How to dry rosehip at home to preserve its usefulness

About the healing properties of wild rose knew in ancient times. And for medicinal purposes they used not only berries, but also roots, leaves, flowers. In official medicine, these thorny shrubs are considered to be multivitamin plants with soothing, antibacterial, diuretic, hemostatic and regulating the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Let's talk about how to dry rose hips, what raw materials to collect and when it is best to do.

Are the beneficial substances rose hips in the drying process?

Drying the fruits of wild rose is the oldest method of canning berries for long-term storage. In this form, their skin is petrified, the constituent elements in the process of moisture loss are strongly compacted, but do not lose their healing qualities.

It is important to properly organize the drying process so that the water from the fruits of this prickly plant does not evaporate instantly, but gradually without direct sunlight. With proper conservation of therapeutic raw materials, the expiration date of rosehip in dried form lasts up to 3 years. In a dry and well ventilated place, the berries may lie longer, but every year their healing power weakens.

Folk healers strongly recommend to add the fruits that are not more than a year, in all, without exception, medicinal fees.

When and how to pick rose hips for drying?

The amount of vitamins in the plant also depends on the time of its collection. To the extent of ripening berries are poured with bright red gloss and become soft. Such copies are no longer suitable for drying. It is better to break off yet unripe fruit. To understand what kind of wild rose can be collected, will help hard skin with a shiny or matte surface. For drying, large specimens with bulged sepals are recommended.If their edges are tightly pressed against the walls of the berry, the harvest is started too early - the briar needs time for better ripening.

In the basket should put the whole berries, with cups and stalks. Over time, after drying, they themselves will easily disappear. But this nuance will help in large quantities to preserve vitamin C, which in the process of drying will be reduced.

When you go to collect rosehips, choose environmentally friendly areas, away from dusty roads and industrial chemical zones. For raw materials go deep into the wild, because any plant can absorb toxins from the environment. It is unlikely that such a medicine would be useful.

Wild rose is very common in our country, and, since it is quite unpretentious to the conditions of cultivation, it is found everywhere. To collect choose shrubs on forest edges, slopes and forest clearings. Plan this work in dry weatherotherwise, the wet berries will be harder to dry, besides, they are very saturated with moisture and in some cases they can soften.The period of procurement of raw materials of the specified plant begins in September and lasts throughout the month of October. The main thing to catch the collection before the onset of cold weather.

Although there are different opinions about this: some advise to harvest the wild rose crop after the first frost. In this discussion on whether it is possible to collect wild rose after frost, scientists said the last word. In the laboratory, they proved that low temperatures have a detrimental effect on some macronutrients and vitamin C.

Wild rose shrubs not the same on the composition of vitamins. It is possible to distinguish a high vitamin rosehip from a low vitamin one by sepals. In the first view, their edges are directed upwards, and with a sharp tear, a round hole remains in place of the cup. In the second type (popularly called "dog rose"), on the contrary, the leaves on the cups are bent down. Falling away, they leave behind a dense pentagonal footprint.

Preparation of berries for drying

The preparatory stage does not take much time, but requires attention and perseverance.And it does not make sense to postpone this work for later, since it is common for berries to deteriorate soon. The harvest must be sorted out, choosing a suitable material for drying. What dogrose to dry, you will understand, having discarded rotten, spoiled and trampled fruits. Then, select the selected specimens in a colander and rinse in running water. This should be done carefully so that the tails on the sepals do not break off, otherwise the juice and nutrients will leak.

Next, put the clean berries on a kitchen towel and let them dry for an hour. To speed up the process, you can blot them on top with napkins. If desired, and if you have time, you can cut the fruit in half and remove the kernels. In this form, they are much faster to dry and become convenient for brewing.

How to dry dogrose at home?

Prepared berries are subject compulsory dryingotherwise, they will not be able to be stored for a long time, become moldy and become unusable. And the sooner you dry them, the more nutrients they will remain.There are many methods of fast and effective evaporation of moisture - from the most primitive to advanced technologies. We will understand in more detail what can be done with dogrose and in what way.

In the oven

To begin, distribute the prepared fruit in a uniform ball on a baking sheet.

It is recommended to start the drying process with a temperature of + 40 ... + 45 ° C, gradually turning up the timer to + 60 ... + 70 ° C. Do not close the doors of the oven tightly, otherwise the dog-rose will not be dried, but baked. Periodically glance at the state of the raw materials, stir it to evenly dry and not burned.

The whole procedure will take from 8 to 10 hours, so do not leave the kitchen for a long time.

When the berries are ready, do not rush to pack them in bags. First of all, let them cool on a baking sheet, then put them in cardboard boxes and close tightly for 2-3 days. This is done in order to even out the level of moisture in the fruit and the environment. After all these manipulations dogrose can be removed to a permanent place of storage.

In the electric dryer

On the similarity of how to dry rose hips in the oven, this process is carried out in special drying devices. For detailed information on the time and temperature conditions when drying a particular fetus, manufacturers indicate in instructions for use. Therefore, it makes no sense to talk about the settings, since each brand has its own characteristics.

The main thing is that the temperature is not lower than + 50 ° C and not higher than + 70 ° C, and you should start with the maximum values. This will allow the juice to evaporate faster and harden the peel. After 2 hours, you can switch to the minimum temperature.

If you completely fill the electric dryer with berries, the bottom tray quicker to drythan the top. Be prepared for this, and do not leave the device permanently on. For complete readiness of the fruits will take about 7-8 hours. A few hours before the end, remember at what temperature you started to dry the wild rose and set the appropriate mode.

What other ways are there?

Other technologies include drying berries in a dry and well ventilated area.

To this end, dog rose spread on a thick cardboard or fabric flap and left to evaporate moisture, removing away from the sun's rays. The fact is that ultraviolet has a destructive effect on the vitamins and minerals contained in the berries. Therefore, the balcony and the street immediately stands to exclude.

Some mistresses when preparing fruits for tea mix them with a peel of citrus plants or with ginger and cinnamon. Residents of the countryside are considered an ideal option for such events.

In urban areas, you can get by with a gas stove. But all these methods require much more time to achieve a final result, rather than using an oven and an electric dryer. Do not forget that the faster the drying occurs, the more vitamins will remain in the berries.

How to store dried wild rose?

When you already know about all the subtleties of the preparation of medicinal berries, let's figure out how to store a dry rosehip, preparing it for the winter. The first thing you need to remove the stem. To do this, simply lightly rub the berries in such a way as to preserve their integrity.

Then the dried fruits are scattered in clean containers with lids. Tightly clog the drug potion is not worth it, because it can deteriorate.

If there are no suitable containers, you can use cloth bags or any glass container. In the latter version, three-layer gauze will be suitable for the cover.

An ideal place for drying harvested raw materials is a dark, well-ventilated room. Immediately after the end of the process, the fruits are not recommended to be consumed, since the berries should be given at least 3-4 days to go.