How to dry rose hips in a gas stove oven. How to dry rose hips at home and which method is better? Preparing berries for drying

07.07.2017 4 584

How to dry rose hips - 5 proven methods at home

Housewives are often interested in how to dry rose hips at home for the winter in order to preserve everything beneficial features berries? Harvesting methods wild rose several, the most popular of them is the oven gas stove, or electric. By the way, an electric dryer, dehydrator or convection oven are devices with which you can quickly and efficiently dry fruits, and how to do this correctly, read on...

Features of natural drying

To properly dry rose hips at home, you need to choose a well-ventilated and dry place. There should be no bright or scorching sunlight in the room where the procedure will take place to avoid the loss of vitamin C, which is destroyed by ultraviolet radiation.

Collection of berries for drying and winter storage occurs from late summer until frost.

It is worth noting that unripe fruits contain greatest number ascorbic acid, and later - sugar.

Harvest in areas remote from roads and polluted areas, as the plant quickly absorbs harmful elements. It is necessary to tear whole fruits along with sepals and stalks.

There is no need to wash the crop before drying, as the fruit will only gain additional moisture. Properly dried wild rose berries retain beneficial substances for up to 3 years. Traditional drying of rose hips at home involves avoiding high temperatures. So, you need to do the following:

• Sort through the fruits, trim off too long stalks
• Place the prepared berries on plywood or cardboard, spreading them evenly over the surface
• Let stand for 3-4 weeks (depending on air humidity), periodically turning over to the other side
• When the berries are dry and begin to break, transfer them to a cardboard box and keep for a few more days. Cardboard will absorb excess moisture

You can store the workpiece in jars with ventilated lids, linen bags or paper boxes. However, this harvesting method is not the most reliable, since fruits collected in rainy times can simply rot, and all the work will go down the drain. Therefore it is worth considering more quick methods, affordable homes.

How to dry rose hips in a gas stove oven correctly?

Whole dry berries must be sorted and evenly spread on a baking sheet in a cold oven. The position of the baking sheet should be in the middle, after which we begin the preparation process:

Properly dried fruits do not change color or wrinkle, so this preparation can be sent to the pantry for further storage. If the wild rose has darkened, this indicates that the temperature during drying has been exceeded. Some housewives set the temperature to 30 degrees and leave the fruits for the whole day. To dry the raw materials for tea, put herbs on a baking sheet, then the fruits become more aromatic and even healthier.

How to dry rose hips in an electric oven?

An electric oven is drier, so the process in this case takes much less time (about 4 hours), although there is a high probability of spoiling the workpiece, depriving the berries of all their beneficial properties. Therefore, the drying process must take place under constant supervision by the housewife.

rose hips after drying - in the photo drying rose hips in an electric oven - pictured

For the procedure to proceed correctly, you first need to set the temperature in the oven to + 40 °C. This is explained by the fact that an electric oven is much drier than a gas oven and heats up faster. From sharp drop temperatures, fruits can lose a lot of moisture, which means they can lose useful substances. Over the course of 3-4 hours, the temperature is evenly raised to 60 degrees in several stages and the oven is turned off and left until it cools completely. This way the rose hips will reach full readiness.

If you decide to use a convection oven, do not forget that the fan is driving hot air, which increases the rate of moisture release from the fruit. With this option, the temperature should not be increased more than +40 °C degrees, so as not to deprive the workpiece useful vitamins. Remember that which, not everyone knows, must be used with caution, especially by young children.

Electric dryer, dehydrator and convection oven for drying rose hips

If you don’t know how to dry rose hips in an electric dryer, then read the instructions:

1. Cleaned from dirt and spoilage, rose hips should be evenly placed on an electric dryer.
2. Expose temperature regime+40 …+50 °C and start the process for 9-12 hours depending on the size of the rose hips
3. When the fruits begin to break well, the berries are ready.

Please note that to dry rose hips in an oven or electric dryer, you need to set correct temperature, at which the entire process is carried out, so a high degree allows you to save time spent on workpieces. But, at high temperatures, there is a high probability of losing all the beneficial properties of wild roses.

The most progressive version of an electric dryer is a dehydrator - this is a more modern device that evenly distributes hot air flows throughout the container. Used for preparing dried vegetables, fruits, berries, chips. To dry rose hips in a dehydrator, the peeled fruits are sent to the device for minimum temperature and are processed within 12 hours. The exact time of how long the procedure will last depends on individual characteristics device.

To dry rose hips with an air fryer, the selected berries must be washed, dried and placed on nets. Remember, you need to leave a gap between the lid and the air fryer for unobstructed access fresh air. Set the temperature to +55…+60 °C and adjust the maximum airflow, the whole procedure will take no more than 4 hours.

Is it possible to freeze rose hips?

Many housewives wonder whether it is possible to freeze rose hips? Not only is it possible, but it is necessary! Wild rose can be frozen as whole berries, halves, or as a puree. Some people recommend freezing even the leaves of the bush. So, to put fruits in the freezer, you first need to do the following:

frozen rose hips - pictured

• Whole berries are washed, peeled from the stalk and sepals, dried on a towel and laid out in one layer on a tray, after which they are frozen. When they are completely frozen, they can be transferred to bags or plastic boxes
• Halves of the berries must be frozen in one layer, and then transferred to a more convenient container; such a preparation will be useful in making infusions and teas
• To prepare the puree, the washed and peeled fruits are cut and the seeds are removed. The resulting slices are poured with water and left for 3 days to soften the pulp. Afterwards, the workpiece is processed through a meat grinder, sieve or blender. It’s convenient to put the puree into molds and freeze it, then put it in a bag
• You can freeze wild rose leaves to make tea. The leaves are washed, dried and placed in sealed bags, after which they can be frozen

Whole frozen fruits can be stored in the refrigerator for about a year, and chopped and pureed preparations can be stored for 9 months.

To prepare wild roses for the winter, you can use a conventional oven, convection oven, electric dryer and freezer - all these devices significantly reduce time costs and make the housewife’s work easier. However, it is strictly not recommended to use a microwave; if the external integrity of the berry is preserved, it will simply cook inside. Knowing how to prepare medicinal raw materials, you can prepare teas, decoctions, fruit drinks and many other dishes rich in healthy vitamins.

But not all rose hips are suitable for consumption, and even more so, not everyone is able to cure you of ailments. Only properly prepared fruits can be included in your recipes, because otherwise, you can cause harm to your body. In this article we will talk about how to properly process the berries and at what temperature rose hips are dried in the oven so that even cold winter be able to enjoy your favorite taste and use them in medicinal purposes.

Short description

First, let's figure out whether it is possible to dry rose hips in the oven and what kind of berry it is? People have been drying berries and fruits since before our era. They placed the collected fruits in front of the fire and waited for them to begin to lose moisture and change in shape. Even in those distant times, people realized that such fruits last longer, which means they also carry benefits. Many people mistakenly believe that drying rose hips in the oven causes negative effect. This is a big misconception.

All berries and fruits that are sold in a dried state are brought to this form in special ovens, and their benefits are no less than fresh ones.

Some prefer oven drying, the same procedure in sunlight. This should never be done, especially when it comes to rose hips. Under influence ultraviolet rays the berries actually dry out, but at the same time the beneficial substances that are so necessary for therapeutic effect. It turns out, by drying rose hips in the sun you get, in fact, a demon useful product .

Step-by-step instruction

In this section you will learn the details of how to dry rose hips in the oven, as well as find some of the tips from experienced housewives.

Preparation

The key to proper drying is the right approach for preparing berries. Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge, many people make mistakes in this process, as a result of which the berries also lose their beneficial properties.

Do not rinse rose hips in cold water. Better take a container with hot water and put the berries there for 10 - 15 minutes.

After time, drain the water and rinse the berries. This way they will wash much better and will not lose their vitamins. But immediately after this procedure, it is still impossible to dry the rose hips. Leave the tray with fruits in dark room for one and a half or two hours. During this time, the berries will dry and be ready for further manipulation.

Before putting the berries in the oven, it is necessary to sort them out. Remove rotten or very unripe berries. They are of no use to you.

Don't tear off the stem, otherwise, as the temperature heats up, all the juice will flow out and there will be no beneficial properties left in the rosehip. Many people make a big mistake and cut the berries in half. This also should not be allowed, because the juice will not linger inside the fruit. At this point, the preparation of the berries is completed, and we move on to the procedure of drying the rose hips in the oven.

What to dry in?

The berries should be dried on a baking sheet covered with special paper. It is good if your baking tray or baking dish is clean and used for the first time. Do not lubricate the surface with anything. Before all the berries fall on it, it must certainly be dry. The berries should be positioned so that they do not touch each other. Otherwise, the fruits may stick together and release juice when separated.

If all the fruits don’t fit on one dish, don’t be upset. It’s better to repeat the procedure, because it’s in your best interests to get excellent, tasty, and most importantly - healthy berries.

It's a question of time

The oven should not be preheated until the berries fall into it. Only after the baking sheet is inside, start heating. According to general observations, berries can dry from five to seven hours, while the position of the baking sheet in the oven should be exactly in the middle.

Drying mode

Mode for drying berries better to choose baking. It is with this heating method that the oven is able to dry fruits in record time. a short time and at the same time, without taking away their beneficial properties.

Temperature

So at what temperature are rose hips dried in the oven at home? Drying of berries is expected at a temperature of 50 - 70 degrees. According to the experience of many enterprises, this temperature is ideal for drying and is not capable of harming the berries.

Determining readiness

If you are doing the drying procedure for the first time, then you need to know how to determine the readiness of the berries. Firstly, focus on time. By selecting required temperature, note the time and after it has expired, turn off the oven and remove the berries.

If you doubt that you can correctly calculate the temperature and time frame, then take a closer look at appearance . The rose hips should acquire a copper tint, while becoming slightly transparent. But as they cool, you can taste the pulp and a little moisture in the form of juice.

Electric oven

If you asked the question: “How to dry rose hips in an electric oven?”, since you don’t have a gas oven, then you should read the section below.

Distinctive features

Drying in an electric oven is different from drying in a gas oven. Let's figure out what these differences are? An electric oven is drier, than gas, therefore it can much faster turn rose hips into a dried fruit, devoid of useful substances. That is why the drying process in such an oven should be under your close supervision.

So, how long does it take to dry rose hips? The time allotted for the procedure should be much less, about four hours. The temperature should be set to forty degrees, because an electric oven heats up faster than a gas oven, which means that the rosehip may lose juice due to a sharp temperature change.

Gradually, over four hours, increase the temperature from forty to sixty and turn off electric oven.

Oven with convection

If you dry rose hips in an oven with a fan, then you should also think about lowering the temperature and reducing the drying time. The fan ensures that it blows hot air over the berries with such force that the juice from them can spill out at any minute, which means there will be no useful substances left.

That's why reduce the temperature to forty degrees, and leave the time of its influence on the berries at five hours. Remember to periodically check the berries to ensure they are ready. Now you know how to properly dry rose hips in a fan-powered oven.

Drying recipes for gas oven

Many housewives have long developed their own rules for drying rose hips in the oven of a gas stove, which differ significantly from accepted standards. For example, some people set the temperature to thirty degrees and leave the berries to simmer in the oven all day.

Thus, according to the craftswomen, the berries are more fragrant and aromatic. And here drying with herbs good for those who prepare berries to add to tea– the taste of rose hips and aromatic herbs can win the hearts of even the most notorious gourmets.

Introductory video

A short video will help you understand in more detail the issue of drying rose hips at home in the oven.

Conclusion

Once the drying process is complete, remove the berries from the oven and leave them to cool in a dark, dry place. Doctors do not advise eating berries in the first hours after drying.

Let the rosehip sit for a week and only then use it for your own purposes. At this moment, the berry is as good as possible for eating, and all necessary vitamins recovered after thermal exposure.

Take care of your health, especially when such delicious fruits take part in maintaining it. Remember that only you can influence how long the beneficial properties of the berries you prepare will be stored, and after cooking, enjoy their taste for a whole year!

Speaking about rose hips, first of all, we mean its red, glossy fruits, with which the thorny bushes are strewn. However, collecting several kilograms of this stuff will not be difficult. But you should collect it away from the roads, somewhere in the forest or park.

What is good about rose hips is the ability to consume them all year round, so in your herbal medicine cabinet they should be on par with and sea ​​buckthorn oil- always at hand. It’s just that most herbalists don’t have enough of it for the whole year – they haven’t dried it enough. To prepare the required amount of raw materials, work should begin in September. Until October, the fruits will have the optimal amount of vitamins, which will disappear with the first frost.

For drying, it is recommended to take slightly unripe fruits, which have a hard, shiny surface. It is important to preserve the receptacle and stalk when harvesting - this minimizes the loss of vitamin C during drying. Pay attention to the direction of the leaves of the calyx: if they are directed upwards, you have a high-vitamin species in front of you, which should be collected. But the low-vitamin rosehip has sepals that are bent downwards - the benefits from such fruits are minimal.

How to dry rose hips correctly - preserving vitamins

The popularity of rose hips is due to its ability to preserve vitamins better than others. However, much depends on the harvesting methods. Some dry it in the attic, spread out in a thin layer, others in the oven. However, these methods have disadvantages: raw materials can rot in the attic and lose their beneficial properties in the oven due to too high a temperature.

The most versatile and convenient way of drying is in the oven.. It is important to dry the fruit immediately after picking, and not after a day or two. The longer you wait to dry, the less vitamins will remain in them. The faster the drying process occurs, the more vitamins will remain. Before putting rose hips in the oven, you should not wash the fruits - after placing them on metal sieves, you should immediately begin the process.

You are probably interested in the question of how to dry rose hips in the oven so as not to bake the fruits? The optimal temperature to start with is 40 °C, gradually raising it by another 20 °C. You can no longer increase the temperature - the peel will harden much faster than the core, trapping moisture inside. And this is fraught with damage to the product in the future. It is important to keep the oven door ajar to prevent burning. In total, drying will take up to 10 hours.

Rosehip – how to store vitamins?

After this lengthy procedure, the fruits should be poured into a tight box or box so that the so-called “sweating” occurs - simply put, the equalization of humidity. This process will take up to 3 days.

Further storage is in tightly closed boxes, jars or fabric bags. The container must be clean and without any foreign odors. To vitamin complex did not collapse during storage, keep boxes, boxes and bags away from sunlight. Rose hips can be stored in this preserved form for up to two years.

Drink rosehip decoction with the addition of to boost your immunity during winter colds and flu. He is also appointed to traditional medicine, for example, for kidney disease or to strengthen blood vessels. Dried fruits can be used as part of various herbal infusions, and independently. Remember that rose hips contain a hundred times more vitamin C than apples!

The deciduous rosehip shrub, covered with thorny shoots, has been known for its beneficial properties since ancient times. It was cultivated in ancient China, India, Iran, Central Asia, in Southern Europe, in the Middle East. The plant has many varieties, the most common of which are: Dahurian rosehip, needlehip, cinnamon, dogrose.

Useful properties of rose hips

The most valuable is the pulp of the fruit, which contains tannins, organic acids, carotene, pectins, flavonoids; microelements – potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, manganese, iron, silicon; vitamins C, K, E, P, A, B2. There are varieties with high and low vitamin content. Moreover, an interesting trend has been noticed: rose hips growing in the north contain more ascorbic acid than those growing in the southern regions. That is why he was nicknamed the “orange of the north.”

Rosehip infusion is considered real healing potion. It tones, improves immunity, regulates metabolism, reduces pain, is excellent prophylactic from scurvy. It is used for gastrointestinal diseases, colds, rheumatism, kidney stone disease, neurasthenia, tuberculosis, cystitis, vitamin deficiency. A decoction of the roots of the plant has an astringent, choleretic, and antiseptic effect.

Contraindications

Despite the fact that rose hips are very useful, a decoction of its fruits should not be taken by people prone to thrombophlebitis, suffering from constipation, or increased acidity gastric juice. Hypertensive patients should avoid alcohol tinctures rosehip. Those who are prone to allergies have cardiovascular diseases and suffers from liver dysfunction, you should not abuse it often healing drink. Rosehip infusion can be taken during pregnancy if there is no individual intolerance or other contraindications.

Rosehip harvest time

The date October 1 in the folk calendar is called the day of Arina Rosepovnitsa, since in Rus' the fruits of the plant were most often collected and stored for future use at this time. However, it would be incorrect to say that this date is correct and optimal. After all, a lot depends on the variety of rose hips, weather conditions in a certain climatic zone, microclimate of the site, phase of plant development. Most often, the plant's fruits are harvested in early or mid-October, when they ripen and turn dark red in color. They should be dense, not flaccid and not wrinkled - in this case they contain more vitamins. But if you are late with the preparations, the rose hips can be collected later. The main thing is to do this before the onset of frost, as a result of the destructive effects of which all the vitamins in the plant are destroyed.

How to collect rose hips correctly

To medicinal plant brought maximum benefit, it will not be enough to know only how to dry and brew rose hips. It still needs to be assembled correctly.

Firstly, only those fruits that grow far from the roadway, in an ecologically clean area, are suitable for collection.

Secondly, when collecting, you need to distinguish low-vitamin varieties from high-vitamin varieties. In species with a low vitamin content, the sepals are lowered down and pressed against the surface of the fruit. In high-vitamin varieties, the sepals stand upright.

How to dry rose hips

Surprisingly, during the drying process, rose hips retain all their beneficial substances. But you need to know how to do it correctly. First, the harvested crop must be sorted and spoiled and bug-infested fruits must be thrown away. Do not wash the fruits under any circumstances! Rose hips can be dried whole or cut into halves. The berries will retain more vitamins if they are dried in a short period of time. In addition, the fruits should not be dried in direct sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation destroys the beneficial substances of the plant.

Drying rose hips naturally

The disadvantage of this method is that it takes longer, plus there is a high probability of fruit rotting. Spread the fruits in a thin layer on trays and place them in the attic or in a well-ventilated room. If the rosehip is laid in a thick layer, it is likely that it will dry out slowly and rot. Cover the top of the fruit with a thin cloth or paper to prevent sun exposure. Don’t forget to stir the berries periodically so that they dry evenly on all sides.

Drying rose hips artificially

There are several ways to speed up the drying process. You can dry it on gas using special dryers. Another way is drying in a Russian oven. Rose hips are placed in it about three hours after finishing heating. In this way, the rose hips dry for about 9-10 hours. However, these drying methods are not very convenient and acceptable.

More universal method drying rose hips - in a modern oven, which allows you to maintain low temperatures. Otherwise you will have to dry it with the door ajar. The fruits must be laid out in one layer on a metal sieve or on an iron grid with small holes. IN as a last resort, can be laid out on a regular baking sheet. Drying begins at forty degrees, and after one or two hours the temperature can be increased to sixty degrees. At the same time, keep the oven door slightly open to allow steam to escape.

It’s not bad if the oven has an air convection function. Stir the fruits constantly and make sure they don’t burn. Usually this drying takes 8-9 hours. Another option: first hold the rose hips, laid out on a wire rack, at a temperature of 100 degrees for 5-10 minutes, and then dry for 7-9 hours at a temperature of 70-75 degrees with constant stirring, without completely closing the oven door. After the drying process is complete, remove the sepals from the fruit.

How can you tell if rose hips have dried well enough? Squeeze the rosehip with your fingers: if it does not wrinkle and is springy, then it has dried well. If the fruit crumbles, it means it is very dry.

How to store dry rose hips?

After removing the rose hips from the oven, place them in fabric bags or cardboard boxes. Keep the fruits in them at room temperature for two to three days to even out the humidity. Then transfer the rose hips into tin or glass jars and place them on a shelf for storage. It is better not to close the containers with tight lids, but to tie them with a piece of gauze. This way, air circulation will occur and the fruits will not become moldy. Dry fruits are perfectly preserved for three years.

Very effective method storage means freezing fruits. However, large volumes of rose hips will require very large freezers.

How to brew rosehip correctly?

Rose hips can be brewed whole or in crushed form. However, crushed rose hips can provide much more vitamins to the tincture.

Rinse the fruits with water, then grind through a meat grinder or finely chop with a knife. You can also crush dry fruits in a mortar or on a board using a rolling pin. Then pour boiling water over the rose hips (at the rate of 1 tablespoon of fruit per 200 ml of water), boil in a water bath for 15-30 minutes. Leave to infuse for 12-15 hours.

There is another way: pour the required amount of rose hips into a thermos, pour boiling water, close tightly and leave to steep for several hours or overnight. Before use, strain the broth through cheesecloth, add sugar, honey to taste, or take it in its natural form.

But many people notice that rosehip decoction, prepared in the usual and popular way, which is based on boiling, does not help much in treatment colds. What is the reason? The fact is that as soon as the water temperature begins to exceed 60 degrees, valuable vitamins are destroyed and evaporate from the rose hips along with the steam. Particularly sensitive to high temperature vitamin C, which plays an important role in strengthening the immune system. Doctor of Medical Sciences Elena Malysheva, in one of the “Live Healthy” programs, talked about how to brew rose hips correctly:

First you need to boil the water to neutralize it from the presence of unwanted microorganisms. Then you need to cool the water to a temperature of 60 degrees (use a water thermometer to measure the temperature). Then put crushed rose hips in water and leave for several 10-12 hours. You can also infuse it in a thermos, there desired temperature will last longer. After this, strain the rosehip infusion, and it is ready for use.

It is recommended to take 100 ml of rosehip infusion 2-3 times a day before meals for a month. Since the drink contains large quantities ascorbic acid, it promotes the leaching of calcium from teeth. Therefore, after taking a concentrated rosehip decoction, rinse your mouth with water.

Rose hips are a storehouse of vitamins and microelements, the beneficial properties of which are very difficult to overestimate. The healing capabilities of the product have been known since ancient times; healers used the fruits and roots to treat ailments.

Modern medicine recognizes the plant as a multivitamin; doctors prescribe rosehip to patients for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory and hemostatic substance, as well as as a remedy with an antibacterial effect.

However, not many people know how to dry rose hips at home, how to properly collect them and prepare them for storage during the winter months. And this is very important details, without which storage will be incorrect and the product may lose its healing properties. Therefore, the drying process should be carefully considered useful plant from the beginning to the end. In addition, further storage after harvesting wild rose fruits is important. If stored incorrectly, the berries will spoil and sooner or later they will have to be thrown away.

Preservation of nutrients during drying

Drying is the oldest method of harvesting fruits for long-term storage and use of berries in the off-season months. The peel of the fruit becomes coarser, becomes stony, all components shrink due to loss of moisture, the rose hips shrink almost in half in size.

During the drying process, all beneficial properties and microelements remain in the fruits. But for this you need to comply with certain conditions and rules of the drying process. For example, berries must be picked at a certain period of ripening and properly prepared for drying. Soft rose hips are no longer suitable for harvesting for the winter.

The process itself should occur slowly, without direct sunlight. The moisture from the fruit should leave gradually. Rapid evaporation of moisture is not allowed, otherwise the berry may lose its medicinal properties. Good air exchange in the room where the rosehip crop is dried is also important.

With proper preparation and drying, the shelf life of the fruit reaches 3 years. Berries can be stored for longer long term, but in this case, the beneficial properties of the fruit will decrease every day.

Traditional healers use rose hips literally everywhere in their recipes. They recommend adding medicinal fruits in everything healing mixtures. But the note to the composition notes that for therapeutic purposes it is better to use only berries from a harvest that is less than 1 year old. The longer the harvested rose hips are stored, the less beneficial properties remain in its fruits.

The composition of wild rose berries includes such elements as vitamin A, P, E, iron, manganese, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, riboflavin, tannins, malic acid and citric acid and other elements.

This is real multivitamin complex, which can be taken not only for treatment, but also for prevention various diseases. Doctors have been prescribing it for therapeutic and therapeutic purposes for many decades. for preventive purposes against flu and colds, to normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and other pathologies. Rose hips are also successfully used in cooking.

Rules for collecting berries for drying

In order for the harvest of dried rose hips to be truly useful and of high quality, you need to know where and how to properly collect the berries of the plant. It's no secret that fruits tend to absorb everything harmful substances that are in the environment.

Collection in city parks, front gardens and courtyards is not recommended, as there is a possibility that the berries have suffered from gases emitted by numerous vehicles and various industries. Today this is the main problem of large cities. That is why it is better to harvest in “wild” places, forest belts away from the bustle of the city and gas pollution, despite the fact that rose hips grow almost everywhere in our region.

It is very important that the weather when harvesting fruits is moderately wet or dry. It is unacceptable to pick ripe fruits in the rain. Excess moisture absorbed into the fruits can negatively affect the condition of the collected berries, preventing them from being properly dried.

The wild rose from which rose hips are harvested comes in two varieties:

• The first one has increased content vitamins and microelements - after tearing off the stalk, a wide round hole remains on the berry;
• The second type, the so-called dog rose, with least amount useful properties - after tearing off, a hole in the form of a pentagon remains on the berry.

When harvesting, it is better to choose the first type of berries for their rich mineral and vitamin composition. In addition, it is necessary to collect fruits in an environmentally friendly manner. clean places and pick them before they are fully ripe.

Hard skin with a matte surface and protruding sepals indicate that the berries are ready for picking and further drying in one way or another. They need to be picked together with the stalk, so that the vitamin C contained in the berries is fully preserved; during the drying process, they will disappear on their own.

Preparation stage

The berries require careful processing, and you should not delay this stage, since rose hips are a perishable product. After harvesting, drying should begin on the same day or the next. Otherwise, the fruits will begin to lose their beneficial properties.

All collected fruits must be carefully sorted, discarding all rotten, bruised and spoiled ones. For drying, it is better to leave only large and clean berries. Then the entire harvest needs to be poured into a colander and washed under a strong stream of running water, washing away the street dirt. Manipulations must be carried out with extreme caution so as not to damage the sepals, which keep all the beneficial substances sealed inside. Then let the berries dry.

Afterwards, the rose hips are poured onto a paper towel, straightened and laid out more freely so that they can dry out moisture faster. 1 hour is enough for the berries to become dry on the surface and ready for further processing. Some housewives prefer to cut the fruits and remove all the seeds, which takes a lot of time. But this will allow the berries to dry faster. Each housewife chooses how best to dry the fruits and whether they require additional processing.

Drying methods

After drying on a towel, the berries should be dried from excess moisture using one of the available ways, of which there are many. If this is not done, rose hips will soon become unusable and lose all their beneficial properties.

Exist various options evaporation of excess moisture from fruits, these can be the most primitive methods that our grandmothers used or newfangled ones using modern electrical devices. To understand which method is suitable, you need to study all the ways to dry rose hips.

Using an oven

Drying rose hips in the oven is quite simple, but it takes a lot of time:

• first you need to set the oven timer to a temperature of 40-45 degrees;
• then, when the oven is warm, place the plant harvest on a dry baking sheet in an even layer;
• gradually the temperature is raised to 60-70 degrees;
• an hour before readiness, you need to reduce the temperature again to the original;
• after the baking sheet is removed from the oven, you need to let the berries cool and equalize their humidity in accordance with environment, this will take a couple of days.

The process of drying fruits in the oven takes about 8-10 hours. At the same time, the cabinet door is not closed tightly, allowing warm air to escape so that the berries do not turn out baked. Also, you should not be absent during the drying procedure so that the berries do not burn. If you need to leave, it is better to turn off the oven and continue drying when you return home.

In an electric dryer

Modern electrical appliances allow you to slightly reduce a long period drying. For example, high-quality electric dryers allow you to expel excess moisture from rose hips in just 7-8 hours of operation.

Each machine comes with instructions for its operation. In it, as a rule, the manufacturer gives clear recommendations for drying rose hips, as well as other berries, vegetables and fruits. You just need to follow all the points specified by the product manufacturers and get a good result.

Before placing the fruits in the container of the electric dryer, they are also processed, preparing them for the procedure. They should be washed thoroughly, damaged ones should be removed and dried on a towel. Then they are laid out on the shelves of the electric machine in an even layer, the lid is tightly closed and turned on for a certain period of time. Next, readiness is assessed after 6-7 hours, extending the drying time if necessary.

Other known methods

There are many ways to dry rose hips. One of them is grandma’s old version - outdoors. This is a very popular and inexpensive method when berries naturally outdoors or indoors give off excess moisture.

To do this, you need to spread the rose hips in an even single layer on a thick sheet of paper and place the tray in a well-ventilated room or outside. It is important that the berries are not exposed to direct Sun rays . Otherwise, the crop will lose most of its nutrients.

After a few days, check the berries for readiness. Their peel should petrify, and their size should be reduced by almost half. Periodically, the fruits are mixed and placed again on the tray to ensure even drying. This process usually takes about 1-2 weeks.

You can dry the fruits of a useful plant in well-ventilated areas, such as a veranda or attic. This method is good for residents of private houses and summer residents. You should only thoroughly mix the berries during the daytime, and at night take the tray into a warm room and cover the crop with plastic wrap.

Usage microwave oven quite suitable for drying, but not used for a number of reasons:

• the process is too long;
• the berries do not dry out completely, remaining soft and juicy inside;
• a large number of useful substances are killed by electric waves;
• large amount of energy consumed.

Despite the fact that almost every family has a microwave today, it is not recommended to use it for drying rose hips due to the cost of the process.

Some housewives living in rural areas, they prefer to dry rose hips in an oven. This is a surefire way to quickly dry the berries and store them. Some housewives prefer to add cinnamon, ginger or citrus fruit zest to rosehip tea.

It is very important that after complete drying the fruits have time to cool and “sweat”. To do this, leave the baking sheet with berries in the air for several days. During this time, the temperature and humidity are equalized in accordance with the surrounding atmosphere. This will take a couple of days. Afterwards, you can put the dried fruits in a rag bag or a special wooden box.

Rosehip storage options

Rose hips prepared for the winter must be stored properly, otherwise they will lose their beneficial properties. The first step is to remove the remaining stalks. To do this, simply rub the berries lightly between your fingers without violating their integrity. You can store the dried product in glass or tin cans with lids or cloth bags. Do not tightly close the lids of the jars, as in a tightly sealed container the fruits may “suffocate” and spoil.

If you don’t have special boxes and jars on hand, it is recommended to use any glass container, and instead of a lid, use regular gauze folded in four layers. It is better to store the workpiece in a dark, cool room, avoiding high humidity.

The container for rose hips is usually small, so that about 100 grams of product can fit in it. Properly dried berries will keep well for a long period, usually about three years. Occasionally they need to be checked and spoiled fruits removed.

If mold appears in the jar with the preparation, you should not risk it; it is better to throw away all the berries together. Most likely, something went wrong during the drying process and several berries were not dried completely. Next time, just watch the drying process more carefully, and then you will always have a useful product at your fingertips, even in winter.

So, in order to prepare delicious and useful rosehip, you need to choose one of the methods of drying the fruits of the plant. What it will be depends only on the preferences of the housewife herself. Important point– there is no need to rush, the drying process should be measured and gradual.