How to collect and dry fireweed to preserve its beneficial properties?

Ivan tea (angustifolia fireweed) is an amazing plant that has many beneficial properties. Therefore, it has been valued since ancient times. A drink made from it will help cope with headaches and colds, help normalize digestion, and charge you with vigor and strength. All parts are used: leaves, roots, flowers. But in order to preserve its healing qualities, it is necessary to collect and dry it correctly.

Useful properties and contraindications

It was not for nothing that our ancestors made tinctures and decoctions from this plant. It contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements. But that’s not all; it has several other features.

• It has an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why healing ointments are made from it.
• The enveloping effect, thanks to which fireweed fights the manifestations of peptic ulcers and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Stops the spread of the herpes virus.
• Antitumor effect.
• Calming effect, enhancing the properties of sedative drugs. Shows itself well in the fight against insomnia.
• Helps cope with skin diseases: eczema, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis.
• Has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system.

Despite all the wonderful properties of fireweed, you should not abuse it. It is better to take it in courses so that the functioning of the stomach, liver, and intestines is not disrupted.It is also not recommended for young children to drink decoctions and infusions from it, because the plant contains caffeine. Women during pregnancy and lactation should be careful, consult with doctors before use and follow their advice. Any disease associated with blood clotting may also be a contraindication. There are no other restrictions, although in rare cases individual intolerance is possible.

This plant is valued as a wonderful honey plant. The honey produced from it is of high quality, pleasant to the taste and, of course, healthy.

Where does it grow and how to collect?

Ivan-tea is narrow-leaved willowherb. When collecting, it should not be confused with other types of fireweed, since they do not have such exceptional qualities. The required plant is quite tall, usually at least 50 cm in height, has narrow leaves and lilac-pink flowers. It occupies large areas, resembling a carpet during the flowering period.

The plant is distributed everywhere. You need to look for it where it is dry and there is a lot of light. This could be a forest clearing or edge, a cleared area, a place near a railway embankment, a ditch or a sown field. Fireweed especially loves coniferous forests. You need to choose a collection location away from cities, busy highways and other sources of pollution. It is then that the plant will be environmentally friendly and healthy.

It is necessary to collect fireweed at the time when it blooms. Flowers, like other parts, have valuable qualities. In addition, they will help not to confuse it with other plants. It is difficult to say exactly when fireweed will bloom; it depends on the climate zone. In warmer regions this happens earlier, in northern regions - later, from June to August or even September.

During the harvesting process, it is necessary to separate the color and the sheet. You can't mix them. The plant is carefully trimmed at a distance of 10 cm from the ground. It is best to collect in dry weather, not after rain. You can collect the leaves separately. Some people practice this method: they squeeze the stem in the palm of their hand and raise their hand up, tearing off the leaves. But they may lose their taste, so it is better to trim them. When collecting color, you should only take the top. If a pod has already formed on the brush, then you need to make sure that it does not get to the flowers or leaves. When dried, it can ripen, the fluff from it will make the workpiece unsuitable for consumption.

How to prepare fireweed tea?

So, the fireweed has been collected. But in order for the drink from it to be truly tasty and healthy, the plant must be prepared for this. You should start with withering. To do this, tear off the leaves and wash them thoroughly. Then lay it out on clean paper, the layer should not exceed 5 cm. Leave it this way for a day, stirring from time to time so that the leaves dry evenly. They should not be exposed to direct sunlight. The result will be slightly soft parts of the plant. It is important not to dry them out.

The next stage is fermentation. It begins with the leaves being rubbed between the palms so that they form tubes. When they darken from the juice, they are placed in an enamel pan or other container. The layer should not be too thick. Then cover the bowl with a cloth moistened with water and leave in a warm place for up to 20 hours. The time it takes to ferment depends on how high the temperature is. Optimal - from 24 to 27 degrees. You can determine that the process is complete by the appearance of a noticeable floral-fruity smell.

Next, the fermented leaves need to be dried. This is done either in the sun or in the oven at low power. First, they are finely chopped and placed in a thin layer on baking sheets covered with parchment. The fireweed is kept in the oven for about an hour, when dried in the fresh air - until ready.

Store the preparations in tightly closed containers, for example, in glass jars with tightly screwed lids. It retains its taste and beneficial qualities for up to two years. It will ripen for a month, then you can prepare a fragrant drink.

Other drying methods

You can dry Ivan tea in another way. For this method, take linen fabric, moisten it and lay out the leaves on it in a layer of no more than 3 cm. The piece of fabric must correspond to the volume of the plant intended for harvesting. From time to time, the fabric should be sprayed with a spray bottle so that it does not absorb the juice.

The fabric is rolled into a tight roll and tied with a rope or rubber cord. Next, the plant is ground, bending and unbending the resulting twist for half an hour. It's convenient to do this together. During the process, the structure of the leaves is disrupted and juice is released. As a result, primary fermentation begins and lasts about three hours. When the palm feels that the twist has become warm, we can conclude that the initial fermentation has completed. At the same time, the raw materials receive a light fruity smell.

For further fermentation, the raw materials are transferred to a container, compacted well and tightly closed with a lid. The workpiece must be kept in a warm place for 36 hours. You can additionally put it in a cool place for some more time. This will help give the tea a more refined taste. If the raw materials were collected late, in August, then additional fermentation is needed.The mass is removed from the container and rubbed between the palms to release the juice.

Advice

To speed up the process, you can use a meat grinder without knives. But the quality of the workpiece will be worse than if you do it manually.

The processed raw materials are left for 6-8 hours. Readiness is determined by pressing on the mass: it should feel like rubber to the touch. When this is achieved, fireweed can be dried in the oven. Keep it slightly open, stirring the mixture regularly. A red brick is placed in the oven; it will help prevent the workpiece from drying out. Calcination will give the tea a wonderful taste.

For another fermentation method, the collection is divided into two parts. Juice is extracted from one using a press juicer. You will get a very small amount, but it will be enough. The resulting juice is poured into the remaining raw materials and pressed down with a 20 kg load on a wooden circle. After 3 days the process will be completed and the raw materials can be dried.

How to prepare an infusion?

Making a drink from fireweed is not difficult. You can brew it in almost the same way as regular black or green tea. To do this, the teapot needs to be rinsed with boiling water. Then put a little fireweed in it at the rate of 2-3 spoons per half liter of water. A small amount of dried color can be added to the fermented and dried leaves. At first, hot water should be poured only a third, only after 5 minutes add it to full. The proportions of water and tea leaves can be changed to suit your taste. You can pour boiling water several times without compromising quality.

If the drink is intended for one person, then it is easier to infuse it in a glass - add half a tablespoon and pour boiling water over it. After 20 minutes you can drink.

You can prepare the infusion differently.Pour a layer of up to 5 cm of tea leaves onto the bottom of an enamel pan. Fill with twice as much water. Heat over low heat, without bringing to a boil, let stand for a quarter of an hour - and the drink is ready to drink.

Anyone can prepare an unusual and healthy drink with excellent taste. Harvesting fireweed is easy, and fermentation and drying will give it the desired flavor.

We advise you to read the article: how to make ice