How to dry rose hips in the oven, in an electric dryer and in vivo
Vitamin remedy for strengthening immunity can be prepared at home. But in order to preserve all the nutrients, you need to know how to dry rose hips. With proper harvesting, the berry is stored for a long time, its high nutritional value remains.
Before drying the rose hips, it is necessary to collect and process them. The usefulness of berries depends on these actions.
Rosehip picking
The following instances are suitable:
- large and dense;
- not damaged by the disease;
- the sepals are protruding (if they are pressed against the berry, then the collection should be started early);
- bright orange or red;
- slightly sour.
The fruits are plucked with stalks and cups. If you try to pull them off, you can damage the skin.
For raw materials, it is better to go to an ecologically clean place, away from the road or industrial enterprises.
When to harvest rose hips for drying? It is harvested from August to October, before the onset of autumn frosts. Slightly frozen berries will not work. A dry day is selected for collection. Moisture-infused fruit will be difficult to dry.
There are high-vitamin and low-vitamin rose hips. The first is distinguished by the fact that the sepals are directed upwards; when the berries are plucked, a deep notch remains in the place of the calyx.
Preparing berries for drying
After picking, you need to think about processing the berries. They may deteriorate if stored for a long time. Upon arrival home, the dog rose is sorted out. All rotten, spoiled and crushed specimens are thrown away, but the stalks are not torn off, otherwise all the juice will flow out.
Then the berries are washed. Even if they were collected in the forest, this procedure is not overlooked. For these purposes, only warm water is suitable, in no case cold or hot. The berries are soaked for 10-15 minutes. You can simply rinse them under running water, but in the first case, cleansing from dirt will be more effective.
After the fruits are spread on a kitchen towel and dried for 1.5-2 hours.
How to dry rose hips
The prepared berries are dried immediately, otherwise they will mold and rot. But before starting this process, you need to know all the subtleties, otherwise nothing will work.
How to prepare a rosehip at home depends on what to dry it in. Possible options:
- electric or gas oven, including convection;
- electric dryer;
- bake;
- in room.
Berries are also dried in attics, where there is good ventilation, but the first method is the most preferred.
The berries are not sun dried. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, useful substances are destroyed, the product becomes useless.
In the oven
Drying the berries in the oven will not be a problem if you set the right temperature, correctly determine the drying time, and know when the fruits are ready. It is important not to overdry, but also not to leave them half-baked.
The most important parameter that affects the quality of the fruit is the drying temperature of the rosehip. It should be in the range of 50-70 ˚С for a gas oven, 40-60 ˚С for an electric oven, no more than 40 С for an electric one with convection.
In an electric oven, the air is drier, so the berries dry faster. You need to be as careful as possible with a convection oven.When the temperature is exceeded, the berries burst and all the juice flows out.
Everything is clear with the temperature regime, now let's talk about time. Drying rose hips in the oven takes 4-8 hours. The duration of this process depends on the type of oven. For a gas oven, 6-8 hours are enough, for an electric one - 4-5 hours.
Tips on how to dry rose hips:
- the oven is never preheated;
- dry in baking mode to warm the top and bottom;
- for drying, the baking sheet is covered with parchment paper, it is not greased with anything;
- berries must be dry, otherwise they will start to burn;
- the baking sheet is set exactly in the center;
- the berries are distributed evenly, in a thin ball, it is impossible for them to come into contact with each other, otherwise they will begin to stick together and let the juice flow;
- the temperature is gradually increased, the maximum is not set immediately, for example, when using an electric oven, they first set 40 ˚С, and then in 4 hours bring it to 60 С;
- the doors are left a little open, literally 5 cm;
- the raw materials are constantly mixed so that it does not burn, it dries evenly.
Drying takes a long time, but as a result, you can get an incredibly useful product for strengthening the immune system in the autumn-winter period.
How to determine readiness
During drying, you need to focus not only on time, but also on the appearance of the fruits, since they can be ready, for example, not in eight, but in seven hours. It does not make sense to keep them in the oven for another hour, otherwise we will get apricots, and not a delicious dried rose hips.
The following signs indicate readiness:
- do not stick together;
- wrinkle;
- a little soft inside, there is moisture;
- have a natural taste and smell;
- practically do not change color, acquire a honey tint, become slightly transparent, should not be dark brown or black.
To determine if the berries are ready or not, you can taste them. When biting through, the juice does not stand out, but the moisture does not completely evaporate, there is pulp, sourness is felt.
If the fruits have darkened, then they are overdried. Useful properties remain at the same level, but they are noticeably inferior in taste.
How to dry rose hips in an electric dryer
The process is simplified if the house has an electric dryer. Step-by-step instructions on how to dry rose hips at home:
- Pour the prepared berries into the container of the electric dryer. One layer is enough, the fruits are evenly distributed over the entire surface.
- Set the temperature in the range of 50-70 ˚С. Each brand of device has its own temperature regime. Drying is started from the maximum temperatures, and after 2-3 hours they go to the minimum. This will evaporate moisture faster and harden the skin. There is a lower risk that the berry will crack and juice will spill out.
The drying process takes from 8 to 14 hours. The time depends on the selected temperature regime and the power of the electric dryer. The lower the temperature, the longer the drying time.
When choosing the maximum temperature in an electric dryer, you can dry the rose hips in 6-8 hours, but some of the nutrients will collapse.
How to understand when it is time to turn off the device? The berries change color a little, acquire a honey tint, they can be broken into two parts, they are crispy, but do not crumble in the hands. If it starts to darken, turn brown, then the time has been exceeded.
In vivo
This is a laborious process lasting 2-4 weeks. But the fruits are the most useful and delicious. Consider how to dry rose hips for the winter without any appliances.
Important factors:
- good ventilation;
- low level of air humidity, less than 60%;
- lack of direct sunlight (balcony or windowsill are not suitable).
The washed and dried fruits are spread in a thin layer on a newspaper, cardboard or plywood sheet, mixed daily. A month later, they are transferred to a cardboard box for storage for 5-7 days, so that the remaining moisture leaves.
Storage of dried berries
It is important to know how to store dried rose hips.Unsuitable temperature conditions, ingress of moisture, exposure to sunlight can lead to damage to the product, loss of useful properties.
It is impossible to pack the rose hips in containers for storage immediately after drying. Let it cool on a baking sheet. Then it is transferred to cardboard boxes for 2-3 days, which are placed indoors. This is necessary for the berries to acquire the same moisture level as in the environment.
After that, the rosehip is sent to a permanent storage place. For these purposes, the following container is suitable:
- fabric bags;
- glass jars covered with several layers of gauze or plastic lids with holes;
- plastic bags with punched holes.
The berries must be ventilated, otherwise they will become moldy. But you need to be careful not to start a mole or other insects... It is better to keep them away from cereals, flour.
In a dark and dry place, the fruits are stored for 2 years.
You should not use dried rose hips right away. It is better to put it in a dry, dark place for a week in order to restore its taste and chemical composition.