How to dry cherries: in the sun, in the oven and electric dryer

Dried products are not in "fashion" now, because in supermarkets you can buy any product all year round. But do not forget that dried fruits can be much more useful than frozen or imported from distant countries. Also, "drying" is stored longer, and on its basis you can create a considerable number of tasty and healthy dishes. Today you will learn about what a dried cherry is, and what are the benefits and harms of these products for our body. We will deal with the methods of drying berries.

What is useful dried cherry

Before you start drying products, you should talk about the real benefits of dried cherries.

It is no secret that fresh berries can lose most of the useful properties after processing, so it is important to know how useful dried products are and whether the results are worth the effort.

Besides the fact that drying is obtained very tasty productIt is also very useful for our body.To begin with, the composition of the dried fruit includes a large amount of iron and copper, which positively affects the level of hemoglobin, which increases the protective functions of the body. Also in the dry form a large number of concentrated fructose and sucrosetherefore, a light snack of dry cherries will give you enough energy.

Despite the fact that the dry berry contains a large amount of sugar, it is considered dietary productdue to pectin substances that regulate digestion and, first of all, the absence of fat in the composition.

Also, the dried version helps to remove sputum when coughing, so dried cherries help to get rid of colds.

Rejection and preparation of cherries

Berry for drying should be collected at the moment when it reached the maximum ripeness, or even a little dried up in the sun. In the second case, you will spend less time on drying.

Next, we need to wash all the berries, remove spoiled, rotten and damaged, so that in the process of drying does not rot all raw materials.

After rejection, additional preparation can be carried out, which will shorten the drying time and, at the same time, will in no way affect the taste. Selected berries can be dipped for a few seconds in a weak soda solution (up to 1%), or just pour boiling water (do not soak it!).

Rinsing in baking soda will cause the formation of small pores on the skin, through which moisture will evaporate faster.

With or without bones

Immediately it should be said that the choice will be based not on your preferences or resource costs, but on the method of drying.

The fact is that cherries with pits are best dried in the open air, as flies will not land on it and, accordingly, products will survive to the collection and storage unscathed.

If you want to dry the berry without a bone, then you have to confine dryer or oven, since too many "willing" ones will flow to the sweet aroma, after which the berry will be unsuitable for long-term storage.

Of course, you can cover the cherry with gauze or something else, but the fruit flies will make it through any hole and ruin the whole process for you.

Do not think that whole berry will dry for a long time. In conditions of good ventilation and high summer temperatures, drying will take only a few days, not more.

Drying methods

Next we will talk about how to make dried cherries using various tools. Choose for you the easiest option.

In the open air

Let's start with the simplest variant of drying cherries - natural.

1. Wash and clean the fruit from the stem.
2. We take light fabric or special sieves, on which we lay the fruits in one row.
3. We place the cherry in an open, well-lit place. It is also worth considering that the site should be well blown by the wind.
4. If necessary, cover with a grid with small cells so that the worms do not "settle" in the fruit.

Drying is carried out only in the daytime. At night, all products are better to clean the house so that it does not get wet.

On average, drying in fresh air takes 2–3 days; however, one should take into account the overall air temperature, the strength of the wind and the absence of clouds.

In the oven

Immediately it should be said that in the presence of good weather and free space, it is better not to use the oven. This technique is not intended for drying, therefore, in case of an error, you can get baked berry. It is worth starting with preparation. In this case, be sure to cut the cherries into halves and remove the bone. This is done not only in order to get a completely ready-to-eat product, but also so that the berry dries out faster.

1. Wash the fruit, peel off the stalks and cut into 2 parts.
2. Prepare baking sheet, we cover it with baking paper.
3. We spread the halves of cherries cut down in a single layer. We place them so that in the process of drying they do not stick together, becoming a homogeneous mass.
4. We set the temperature in the oven to about 165 ° C and, if there is such a function, turn on the strong airflow.If there is no such function, then it is worthwhile to place the cherry only in the preheated oven, while leaving the door ajar.
5. Dried about 3 hours.
6. Remove the cherry for half an hour, so that it is cooled and aired.
7. Again, put in the oven, exposing the temperature at 135 ° C.
8. At a lower temperature, dry the berry for about 16 hours.

To prevent the drying process from spoiling your equipment or baking the berry, periodically remove the cherries from the oven and allow them to cool and ventilate. Also, an oven at this time will be able to "relax."

In the electric dryer

Now let's figure out how to dry cherries in an electric dryer. Immediately it is worth saying that boil cherries in sugar syrup we will not. Firstly, it is an additional investment of time and resources, secondly, the calorie content of products, which are already rather big, increases, and thirdly, in the process of heat treatment we destroy most of the vitamins, which is unwise.

So, we start with the cleaning of the "legs" and bones. Do not forget to pre-wash the cherry, so that it does not have dirt.

1. We lay out the products on the lattices for vegetables so that the halves are not in contact with each other.
2. We set the temperature in the region of 60-65 ° С.
3. Dry about 3-3.5 hours.
4. Check the berries.

Of course, this option of drying is most often used in tandem with cooking in sugar syrup, however, as mentioned above, we do not need such hassle. If the cherry is not completely dry, you can still hold it in the dryer, or, after a break of half an hour, re-dry at the same temperature.

How to determine readiness

The finished berry should be shriveled, dark, resemble dried cherries, which we often see in the trees.

The product must be plastic, dry to the touch. Also pay attention to the liquid, which should not stand out when pressed.

How to store dried cherries at home

We finish the article with information on how to store dried cherries.

Fully dry product stored not more than a yeareven if it was dried perfectly. In order not to shorten the shelf life, part of the berries, which will be used in the next month, can be placed in a glass jar. The rest of the products are best hidden in paper or cotton bags, in which the fruits will be well ventilated and not “suffocated”. Since we use “tara”, which allows air to pass through, we need to protect the dryer from excessive moisture. To do this, choose a place where never appears mold or fungus. At the same time, storing cherries close to batteries or heating pipes is not recommended.

Well, now you have enough knowledge to prepare a delicious berry for the winter. Try to use the natural version of the drying, so that the fruit does not lose vitamins from the strong heat. In this case, it is better not to improvise, otherwise you will get a large number of berries unsuitable for storage.