Vitamin decoctions and tinctures are prepared from the dried fruits, which can be taken both hot and cold.

Dry fruits can be crushed in a coffee grinder and add to the flour. This mixture is used for baking bread and pies. The finished baked goods will have a light berry taste and will also be rich in beneficial microelements.

Hawthorn is good as a sedative for stress and nervous overload. Helps with eating disorders as it has astringent properties. But when consuming, you should remember that these berries lower blood pressure and can disrupt your heart rhythm. In order not to harm your health, consultation and approval of a doctor is necessary before taking it.

Properly collected and dried hawthorn retains its beneficial and healing properties throughout the winter. It will help strengthen the immune system and restore physical strength after colds and flu. Therefore, it is worth spending a little effort and time preparing and drying this wonderful berry.

Attention, TODAY only!

In fact, hawthorn is simply a storehouse of vitamins and minerals necessary for humans, which improve overall health, well-being and metabolism.

Vitamins A, E and C are responsible for immunity, protection from harmful external influences; beta carotene is essential for vision.

Beneficial properties of hawthorn:

Its fruits and flowers have a beneficial effect on the human body and manifest themselves in the treatment of various diseases.

For example, blood clotting improves, cholesterol levels are normalized, it is used in case of vascular spasm, and prevents the appearance of atherosclerotic plaques.

Also, the benefit of hawthorn is that it reduces excitability in the nervous system. He has calming property, but does not cause drowsiness in a person, which is very important. By taking hawthorn infusions, you can help the body in the fight against gastritis and flatulence.

In children Digestion is significantly improved. The beneficial effects of this plant on the cardiovascular system are also known. The heart muscle is toned and the required amount of oxygen is constantly provided.

More health tips:

Medicinal properties of hawthorn flowers and berries:

Flowers and berries provide good support in the fight against headaches, help eliminate shortness of breath and dizziness. They also significantly prevent the formation of tumors of all kinds. In nursing mothers, milk production increases.

As for use for cosmetic purposes, we can note the removal of swelling, toning, and age-related changes can also be stopped.

How to pick berries?

Harvesting hawthorn usually occurs at the end of September and occurs until the onset of the first frost. When harvested, the scutes with the fruits are torn off together. Before drying the hawthorn, these shields are torn off, the stalks are also removed, and spoiled and unripe fruits are eliminated.

Drying occurs in the sun or in an oven, and there are also specialized dryers, in which the temperature is maintained at approximately 50-60 °C. In extreme cases, it could just be a warm room. When the fruits of the tree are planned to be dried in the sun, they must be divided into small piles, usually one pile is 4-5 kg, but the layer should not be very thick.

When drying fruits in the oven, you need to carefully monitor the door; it should always be slightly open. This is how unnecessary moisture comes out.

In order to understand that drying is finished, you need to squeeze a handful in your hand. If they clump together, it means they still have some juice left in them, which adds stickiness. This means you need to continue drying.

But if the fruits have scattered and each one remains lying separately, you can stop the process. With proper drying of hawthorn, its berries will be bright red-brown color. In this case, you can be sure that he retained all the benefits.

Dried hawthorn should be stored in paper bags or fabric bags. The shelf life of dried hawthorn berries reaches 2 years.

How to brew hawthorn?

In the evening you need to put about 20-30 berries in a thermos, you can add some rose hips and pour 1 liter of boiling water. The next morning the tea is ready to drink. When brewing the fruits must be whole, thus, they will retain all the beneficial properties.

You can also prepare a healthy infusion from dried hawthorn berries, which contains many beneficial properties for the body. To prepare such an infusion, you need to pour boiling water over whole fruits and leave for one night in a thermos.

Hawthorn grows in sunny, warm places. In spring, the white flowers of this shrub decorate the edges of forests, and in autumn its shiny red berries are visible from afar. The shrub is so rich in healing properties that almost all of its parts have been used in alternative medicine for many thousands of years. Herbalists typically use the stringy leaves, small white buds, and sweet red berries. It is quite effective for health to simply chew raw leaves and berries directly from the tree, but it is better to prepare them for future use.

How to dry hawthorn - harvesting methods

For those planning to make homemade hawthorn-based tinctures, balms, or other mixtures for medicinal use, the plant can be processed by drying, roasting, or boiling the leaves, flowers, or buds with the addition of alcohol, glycerin, and other ingredients.

How to dry hawthorn - preparing leaves and inflorescences

Hawthorn leaves and flowers are usually ready for harvest in early May. Try to choose a time for harvesting when there is no excess moisture. Try to cut healthy branches when the plant's flowers are fully open. Don't be put off by the unpleasant fishy smell emanating from fresh inflorescences. Your nose hears a compound called trimethylamine. This is the unusual ability of hawthorn to attract flies and other pollinators. The smell will completely disappear when the flowers dry. Place the cut branches evenly on paper or cloth, slightly covering them from insects. Choose a dark, well-ventilated place for drying. Store dried branches in baskets, paper bags, or hanging from the ceiling. You can separate the leaves and flowers from the branches. Be careful, try to avoid being pricked by thorns!

How to dry hawthorn - drying berries

Hawthorn berries are harvested in late summer or autumn and carefully dried in several ways.

What you will need:

water;
pot;
2 cups;
skimmer;
lemon juice;
2 paper towels;
drying tray;
spoon;
glass or plastic containers;
dark glass jars with lids;
hot water;
ice water.

Drying technology:

Sort the berries, discarding rotten and moldy specimens. Rinse them with plain water.
Boil a pan of water and leave it to simmer. Fill the bowl with ice water and set it aside.
Soak the berries in boiling water for 30 seconds to crack the skins. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the hawthorn to a bowl of ice water.
Prepare a mixture of equal parts lemon juice and water in a bowl. Transfer the berries from a bowl of cold water to the lemon juice solution for 10 minutes. To do this, use a slotted spoon.
Leave the berries on a double layer of paper towels to absorb the water.
Place the hawthorn in a single layer on a drying tray. Place it in an oven heated to 60 degrees. Open the oven and stir the berries every three hours.
Start checking the degree of readiness after 20 hours by taking a few hawthorn berries from the oven. Squeeze them in your hand. If your palm remains dry, the berries are ready for the next step of the drying process. Remove them from the oven to cool.
Place the berries in glass or plastic containers, filling two-thirds of the container. Cover the opening lightly and place the jars in a warm, dry place. Shake the hawthorn containers every day for 10 days.
Rinse dark glass jars with very hot water and let them dry. Place the berries in them and close the lid. Store jars in a dark, cool cupboard, refrigerator, or freezer.

How to dry hawthorn outdoors

Prepare the fruit thoroughly by removing any excess debris and removing the sepals. Lay them out in a thin layer on sheets, covering the bottom with paper or cloth. With this drying method, washing the berries is not required. Leave the trays in the sun, making sure to turn them over. At night, it is advisable to cover the berries or put them indoors. The degree of readiness of hawthorn is determined by its bright red-brown color and lack of moisture in the hands.

In winter, sometimes you want something like this! I'm tired of the usual sweets, I've already tried all the compotes... Should I drink some hawthorn tea? Where to get? From the box. They probably forgot that they dried the fruits in the fall and put them away in a dark, dry place for cases like this.

You don’t have enough stock, you don’t know how to dry hawthorn. Yes, it's very simple! It will take more time to prepare. Read, write down, it will come in handy in the fall.

Preparing hawthorn for drying

Berry picking begins at the end of August and ends... in winter. Of course, it is better to prevent severe frost damage to the hawthorn. Such raw materials will be terribly brown, watery and tasteless. Ripe fruits of a beautiful color are collected. Red, burgundy. They don’t take light ones, they are not yet ripe.

They bring all this stuff home. This is where the most tedious stage begins. They sort through the berries, clearing them of tails and twigs. By the way, some sources also recommend throwing away moldy, spoiled and deformed berries. A logical question arises: why did you even take them and lock them home? What do you need rottenness for? Unless they grabbed it out of greed.

There are recommendations not to wash hawthorn. And someone's? There are probably more vitamins in the dirty stuff. Even if the raw materials were collected in an environmentally friendly place (where can you find this now?), then dust is omnipresent. Hawthorn definitely needs to be washed! There is no need to rub it too much, but it is advisable to rinse it in a sieve or colander.

Then the berries are placed on a paper or cloth towel to dry any remaining water. If it’s not according to Feng Shui to eat washed food, then sit down and wipe each berry with a handkerchief. Now let's start drying.

Advice. You can try squeezing the pits out of the hawthorn with a cherry and olive tool. But practice shows that this is a bad idea. Too much pulp is lost in the process.

Where to dry hawthorn

Hawthorn is dried in several ways.

On open air. Hawthorn is poured onto trays covered with paper in one layer. They are placed outside, but shaded from direct sunlight. It is advisable to cover the top with gauze to prevent wasps and other insects.

In good weather, drying lasts approximately 6-8 days. The paper will have to be changed daily. Periodically you need to stir the berries. At night, the pallets are removed into the house so that dew does not ruin all efforts.

Hawthorn is considered ready when it has lost up to 75% in weight, becomes wrinkled, dark burgundy and hard to the touch.

Advice. If the weather is cool, the hawthorn can be dried in the attic or in a warm shed.

In the room. If at the time of picking berries the central heating is already running in the home, then the hawthorn can be dried directly on the radiator.

The raw materials are prepared as described above. Then they pour it into containers that will fit on the radiator without the risk of falling off. You will also have to lay the paper down. Otherwise, the process is no different from drying in the open air.

Daily replacement of litter, tedding. True, in the house there is no need to cover it from insects and hide it from dew. But you will have to brush aside your pets. They poke their curious wet noses everywhere. They may even throw your workpieces onto the floor.

It’s difficult to even give an approximate drying time. It all depends on the temperature of the batteries. Readiness is determined experimentally. Touched and chewed. Hard and dry? This means you can put it away for storage.

Advice. Dry the hawthorn until ready, plus 1 more day. This way, your supplies can last up to 2 years under normal conditions, and will not become moldy in the first month.

In an electric dryer. The fastest way to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins and nutrients. It is convenient because you can dry several kilograms of hawthorn at the same time. As much as your dryer can hold.

The temperature is set no higher than +60°C, the trays are swapped every hour. The lowest one is placed up, the rest are shifted one down. Of course, paper is not needed, and preparing the berries is no different from that described above.

Approximate drying time depends on the power of your dryer. As a rule, it is no more than 14 hours when the device is fully loaded. Readiness is determined visually and again by touch. Nice, hard? So it's time to shoot.

Advice. Do not exceed drying temperature. Hawthorn will dry faster, but the quality of the finished product may suffer. And vitamins are destroyed.

In the oven. The baking sheet is covered with parchment paper. Preferably siliconized, practically nothing sticks to it. Hawthorn is poured in one layer and placed in the oven. The temperature is set to +65°C.

The door must be left ajar so that evaporating moisture can freely escape. The berries need to be stirred periodically. This will allow them to dry more evenly.

Approximate drying time... unknown. It all depends on the moisture content of the raw materials and the volume of the oven. But definitely no more than 6 hours on one baking sheet.

Some sources recommend testing doneness with a compression test. You need to take a handful of berries and squeeze them in your fist. We unclench it and see... a burn on the palm! No, of course, you have to try to get burned at this temperature. But the result of such a test can be very unreliable. Allegedly, under-dried raw materials will stick together. Well, yes. A small, dry old woman will squeeze a hawthorn in her palm, or a hefty young woman of about 30 years old. What is sticking together?

Don't create puzzles for yourself. They took this very handful of hawthorn and cut it with a knife. Happened? This means you need to dry the workpiece some more. The attempt failed, and the berry flew to the other end of the room? Take the baking sheet out of the oven immediately, it’s time.

Advice. If your oven allows it, then load several baking sheets into it at once. In this case, things will go much faster than drying one at a time. Only once an hour change their places according to the principle from bottom to top.

In a refrigerator. This is called the cold drying method. This method is suitable for those who have not yet acquired an oven or gas in the house from a cylinder, and not centralized. Or there is no attic with a shed, there is nowhere to put trays on the street. There are so many reasons! For this purpose, you will have to allocate space on the shelf or even occupy it entirely.

Lay newspapers in two layers on the selected pallet. Then the hawthorn is poured in one layer. Cover the top with another layer of newspapers or cotton cloth. Even ordinary gauze will do.

Now this entire structure needs to be placed on a shelf in the refrigerator. And leave it there for about 5 days. The bottom layer of the newspaper is changed daily, the top layer can be left the same. Mixing is encouraged, but not required. Everything will turn over when replacing the bedding.

Readiness is determined by the usual method by touch. The berries should darken, greatly decrease in size and become hard. Even weak softness indicates that the hawthorn is under-dried. Leave the tray in the refrigerator for another 2-3 days.

Advice. This method only works in refrigerators with an auto-defrost function (but frost). Old Soviet refrigerators do not have this advantage, so this trick will not work in them.

How to dry hawthorn? It turns out it's very simple. Choose any suitable method, and in winter, throw berries into the teapot and enjoy a wonderful, fortified and aromatic tea.

Video: how to dry hawthorn in the oven

Drying hawthorn and preserving the beneficial properties of the fruit is not an easy task, but it can be solved. There are several ways to dry medicinal berries at home, and each of them is good in its own way. Teas, decoctions, and infusions of dried hawthorn will help cope with colds and flu, normalize sleep, and calm down in a stressful situation.

How to properly prepare fruits

Both wild and garden hawthorn are useful. Not only the berries, but also the flowers of the plant are healing.

The berries ripen in September. They are collected only in dry weather. After harvesting, hawthorn is carefully reviewed. The color of mature hawthorn is dark red. The taste is sweetish, astringent, tart.

Twigs, leaves, dark and rotten fruits are removed. Then the hawthorn is washed under running water or left for 15 minutes in warm water and washed. Place on paper towels until completely dry. The berries must be completely dry before drying.

Tricks for drying hawthorn

You need to dry hawthorn at home, adhering to the following rules:

dry the berries in a dark, dry, ventilated area;
lay out the fruits on the flooring in a thin layer;
so that the berries dry better, the hawthorn is constantly stirred;
if dried in the oven, leave the door slightly open, this helps regulate the temperature and remove moisture;
dry raw materials darken and become brown; wrinkled berries should not release juice.

How to properly dry hawthorn at home

Fruits are dried outdoors, indoors, in an oven, in an electric dryer, in a microwave oven, in a convection oven, and even in a refrigerator. Everyone chooses the method that is most suitable.

In the oven

The fruits are distributed evenly on the baking sheet in one layer.
The baking sheet is placed on the middle level of the oven.
Choose a temperature of 45 degrees.
When the fruits begin to wrinkle, the temperature is increased to 70 degrees.
The oven door should remain ajar.
Regulate the temperature using the gap between the door and the oven. If the gap is reduced, the temperature will increase, and vice versa.
Turn the berries periodically to prevent them from sticking together.
The whole process takes from 3 to 5 hours. The finished raw material should not be soft and stick together; it becomes hard to the touch.

Interesting! After drying, hawthorn loses up to 70% of its weight.

In an electric dryer

The downside is that the drying process in an electric dryer takes a long time: 8-12 hours. The advantage is that this method preserves the maximum amount of vitamins.

The fruits are placed on a tray in the center.
The tray is placed on the middle level of the dryer.
After this, the temperature is set to 60 degrees.
After 2 hours it is lowered to 40 degrees, two hours before readiness it is returned to 60 degrees.

In the microwave

The disadvantage of the procedure is that the volume of the oven does not allow drying all the berries at the same time. It will take several days to dry the fruits in small portions.

Place the hawthorn in one layer on a flat microwave-safe plate and transfer it to the oven.
They set the mode to 300 Watts, after an hour they raise the mark to 600 Watts, then before they are ready they return to 300 Watts.

In a convection oven

The disadvantage of drying in an air fryer is that you always need to make sure that the berries do not burn. If you don't watch them carefully, they may burn out completely.

They set it to 60 degrees, then reduce the temperature, then increase it again and lower it again.
Drying lasts 3-4 hours.
Readiness is determined as in the previous methods.

Attention! It is prohibited to eat hot berries; they must cool down.

On air

Pallets, plywood, and grates are suitable for drying.

Place paper on the grates to prevent the berries from falling through.
The place is chosen in partial shade or under a canopy.
The hawthorn is stirred periodically to dry on all sides.
On rainy days and at night, the berries are brought indoors, then returned to their original drying place.
Drying time is from 7 to 15 days, depending on the weather.

You can dry the berries in the attic or in a warm, dry shed. Need good ventilation and dry air. The berries should not be exposed to direct sunlight. They practice drying on a radiator in the apartment.

Cold drying method

The method is only suitable for refrigerators with auto-defrost.

Allocate space on the refrigerator shelf.
Line a tray with paper and place the berries on it in one layer. Cover the top with gauze or natural fabric.
Leave the tray for 5-6 days.
Every day the paper is replaced with new dry paper, while the fruits are mixed and ventilation occurs.
Readiness is determined by touch.
If the hawthorn is wet, drying is extended for 3 days.

Storing dried hawthorn

Glass jars, wooden boxes, linen bags, and paper bags are suitable for storing dry berries. Berries can become moldy in plastic bags, so it is not advisable to use them. The jars must be sealed tightly to prevent moisture from getting inside.

Store in a dark, dry, cool place. Fruits can be stored for up to 2 years if they are well sealed. Although dried hawthorn retains its healing qualities for up to 8 years.

Uses of dried hawthorn

Shortness of breath, obesity, prostatitis, heart disease, poisoning, insomnia, liver and kidney diseases - properly dried simple hawthorn helps in the treatment of all these diseases. Berries can cause harm in cases of hypotension, diseases of the genitourinary system, during pregnancy and lactation. Children under 12 years of age are not recommended to drink hawthorn decoctions.

Dried berries are brewed as tea; it is useful when brewed in a thermos. Calorie content per 100 g of berries – 52 kcal.

Decoction recipe:

one spoon of berries is poured into 1 liter of boiling water;
cook for 4-5 minutes;
leave for 10 hours;
filter, store in the refrigerator;
drink 100 ml after meals every day for two weeks (you cannot drink on an empty stomach).

Compotes and wine are made from dried fruits. Hawthorn tincture with vodka helps to sleep soundly; it is taken when overworked and stressed. You can dry the berries with the addition of cinnamon, mint, bergamot or almonds. The result is an aromatic tea with a piquant taste that helps with colds and flu.

Add fruits to mulled wine. The result is an unusual taste. The compote is boiled together with apples, pears, and citrus peels are added.

Housewives add dried hawthorn berries to the dough instead of raisins. They need to be soaked first. The fruits can serve as a filling for pies. They give baked goods a special sourness. In China, candies, juices, and marshmallows are made from dried fruits.