Hawthorn - popular medical berry, widely used in folk medicine.The fruit are used primarily for various diseases of the heart, successfully replacing some medications.Therefore, harvesting of the winter hawthorn do most often in the form of dried berries.Is then obtained from the raw water infusions and decoctions are used in both hot and cold.Also, some hostess introduced flour chopped fruit into the dough when baking bread, saturating its original taste fruit "overtones."This article provides a few simple ways of how to dry hawthorn.Proper observance of technology will keep the maximum of useful substances in the products harvested.
When you need to gather hawthorn?
berries harvested in the period full maturity.This is usually in late September or October.Therefore maroon berries adorn the sprawling branches until frost.It is possible to harvest the fruit in several stages, cutting off the fruits of the parties.Therefore, drying may be carried out in different ways depending on the weather conditions.
How to dry hawthorn outdoors?
first ripened berries can be harvested in September, when the weather is still warm days pleases.Before drying the fruit loop through, damaged by pests and cull extraneous junk.With berries, remove the sepals and other spare parts.Pre-washed raw materials do not need to just grind the berries with a soft cloth, and then asks them in a colander.Sprinkle the fruit with a thin layer on a tray, laid by the paper, filling about 1 m2 of 3-4 kg of berries.Drying was carried out in a well-ventilated area, it can be in the sun.During 4-5 days of this treatment at air temperature 18-25 ° C hawthorn "come" until cooked.At night, be sure to storing a tray in the room that did not get on berries morning dew, the paper needs to be changed daily.Properly dried berries are reddish-brown in color, indicating that the subject technology.
As dried hawthorn in the oven?
last berries harvested already under adverse weather conditions (temperature is lowered down to the frost in the rain), which eliminates handling them naturally.Therefore, hawthorn dried using a gradual warming in the oven or Electric driers.The second option, of course, is much easier and more practical.But not all housewives are these helpful "domestic helpers", so we shall understand how ordinary dried hawthorn in the oven.Prepared fruits pour the manner described above in the pan with a thin layer.Select a moderate gradual warming, increasing the temperature to 40-50 ° C to 65-70 ° C.The oven door should be at the same time keep a little ajar, and periodically stir the berries.After about 3-4 hours the fruits are ready.Leave them to cool down after turning off the fire inside the oven.Ready hawthorn store in paper or cloth bags, placing them in a well ventilated, low humidity area or in glass containers with lids.
