How to dry hawthorn at home in the oven: electric, gas and digester

Harvesting hawthorn for the winter involves the need to properly dry it. For this purpose, you can dry hawthorn in an oven - electric or gas, or use a special electric dryer - a digester. When harvesting hawthorn yourself at home, you need to acquire knowledge of when, how and in what way is best to do it.

Nuances of preparing hawthorn

Proper preparation of plant fruits for drying is the key to preserving their precious properties for a whole year, or even longer. You can collect hawthorn berries from the second half of September to November, that is, before the first frost appears. It is at this time that the fruits gain maximum nutrients and vitamins.

It is recommended to pick berries in dry and clear weather. With increased humidity - during dew or after rain - the fruits will absorb a lot of moisture, which will lead to an increase in the time for them to dry.In addition, there is a possibility of mold and rot appearing on them.

Fully ripe hawthorn berries should be thoroughly dried by following these steps:

1. when collecting fruits, it is more convenient to pick them with brushes, using garden shears or pruning shears;
2. then you should sort out the berries, remove spoiled and unripe fruits;
3. separate the stem and spout;
4. The seeds should not be removed; this becomes necessary when using hawthorn for compote;
5. rinse the hawthorn under running water, then let dry on a napkin or towel;
6. To pre-dry the hawthorn, 2–4 hours is enough.

Ripe berries are different from unripe ones. They have a bright red or distinct orange color. Semi-ripe fruits are not used for drying.

Features of collecting and preparing leaves and flowers

In addition to berries, you can dry hawthorn leaves and flowers for tea for the winter. But they should be prepared no later than May. Drying them is much easier and faster than berries. In this case, you can get by with natural conditions. That is, choosing a well-ventilated place for drying without direct sunlight.

General recommendations for oven drying

As mentioned above, you can dry hawthorn in an electric or gas oven. There are certain indicators for performing the procedure:

• By time. To dry large berries for the winter, it will take 5–7 hours. Whereas the leaves and inflorescences have time to dry in an hour and a half. These indicators depend on the size of the fruits themselves and the specific portion of raw materials. Therefore, you need to focus on the readiness of the berries in each individual case.
• According to temperature conditions. The oven can be set to a moderate or even low temperature.At high temperatures, tender hawthorn fruits dry out, turn black and become useless.
• By temperature. The range of maximum temperatures is from 50 to 70 degrees Celsius. These are average indicators, since the values ​​depend on the features of the household appliance. If the oven power is low, you can increase the temperature. Therefore, it is recommended to dry the berries in an oven with previously tested power.

Advice. It is important to consider that the air in the oven is usually dry. For this reason, the fruits may dry out and lose their beneficial properties. Therefore, it is recommended to open the door slightly.

How to dry hawthorn at home

Dried hawthorn retains almost all useful components. Several methods can be used to dry berries. However, the quality and benefits of the product directly depend on the correct execution of the technological process. Therefore, drying berries should be carried out strictly following the recommendations on which the final result depends.

At home, in addition to the natural but rather lengthy method, you can use a gas or electric oven. In some cases, they resort to drying the product in a convection oven, electric dryer (digedrator) and even in the microwave. Below are step-by-step recipes for drying hawthorn.

Processing raw materials in an electric oven

One of the most convenient drying methods is to use an electric oven. It manages to maintain the same temperature, ensuring uniform evaporation of moisture. Hawthorn leaves and flowers can be dried in literally 60 - 90 minutes. Berries will take longer.It should be borne in mind that the procedure involves the use of low temperature conditions.

The work progress is as follows:

1. Preheat the oven to 60 - 70°C
2. While it is heating, prepare the baking sheets: cover them with parchment paper. This is necessary to prevent fructose and sugars from sticking to the surface of the baking sheet.
3. Spread the berries in an even layer, leaving a small gap between them.
4. Place the baking tray with the fruit in the oven.
5. Keep the hawthorn at the set temperature for half an hour.
6. Then it is recommended to lower the temperature to 40 – 45°C. In this mode, the hawthorn is brought to readiness.
7. On average, drying time ranges from 3 to 5 hours.
8. If the equipment is equipped with a ventilation mode, you should turn it on.

Important! In order not to dry out the berries and to achieve uniform release of moisture, the oven door should be slightly opened.

To properly dry hawthorn in the oven, it is recommended to stir the fruits from time to time with a wooden spatula. This will eliminate the possibility of burning from below.

In the oven of a gas stove

Drying hawthorn in such an oven is similar to the method described above. The only significant difference is how much gap needs to be left in the oven door. If in an electric oven it is enough to open it slightly by 5 - 5 cm, then in the oven of a gas stove it should be at least 10 - 18 cm. If the model is equipped with special convection, then there is no need to leave a gap in the door.

The following steps are similar:

1. The oven heats up to approximately 65 degrees Celsius.
2. Raw materials (fruits, inflorescences or leaves) are placed in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
3. If there are a large number of berries, the procedure is repeated several times or two or three baking trays are used.
4. After placing the baking sheet with raw materials in the oven compartment, the temperature is reduced to 40°C.
5. The drying time is maintained in the range of 5 – 7 hours, depending on bringing the berries to the desired condition.

During processing, it is important to stir the hawthorn at least once an hour.

Note! It is not recommended to collect hawthorn near the road. Environmentally friendly raw materials can be prepared in the forest or at a summer cottage.

Benefits of using a digedrator

An electric dryer is special equipment designed to remove moisture evenly. You can buy a digester at a store that sells household appliances.

Using an electric dryer to dry hawthorn is the most convenient way to prepare it for the winter.

The algorithm of actions is quite simple:

1. Pre-prepared raw materials are laid out on several pallets at once.
2. Pallets are swapped from time to time. In this case, each of them is gradually raised one level higher, and the topmost baking sheet is placed on the lower step. This principle ensures maximum uniformity of drying of the berries.
3. The temperature in the digester is initially set at 60°C. After two hours, the temperature is lowered to 40 degrees. After 2 hours, you should return it to the previous value.

The whole process takes no more than 6 hours. The main advantage of using an electric dryer is the ability to dry a large amount of hawthorn at the same time.

In addition to the mentioned methods of drying hawthorn at home in the oven and digester, you can use an air fryer.This is a fairly convenient device that provides ease of control using buttons installed on the panel. But the method has a significant drawback - a small portion of raw materials can be placed in it. And the duration of drying hawthorn is from 8 to 9 hours.

How to determine product readiness

Determination of readiness is possible based on several criteria. This:

• appearance;
• pulp hardness;
• presence/absence of stickiness;
• finished product size;
• color.

Well-dried hawthorn fruits become more than 2 times smaller. They are wrinkled and much darker than raw berries.

Readiness can be checked by simple tactile sensations. To do this, take a handful of berries and squeeze them. If juice appears, you need to continue the drying process. If the berries stick to each other, it means they have not dried enough. Smooth fruits without wrinkling indicate incomplete readiness and the need to continue the procedure.

But well-dried hawthorn is flexible. The berries are firm and dark burgundy in color. But if they begin to crumble when pressed, then the product is too dry. The benefit from them is minimal.

How to properly store finished products

The duration of storage of dried hawthorn largely depends on the conditions that require compliance with certain requirements. Among them:

• It is recommended to store hawthorn berries in thick paper bags, which will reliably protect them from pests. They will also not be allowed to be adversely affected by humid or excessively warm air, foreign odors and dust.
• Cardboard boxes lined with parchment or linen bags are suitable for storage.
• Dry fruits can be stored in a well-ventilated area, preferably dark and cool.
• Dry berries are well preserved in dark glass jars and thermoses.
• Plastic containers and plastic bags are not suitable for storing dried berries. In them, the hawthorn can become soft and moist. In addition, cellophane can be easily eaten by moths.

By providing dried berries with appropriate conditions, it is possible to preserve their suitability for long-term consumption with health benefits.

Best before date

Dried hawthorn berries, when properly stored, retain their beneficial properties for two years. An alcoholic tincture of them is suitable for 1 year. But infusions and decoctions are only suitable for 2–3 days after their preparation.

Questions and answers on the topic

IN: Is it possible to store dried berries for more than 2 years?

ABOUT: Yes, dried hawthorn fruits remain in good condition for up to 8 years. However, they lose their beneficial properties.

IN: What are the advantages of oven drying over natural air drying?

ABOUT: This processing brings the product to readiness much faster. At the same time, all its beneficial properties are preserved.

IN: What should you pay attention to when collecting inflorescences and leaves intended for drying in the oven?

ABOUT: It is important to collect only unopened buds. It is recommended to cut them using special scissors. You should also cut off the leaves carefully. They, like the inflorescences, are collected in the last week of May and the first two weeks of June. You can cut only a third of the total number of leaves from each branch. In this case, the inflorescences and leaves must be healthy, without damage by mold or insects.

Proper preparation of hawthorn berries for drying and compliance with recommendations for temperature conditions and processing time allows you to obtain excellent products.At the same time, all the beneficial substances of the fruit and the positive effect on the body are preserved.