How to dry chokeberry at home

How to prepare rowan for further processing

After harvesting, rowan must be immediately prepared for further processing:

1. The rowan bunches are carefully examined, the berries are separated from the bunch and the stalks are removed. Spoiled, dried and rotten fruits are removed, and leaves and debris are also separated.
2. Rowan is washed under running water.
3. Allow the water to drain and dry the fruits on a towel or in a colander.
4. After the rowan has dried, begin drying.

Fruits intended for drying in the open air or in the sun are not washed. Rowan has very small berries. Therefore, they are dried together with the seeds, since it is impossible to separate them.

How to dry rowan at home

There are several ways to prepare semi-finished products. At home, fruits are dried:

• on open air;
• in the oven;
• in an electric dryer;
• in the microwave.

In an electric dryer

Drying time : 7-15 hours

Using this electrical appliance, you can make products with a long shelf life in a short time.

Berries should not be dried at high temperatures , as they quickly turn black on the outside and retain a significant amount of moisture inside.

Their readiness can be determined by squeezing the berries in your hand. Dry fruits:

• do not release juice;
• do not get your hands dirty;
• have a uniform color;
• wrinkled;
• with a glossy shine;
• do not crumble when pressed hard.

Drying berries in an electric dryer is carried out in the following sequence:

1. spread dry, clean berries in a thin layer on the trays of an electric dryer;
2. dry at 50 degrees for an hour;
3. reduce the temperature to 45 degrees;
4. Bring the berries until fully cooked.

During the cooking process, the berries should not turn reddish or brown. A change in color indicates a violation of the thermal regime.

In the oven

Drying time :15-20 hours

Easy way

This is the simplest and most popular way to harvest fruits at home. It is carried out in this order:

1. the berries are separated from the branches;
2. preheat the oven to 60 ° C;
3. The baking sheets are covered with parchment paper;
4. the rowan is scattered in a thin layer and placed in the oven;
5. after 50 minutes the temperature is increased to 70 degrees:
6. The berries are dried in the oven with the door ajar, stirring constantly, for 15 - 20 hours.

After drying, the fruits are cooled in air and sorted, separating the burnt and under-dried ones. Poorly dried berries are re-laid on a baking sheet and placed in the oven, periodically lowering the temperature by 10 degrees.

Well-dried rowan:

• retains natural color, firmness, elasticity;
• does not crumble;
• does not stain hands.

Using blanching

There is another way to harvest rowan berries for the winter:

1. The fruits are separated from the branches, the stalks are removed and washed thoroughly in running cold water.
2. The berries are laid out on a towel or cotton cloth until completely dry.
3. Then the rowan is placed in a colander and blanched in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes.
4. The fruits are dried and placed on baking sheets covered with parchment paper, and placed in an oven preheated to 70 degrees to dry. During drying, the berries must be constantly stirred.
5. After the berries are dry, they are cooled and packaged and put away for storage.

This method is suitable not only for the oven, but also for the dryer.

In powder form

You can prepare and store rowan in powder form . It is prepared in two ways:

• well-dried berries are crushed using a meat grinder or blender;
• fresh berries are dried in an oven preheated to 150°C, cooled and dried in a slightly open oven at a temperature of 40 - 50°C.

How to store and what is the shelf life

When drying rowan in the open air, the shelf life of the fruit is 8 – 9 months. Berries dried in an oven or electric dryer retain their beneficial properties for one year.

Dried rowan is stored in:

• glass jars or plastic containers with screw caps;
• paper bags;
• boxes;
• bags made of cotton or linen fabric.

A dark, dry, well-ventilated place in a pantry or kitchen cabinet is suitable for storage.

Containers should not be placed in the refrigerator , since low temperatures cause the formation of condensation and the development of mold in containers with semi-finished products.

Dry berries need to be sorted, as bugs may appear in the preparations.

How to preserve chokeberries with sugar without cooking

Chokeberry, ground with sugar

Since chokeberry is not very acidic, sugar and berries can be taken in equal quantities. The fruits are sorted, washed, and then passed through a meat grinder or crushed in a blender. Add half the sugar, stir and let sit for 10-20 minutes. Then add the rest of the granulated sugar.

Read also: How to dry hawthorn at home for the winter? What are the benefits and when to collect fruits for drying?

The finished dessert is poured into jars. To prevent spoilage of the product, it is advisable to sprinkle an additional layer of sugar about half a finger thick on top. You need to store ground black rowan in the refrigerator.

Soaked chokeberry

Even if you have never tried making pickled lingonberries or cranberries, preparing chokeberry in a similar way will not be difficult. To do this, you need to pour the washed berries into a glass or enamel container. Then pour the marinade over the contents, which is prepared according to the following recipe.

For one liter of water, take one tablespoon of sugar, ½ teaspoon of non-iodized salt, 2-3 cloves, and a pinch of ground cinnamon. The water with the added ingredients is brought to a boil and then cooled.

The soaked rowan berries are kept at room conditions for 3-4 days. After this time, the containers are tightly closed and stored in a cool place. You can store soaked chokeberry all winter. It has a unique taste and retains all its beneficial properties.

Homemade chokeberry wine

This is another way to preserve chokeberry at home without cooking or freezing. Aronia produces a unique wine with tart and refreshing notes. Many people add cherries, apples or currants to its berries, but this is a matter of taste. Black rowan wine is great, for example, for making mulled wine in winter. Remember the recipe:

Let your autumn chokeberry preparations bring you benefits in winter!

How to apply?

• Rowan is a source of vitamin A, PP, C. It contains tocopherol, riboflavin, rutin, folic acid, fruit sugar, pectin, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc, essential oils, tannins, as well as malic acid, tartaric and succinic acid.
• Dried red or black berries contain the largest amount of vitamins and microelements. When drying, the sugar concentration and calorie content of the product increases significantly.
• Rowan berries reduce the formation of gases in the intestines. It is used to prevent scurvy and as a diuretic and choleretic agent. The fruits have hemostatic properties.
• The use of rowan is contraindicated for people suffering from hypertension, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, and blood clotting disorders.
• In folk medicine, rowan fruits are used to prepare infusions and decoctions to strengthen the immune system, thyroid diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and rheumatism. colds, swelling, varicose veins, as well as a healing and pain reliever.
• In home cosmetology, lotions are prepared from dried rowan fruits that normalize oily skin, heal small wounds and restore the skin.
• Semi-finished products are used to prepare a variety of dishes: compotes. Jelly, fillings for pies and cakes. You can prepare vitamin tea, infusion or decoction with dried berries.

Drying rowan berries for the winter is a great way to preserve the beneficial properties of the berries, as well as an opportunity to please your family with delicious dishes.

How to dry chokeberry: 4 ways

How to dry chokeberry? You enter a query into a search engine, read the first article and your eyebrows rise in surprise. The authors of the texts recommend collecting chokeberries only after frost, but drying them in the sun. I wonder where in our climate, after frost, there is such a sun that can evaporate the juice from the fairly dense pulp of the berries? How many days will the chokeberry collect dust on the street? The result will be an incredibly valuable product. With a decent film of all chemical elements.

Gentlemen, use your brains before giving your advice. Otherwise, you will not receive curses from those who follow them. Let's look at how to actually dry chokeberries correctly and debunk other misconceptions.

Thread drying

So, what else do extraordinary experts in drying chokeberries advise readers? Yeah, tie the shields into bundles and hang them up. Without washing or anything like that. Use in winter, etc.

I wonder if they know that it is much easier to wash fresh smooth chokeberries than dried, wrinkled ones? And that individual berries dry much faster than those tied in bunches? They also did not say where to hang such blanks so that they dry. And it's October. What to do?

Remember your childhood. Everyone probably made beads from ordinary rowan. Well, the female half of the country for sure. That's what we'll do. The chokeberry was prepared (washed without fail!) and dried to remove any remaining moisture. Now you will need a needle and strong thread. You shouldn’t take a long one, then you yourself will get confused in it and get angry. The optimal length is from 50 cm to 1 meter.

We prepared and started making rowan beads. At the same time, you can ask the children to help, maybe they will like it. So what if they have other interests. Helping my mother as much as I can—that’s what I understand as interest. Not about that now.

Skewered? Now hang it up. You can do it on yourself, of course, but it’s better in the attic, in a dry shed, on a loggia, in a hot pantry. Just don’t, there are such storage rooms. In the corner apartments of the old Khrushchev buildings they are all hot, and half the country lives in such houses.

What to do if none of these premises are available? Well, there certainly is a kitchen. Hang it there. Yes, higher up, the heat gathers under the ceiling. Just don’t place chokeberry beads on the wall. The wallpaper will be painted, the workpiece will result in unforeseen repairs.

A little about storage

After drying, chokeberry must still be preserved. Like any dried fruit, it has very hygroscopic properties. Therefore, it should not be kept in plastic containers, cardboard boxes or paper bags. The best containers are glass jars with airtight lids. Dried chokeberries can be stored in them for up to 11 months. In second place are tin ones with a tight lid. Dried chokeberries will live quietly in these for up to 7 months. Our hit parade is completed by food-grade plastic containers and special zip-lock bags. Dried fruits can stay in them for up to 4 months.

Just don't put the containers in the refrigerator. Condensation will form on the walls and lid, which will help mold grow inside. A dry, cool, dark place is ideal. For example, the far shelf of a kitchen cabinet or pantry.

How to dry chokeberry? By any described method. Choose the one that's right for you. Just make sure the berries don't lighten during drying. No, they will not become poisonous. They will simply turn from a useful medicine into a sweet preparation. The taste will remain, but the healing properties will no longer be there.

Chokeberry, pureed with sugar

If you want to get a healthy chokeberry preparation without heat treatment , then perhaps the best option would be berries ground with sugar.

This composition will retain all the beneficial compounds and vitamins of the plant, which will be a real boon during cold epidemics or when vitamin deficiency occurs. All you need in this case is one kilogram of berries and 500-800 grams of sugar. The difference in the amount of sugar depends on individual preferences, that is, if you prefer sweeter fruits, then it is better to take 800 grams, but if you like the slight natural sourness of chokeberries, then 500 grams will be enough.

Before harvesting, sort the berries well, separating them from the branches, and rinse the fruits under running water.

After lightly drying the rowan, take a blender and grind it, adding sugar. Instead of a blender, you can use a regular meat grinder, passing the berries through it twice. At the end you will get a homogeneous berry mixture, which must be given time to brew.

Then, after mixing the puree again, it can be poured into hot, only sterilized jars, tightly closed with the same sterile plastic lids.

The finished jars are left to brew so that the fruits release even more juice (during this time the sugar will completely dissolve), and then the closed containers are put in a cool and dark place (you can use a regular refrigerator).

So, we found out how you can store chokeberry so that you have a full supply of vitamins for the winter, and it’s up to you to decide which method to choose.

If it is more convenient to use dried fruits, then you can use the oven, and if you want to preserve their fresh form (including taste and smell) as much as possible, then it is better to give preference to the freezing method or grind the berries with sugar.

How to dry chokeberry at home

Chokeberry probably cannot be called the most delicious berry. However, its beneficial properties for the body are so great that it was officially included in the list of medicinal and medicinal plants. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people prepare this berry for the winter - freeze it, make jams and preserves, compotes, and dry it. The last option for harvesting chokeberries will be discussed.

The best ways to store chokeberry

One of the most valuable berries in household plots is chokeberry.
The tart and unsweetened taste makes chokeberry less popular compared to, for example, strawberries, cherries or sea buckthorn. However, the beneficial properties of black rowan are worth preparing them for the winter. How to preserve chokeberry without cooking? This is the question that often arises when you don’t want to cook compote or jam. There are several available ways to preserve vitamins in chokeberry fruits. At first glance, each of these methods seems simple. Still, it doesn’t hurt to brush up on the technology of each process. After all, it depends on this how fully the berries will retain their quality and composition.

You can preserve black rowan for the winter without freezing or cooking. But you shouldn’t completely ignore freezing or using sugar - these methods are good in their own way.

Preparing berries for drying

Before you start drying, the berries must be properly collected and prepared. Only in this case will it be possible to preserve most of the nutrients and vitamins during processing.

First, you should harvest the chokeberry crop on time. And if most other berries need to be picked from the tree before the onset of frost, then with rowan the situation is the opposite - optimally after the first frost. Just before this moment, the fruits definitely have time to ripen and reveal their healing properties.

Collecting berries from a bush is carried out by cutting off the umbrellas with a sharp knife, garden shears or pruning shears. Already at home, the berries are separated from the stalks, carefully sorted, and spoiled ones are removed. Also, in preparation for drying, the berries are washed in running water, laid out on a towel and given time to dry.

When is the best time to pick chokeberry berries?

Even if you don’t know exactly when it’s time to harvest chokeberries for the winter, it’s not difficult to figure out this issue. Rowan, like many other plants, begins to be collected in the autumn ( September-October ), since it is at this time that you can collect well-ripened berries, which will later become excellent components of jam, a variety of compotes, liqueurs and other delicacies.

In winter, they will turn out to be a real godsend, because any chokeberry preparations can diversify the table and bring the body a lot of useful vitamins that increase immunity.

If you are not used to canning, then berries collected in the fall are also perfect for drying or freezing. By the way, to harvest chokeberry without cooking, if you want to get a berry with the highest taste characteristics, it is preferable to collect rowan fruits after the first frost, when they reach their full perfection and are filled with the greatest amount of useful substances.

How to dry chokeberry

At home, you can use one of several options for drying berries. You should choose a method based on convenience.

• Air drying

Collecting berries from a bush is carried out by cutting off the umbrellas with a sharp knife, garden shears or pruning shears

You can dry the berries naturally. To do this, washed, dry berries are laid out in one layer on a tray or in another flat container. The trays are placed in fresh air, preferably in the sun. It is good if there are no busy roads in the immediate vicinity, since dust and exhaust gases raised by cars will negatively affect the quality of semi-finished products. During drying in this way, you can periodically turn the berries over to speed up the process, and at night the trays must be brought into a dry room so that the dried chokeberry fruits do not become damp. Berries are considered fully prepared if, when pressed with a finger, they do not release juice.

• Drying berries in natural conditions

The collected berries can be dried at home in the following way: the fruits are strung on threads using a needle, which are hung in a dry, clean room. Chokeberry is dried in this way until completely cooked.

Berries are considered fully prepared if, when pressed with a finger, they do not release juice

• In the oven

You can also dry the berries in the oven, and it’s quite simple to do. To do this, the fruits must be spread in a thin layer on baking sheets, which are placed in an oven preheated to 35-40 degrees. At this temperature, the berries are dried for half an hour. Next, the temperature is increased to 60 degrees, and the berries are dried until fully cooked, which is determined in the same way as in the previous version. Before harvesting the berries for the winter, they must be allowed to cool to room temperature.

If you have this electrical appliance at home, then there will be no problems at all with drying berries. Clean dry berries are laid out in a thin layer on the trays of an electric dryer. First, for 3 hours, the berries are dried at a temperature of 50 C, then the temperature is reduced to 45 degrees. And already at this temperature the berries are ready.

Whatever method is chosen, it is necessary to ensure that the berries do not change their color or become reddish or brown. A change in color indicates that the thermal conditions were violated during processing. In turn, this can affect the reduction in the healing properties of the berries.

As for the duration of storage of dried chokeberry, when dried under natural conditions, the berries can be stored for 6-8 months. Whereas when dried in an oven or electric dryer, the berries do not spoil throughout the year. It is necessary to store semi-finished products obtained at home in airtight containers. Glass or plastic jars with screw-on lids are suitable for this.

Chokeberry raisins

Another good solution for storing chokeberry berries for the winter is to create raisins. To do this, you will need 1.5 kilograms of peeled berries, 1 kilogram of sugar, 2 glasses of water and 1 teaspoon of citric acid.

First of all, you need to cook the syrup from water and sugar, after which berries and citric acid are dipped into it and cooking continues for 20 minutes. After the specified time has passed, the berries are taken out, placed in a colander and cooled. As soon as all the syrup has drained, you should place the fruits on parchment paper, which is spread on a baking sheet. As with conventional drying, future chokeberry raisins must be stirred periodically, continuing to dry for 3-4 days. As soon as it reaches the desired state, it is poured into a paper bag or glass jar, covered with a gauze bandage.

Read also: Sea buckthorn juice for the winter using a juicer, how to make it at home, video

In addition to the fruits, you will also have the syrup in which they were boiled. Do not pour it out, because if you pour it into a sterile container, then in winter you will have something to prepare delicious drinks and jelly from.