Drying black currant for the winter. When to collect and how to dry the leaves of black currant for tea?

The article describes the methods of drying berries and blackcurrant leaves.

Drying black currant for the winter. When to collect and how to dry the leaves of black currant for tea?

Dedicated to those who want to find out the drying methods. In this article, you will learn how to dry the berry in the oven, microwave, electric dryer or the sun.

How much and at what temperature to dry black currants and at home?

Black currants have an unusually rich taste and aroma, and is also very good for health, but for long storage the berry is not suitable. When canned, due to heat treatment, most vitamins disappear from the berry, so drying is the best option for storing blackcurrant, this can be done at home if you know certain rules:

• Collect currant for drying only on a sunny day, when dew comes, otherwise the berries will not be stored
• Make sure that all berries are quite mature, saturated black
• Before drying the collected fruits, rinse well and remove rotten or crushed currants
• Dry berries in three stages, choosing a different drying temperature
• For the first stage, the temperature should not exceed 60 ° C, in the following - increase the temperature by 20 ° C, at the last stage, again lower the temperature to the initial level, so that the berry does not burn, and evenly dried up
• Depending on the drying method, the cooking time will fluctuate from 2 minutes to 7 days

Dried black currant

The methods of drying berries in the furnace have gone far into the past, modern housewives use other means that simplify the process several times. You will learn about them later.

How to dry currant for the winter in the oven

If the cellar is full of currant jam and compotes, and the freezer is filled to a frozen berry, you can resort to such a workpiece as drying. One of the most common drying tools is the oven, you will need to go through certain stages to get dried blackcurrant:

• At the beginning of the berries, wash thoroughly and remove crushed and crumpled fruits
• On a cotton towel in 1 layer, put the currant and let the excess fluid drain
• While the berries dry out, prepare the baking sheet and turn on the oven at 60 ° C
• Put parchment paper on a baking sheet and put the berries in one layer, do not put the currants very closely, otherwise the berries will dry only on top, but not on the side
• Leave the currant at the indicated temperature for 3 hours, periodically turning the berries for uniform drying
• For a sample, take one berry and squeeze it with your fingers, if the juice does not stand out, it means that the currant has already dried up enough
• Pour the finished currant into a jar with a dense lid and store in a dry, cool place

Berries are ready for drying in the oven

Important: make sure that the cover on the jar where dried currants are stored is tightly closed, otherwise insects can attack the sweet and fragrant berry

If you have a mesh for drying berries, it will be an excellent solution, it can be put on a baking sheet and you will no longer need to use parchment. With 5 kg of fresh currants you will get 1 kg of dried berry.

How to dry currant for the winter in an electric dryer

A very convenient way of drying currants is the use of electric dryer, which significantly save your time and silts. But to obtain the desired result, you must remember the following rules:

• Correct preparation of berries - be sure to wash and remove the legs from the berries before drying, take it off crushed and crumpled currants and leave it for compote
• Exclude humidity - after the currant is well washed, be sure to put it on a towel, since even the minimum amount of moisture can lead to rotting of the fruit
• Set the correct temperature regime - there are a lot of programs in modern kitchen novelties, the dryer is no exception, select a program for berries so that drying is as effective as possible. Basically, such a mode regulates the temperature of about 60 ° C
• Exclude multi -layer - do not put too many berries on the drying pallet, so currants will not be dried qualitatively, and in the future it will negatively affect the storage of the product
• Do not overdry the berry - on average, in a dryer dryer, currants are dried for about 8 hours, so you can safely leave the berries for the night

Currants in an electric dryer are a quick way to get a delicious product

Important: Do not accelerate the cooking process, setting a temperature of 100 ° C, otherwise, despite the saving of time, you will lose a lot of useful vitamins from currants

The process of drying currants in an electric dryer, although it seems very long, but in fact you do not need much effort, which determines a positive emphasis in this method. If you already have a similar device, it's time to harvest

How to dry currants in the sun?

Drying fruits and berries in the sun is one of the simplest and most ancient ways for which special devices are not needed, but only good weather is enough. In order for currant berries, the following actions need to be performed efficiently and quickly:

• Look at the weather forecast, whether the rain is planned for a while of the planned drying, and if so, then the workpiece will have to be transferred. In the case when sunny weather is expected in the week, you can proceed to the next stage
• Collect or purchase currant berries and wash them well, take bad fruits
• Choose a sunny, well -ventilated place in the courtyard, the roof of the house is ideal
• Spread sheets of cardboard or wooden pallets and put currants on them in one layer
• Turn the berries over a day, so they will dry evenly
• At night, transfer black currants under a canopy so that a random night rain does not spoil the process

Black currant berries are ready for drying in the sun

Important: do not use metal sheets for drying, because the metal will oxidize in the place where it comes into contact with the berries, this may affect the taste of currants

Depending on the weather, the drying process can take you from 3 to 7 days. In order for flies to sit on the berries, you can cover them with gauze, so the duration of drying will increase, but, but the currant will be clean, not touched by insects.

How to dry currants in the microwave?

In mid -July, it's time to think about the harvesting for the winter. To get fragrant dried berries for compote or baking, you can use a microwave oven, for this:

• Wash and dry currants, select crushed and rotten berries
• On a plate in the microwave, put the fruits into 1 layer
• Turn on the oven for 3-5 minutes in 180 watts mode
• Every 25-30 seconds, check the condition of the berries
• Check the readiness of the berries to the touch - properly dried currants should be moderately soft, while the juice should not be released from it
• Fold the dried currants in a jar or linen bag and close tightly, such a berry can be stored up to 2 years

Important: Due to the effects of electromagnetic vibrations, drying berries in the microwave passes comprehensively and quickly, so be sure to make sure that the currants do not burn or become unnecessarily dried

Currant for drying in the microwave

Drying blackcurrant in the microwave is one of the fastest ways, in addition, thanks to this method, the maximum amount of useful vitamins is preserved in the berry.

When to collect and how to dry the leaves of black currant for tea?

Tea from currant leaves is not only famous for its aroma and exquisite taste, but is also widely used as a therapeutic agent for colds. In order for the leaves to bring the desired effect, it is necessary to collect and dry them correctly and correctly:

• Collect blackcurrant leaves from mid -August to early September, in dry sunny weather
• Choose bright green leaves without defects and diseases
• Tear only the middle sheets, without paying attention to the upper and lower, leave them for the development of the bush next season
• Dry the leaves in the open air, in the oven or electric dryer
• On the street leaves the leaves on a sheet of cardboard or newspaper and put on a flat surface, the roof will be the perfect option, there the leaves will be dried for about 2 days
• To dry currant leaves in the oven or electric dryer, you will need to twist them into a tube and put them in a bowl, leaving in a warm place at night. In the morning, cut the leaves and put on a baking sheet or on the pallet of the electric dryer, dry at a temperature of 80 ° C 1.5-2 hours
• Store dried blackcurrant leaves in a tightly closed jar and a cool place

In black currants, not only berries are useful, but also leaves

Tea made of dried blackcurrant leaves is unusually aromatic and tasty. You can supplement the exquisite taste with honey to replenish vitamins in the cold season.

Video: How to dry blackcurrant leaves, ducks tea?