Hawthorn is a great way to relieve stress. Brewing a few berries in a mug with your favorite tea, you will feel complete relaxation and a simultaneous burst of energy.
You also need to remember that hawthorn is a natural antiseptic. Gastrointestinal upset is your best helper.
Well, if hawthorn is at least sometimes present in your diet. This means that you always get plenty of vitamins and nutrients.
Hawthorn can be eaten with any food - it is added to cereals, ice cream is eaten with it, and also eaten with other fruits and berries. Hawthorn bloom and ripening season is very shortso do not forget to stock up on this useful berry in the period from August to September.
Remember that hawthorn is source of natural vitamin c as well as omega 3. These vitamins are called beauty vitamins. In addition to the invaluable contribution to the cardiovascular system and intestinal tract, hawthorn will not damage your beauty. Even in ancient Russia, hawthorn served as a tasty and useful alternative to all sorts of other berries, because the content of vitamins in hawthorn is many times greater than other berries and fruits.
In this article we want to figure out how to save the hawthorn and enjoy it as long as possible. Among all sorts of ways to store freezing and preservation there is a perception that drying the berries is very harmful for nutrients. Like it or not, we will understand in this article and find the truth, and also teach you how to properly dry hawthorn in an electric dryer, microwave, and in general at home.
Where can I dry?
The question is certainly correct, but if you answer it in the sun, then you will be infinitely wrong. In fact, hawthorn is a berry that should never be substituted for ultraviolet rays. The man himself also avoids the sun. Remember, going to the beach, we smear various creams with protection from the sun's rays. So why should we trust the sun rays hawthorn. In fact, hawthorn should not be in contact with the rays, being separated from the tree.
The fact is that ultraviolet completely kills all nutrients even with an hour of exposure to the berry. Imagine what will happen if the hawthorn will lie under direct sunlight for more than one day.
Of course, all this is very sad, but a man invented many instruments that allow him to dry the berries at home, without exposing the sun. Of course, the methods of drying are significantly different from each other, so our task is to examine each and draw our own conclusions.
Step-by-step instruction
Before proceeding with the drying of hawthorn in an electric dryer, microwave, read the instructions carefully to avoid errors.
Training
Hawthorn first of all must be properly prepared, only then the whole drying process will take place correctly. Hawthorn is carefully sorted out. You must exclude all sorts of twigs, leaves, and in our process there is no place for rotten berries and unripe fruits.
During this time, all the dirt and dust left on the berry will begin to leave its surface and remain on the water. You only then get the berry and wash it under running water.
Next you should pay attention to drying the berries. Before it gets into one of the listed devices, it should dry out. You need to put the berry in a dry place and wait a couple of hours until it is completely dry. Only then can you start preparing for the real drying of the berries for the winter.
What to dry?
- Electrodryer
If you asked the question: “How to dry the hawthorn in an electric dryer?”, Then you should be prepared for a complex and time-consuming, several-hour process. The advantage of this procedure is that you can see the drying process firsthand and, if necessary, regulate the flow of heat to the machine.The downside is that the time for cooking is incredibly stretched and can take a very long time. Not everyone has the determination to wait so much time.
The tray should be located right in the center of the heating element so that the heat is evenly distributed inside. Do not set the tray too high or too low. You run the risk of dry the berry, or vice versa do not dry it.
- Convection oven.
Drying takes more than a few hours in a convection oven, and the portions of berries that fit in the convection oven are much smaller. - Microwave
As for the microwave, then you need to be able to properly handle it. The disadvantage of this method is a large power consumption, plus is that you can check readiness at any time.
What time is it?
In the electric dryer drying lasts at least five hours, and no more than eight, otherwise you risk burning or completely draining the berry. There are no modes in the electric dryer, so all you have to do is set the temperature correctly.
While drying in convection oven involves drying for eight or ten hours due to the fact that the density of heating is not the same as in the oven. As for the aerogrill, only the temperature and speed of the blower are also important here. Therefore, the set temperature in the convection oven and oven will be different.
Drying berries in the microwave stretches for several days due to the fact that all the berries can not fit inside. Hawthorn is sent to the microwave in small portions. But this method is perfect if you have few collected fruits.
As for the microwave oven, here it is necessary to set the mode equal to 300 watts or even 600 watts at the mark of the oven handle. If you do not have such marks, then set the following mode after defrosting, sometimes setting the temperature a little more for a while moving to the next mode at 600 watts. When the berry is almost ready, return to the 300 watt mark.
Temperature conditions
So the next important question that comes up during the drying process: “At what temperature?”, We hasten to warn you that the answer may be different depending on the available technology. For example, in the dryer you need to put the hawthorn and only then start its heating. First, the temperature should be equal to 60ºС, then, after a couple of hours, transfer to fifty or forty and two hours before the readiness is ready again to return the temperature to sixty.
Concerning aerogrill with him need to be careful. It heats up just like an electric dryer, but at the expense of a fan with hot air, the heating itself is carried out many times more. Plus, because of the small roominess of the aerogrill, the space heats up faster and the berry can burn out. This should not be allowed. Set the temperature to sixty and, as the heating of the air convection unit is heated, reduce it to a lower value for several hours. Then you can return to the highest and again decrease by decreasing.
As you remember, no degrees in the microwave, and there are regimes with which we have already clarified the situation.
Determine readiness
Readiness is determined equally in each case. For example, readiness is determined by the expiration of the time specified in this article. The taste of the berry should be dry, but the pulp should still be pressed in it. Juice should not stand out, as it is corrected and leaves nutrients in the berry.
Also, the berry can be identified for readiness by color. For example, if a berry has a slightly transparent red or copper shade, then it is ready. It is also very difficult to break her fingers. There is no juice in the berry. Berry is a bit wrinkled. Here are the basic principles of a readiness check. To eat such berries immediately. They should be allowed to cool.
Recipes
Dry hawthorn can with the addition of various spices. For example cinnamon, bergamot or almond nut. Also, ginger is sometimes added to the hawthorn. This will come a savory flavor. This berry is good for tea and for mulled wine.
Conclusion
Hawthorn is very useful, so do not deny yourself the pleasure to keep it for the winter. That is a great pleasure to add it to drinks and food, and you will never spoil any dishes with such berries. Therefore, we hope that after reading the article you understand how to dry hawthorn in a microwave oven and not only, and begin to dry the berry today.