Dried berries: benefits and harms, how to dry and consume

Dried fruits, vegetables and berries

become several times lighter, significantly decreasing in weight. They withstand storage and transportation well.

Drying as a form of workpiece has its advantages. First, they get persistent foodstuffs that can be used with a guarantee throughout the year. Secondly, vitamins and valuable substances are well preserved in them. Third, the relative calorie content of dried foods is very high. Finally, during drying, they lose a lot in mass and volume, so they do not require much storage space.
Vegetables and fruits are dried mainly in several main ways: in the sun, in the oven (or by the oven), and in combination.

1.Dry in the sun is best. But the weather should be warm, even. In this case, fruits and vegetables are placed on sheets of plywood, cardboard or on wooden boards, stirring every day so that they do not stick to the tree and to each other. It is better to dry red peppers or mushrooms strung on a thin twine or strong thread.

2. The Russian oven is superb. Bricks are placed on the bottom of the Russian stove, on which a sieve or an enamel baking sheet with food is placed. Greens of parsley, celery, dill can be dried in the oven, and tied in bundles - on a rope next to it.

3. In ovens, vegetables and fruits are placed on galvanized racks and dried over moderate heat by opening the door.

4. With combined drying, some fruits and vegetables are dried first in the sun, and then by the oven or in the oven.

5.CAN ALSO BE DRY WITH A DIY DRYER

(I will tell you how to make it in a separate post)

6. Some are dried even in a bathhouse, in the steam room itself, naturally dry, without steam. By heating the bathhouse only a few times a day, very large volumes of fruit can be dried in just a couple of days.

ADVANTAGES OF DRYING:

Vitamin A is preserved during drying. Since it is sensitive to light, foods that contain it (carrots, Bell pepper etc.), must be stored in a dark place.

A certain amount of vitamin C is lost during the cutting, grinding process, as it reacts with the oxygen in the air.

The nutritional value of fresh foods is not lost during drying, although some dried foods, such as fruits, become sweeter as they dry. when the product loses moisture, sugar is concentrated in a small volume.

Dried vegetables and fruits are high in fiber and carbohydrates, which are not degraded during the drying process. They are low in fat.

Preservation of micro- and macroelements (potassium, sodium, magnesium, etc.) is much higher than with any other methods, including canning.

When canning, there is a danger of botulism due to the fact that bacteria easily multiply in a liquid medium. In the case of drying, the development of botulism is possible only when we restore dried foods, and do not use them for a long time.

If the food is not dry enough during drying, or the container in which the dried food is stored is not dry enough, then such food can be susceptible to the damaging effects of mold. If there is a suspicion that mold has appeared in the products, such products should be discarded.

REMEMBER: microorganisms that spoil food (bacteria, mold and yeast, etc.) are always present in the air, water and soil. It is necessary to adhere to hygiene and sanitary requirements at all stages of the drying process.

As for the safety when drying meat, it is recommended to hold the dried meat in the freezer for two hours.

* DRY GREENS

washed and about dried herbs cut into 4-6 cm pieces and place on a sieve.
Cover with gauze on top so that small leaves are not lost. From 15 kg of fresh dill, 1 kg of dried dill is obtained.

Dried in the shade in the air or in the oven at a temperature of 45-50 ° C for 4-4.5 hours. During drying, the greens are gently mixed, then take a break for 2-3 hours and continue drying. Store dried herbs in jars, stacking loosely.

Vegetables are dried to a moisture content of 13-14%, then fried, with black spots or underdried are discarded and the fines are separated using a sieve (5 mm holes).

* DRIED CARROTS

METHOD 1: Peel the carrots, cut into 3x5x20 mm columns or 2-3 mm thick slices, blanch for 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water (4-5 g of salt per 1 liter of water) and cool in cold.
Spread the carrots on a sieve in a thin layer and dry at 70-80 ° C for 5-6 hours.
From 9.5 kg of fresh carrots, 1 kg of dried carrots are obtained.

METHOD 2: First, the carrots are washed and peeled, then boiled, keeping the carrots in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. The finished carrots are cut into thin strips, put on a sieve and dried on the hearth of a not too hot Russian oven, and the damper is slightly opened. But you can also dry in the oven with the door open.

* BEET- blanch in general for 5 minutes. Cut into thin strips. We dry at a temperature of 75-80 degrees Celsius. The second option - bake until tender at 150 degrees Celsius, cut, dry. The finished product is purple-burgundy. The yield is 12-15%.

* DRIED SWEET PEPPER
First, remove the stalk and seed nest from sweet pepper, rinse, cut the pulp into pieces measuring 1.5x1.5 cm or 2x2 cm,
blanch in a boiling 1% salt solution for 1-2 minutes, cool, put on a sieve.
Dry at 60-70 ° C for 3-5 hours.
From 10-12 kg of fresh pepper, 1 kg of dried pepper is obtained.

* DRIED TOMATOES(tomatoes).
Small red tomatoes (5-6 cm in diameter), peeled from the stalks and washed with water, cut in half, put on a sieve, cut upwards, so that the juice does not flow out.

Dry at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, after 5-6 hours the temperature is raised to 65-70 ° C. At higher temperatures, tomatoes take on a brownish tint. The total drying time is 10-11 hours, with a possible break of 4-5 hours. In the southern regions, you can dry tomatoes in the sun, removing the sieves under a canopy overnight. Drying period is 7-10 days.

* PUMPKIN, ZOOK, EGGPLANT- Cut ripe fruits into 0.5 cm slices,
Blanch for 1-2 minutes in salt water. Dry for 5-7 hours at 50-60 degrees Celsius, then 2-3 hours at 70-80 degrees.
There is a separate option for zucchini: The fruits of milk ripeness are cut in a spiral (a figure similar to an Archimedes screw) and the resulting spiral is suspended in a ventilated room for several days. When dried, they resemble twisted strips of leather.

* PEAS, BEANS- carefully boiled, then dried at 60-70 degrees. It is advisable to knead the beans a little. It is recovering with a bang.

* DRYING POTATO -

Late starchy potato varieties are most suitable for drying. The amount of waste will be less if you use oval or rounded tubers, with a flat surface, thin skin and with shallow eyes. The tubers must be fresh, free from mold and rot.

1 METHOD. The potatoes are thoroughly washed in cold water, changing it 2-3 times, then peeled with a stopper knife, cutting out eyes and unusable places. Peeled potatoes are stored in salted cold water before cutting and drying (4-5 grams of sodium chloride per liter of water). However, it should not be kept in water for more than 1-2 hours, as the loss of soluble substances will increase.

Potatoes are cut into strips no more than 5 centimeters long and 0.5 centimeters thick and wide. Small tubers can be cut into circles or into slices of circles.

A portion of the cut potatoes is placed in a colander or in a clean gauze bag and immersed in boiling water for 3-5 minutes (table salt can be added to boiling water beforehand at the rate of 4-5 grams of salt per liter of water). After that, a colander or a bag of potatoes is quickly dipped in cold water for 5-6 minutes. Water is allowed to drain from chilled potatoes and spread in an even layer of 2-2.5 centimeters on drying sieves; no more than 4-5 kilograms of potatoes should be placed per square meter of sieves.

The sieves are installed in the upper tier of the dryer, where the temperature is not very high, and finally dried in the lower tier at a temperature of 80-85 degrees. It is advisable to dry in ovens and ovens at temperatures no more than 75-80 degrees. During drying, the potatoes are agitated several times. Drying time 4-5 hours.

After drying, the potatoes are cooled on sieves and placed in a wooden box for 1-2 days to equalize the moisture content.

The yield of dried potatoes, depending on the size of the tubers and their quality, is 15-20 percent of the feedstock.

2 METHOD. cook in uniforms (or bake in the oven), scroll in a meat grinder and lay out to dry in a loose layer. Dry no higher than 80 degrees Celsius. Properly dried potatoes are amber yellow, no browning. The output is 15-20% of the original

* DRIED GREEN PEAS.
As a rule, brain varieties are used in the milky-wax stage of ripeness.
Blanch the removed grains for 2-3 minutes in water at a temperature of 90-95 ° C.

To preserve the color, add 5 g of baking soda to 1 liter of water. Then cool quickly under running water. cold water, pour onto a sieve.
Dry for 2-2.5 hours at 35-40 ° C, then 1.5-2 hours at 45-50 ° C and 2-2.5 hours at 55-60 ° C.
From 5.6 kg of fresh peas or 14 kg of pods, 1 kg of dried peas is obtained.

* DRIED CHIP ONION
For drying, it is better to take spicy onions. Cut the peeled and washed onions into slices 2-4 mm thick, disassemble into rings. Arrange on a sieve and dry at 60-65 ° C for 5-6 hours. If you dry the onion at a higher temperature, it will darken.

* DRIED GARLIC.
Peel and wash the garlic. Place the halves of the chives, cut upwards (so that less juice flows out) on a sieve or cloth. Dry at 50-55 ° C until crisp. You can grind it into powder and use it for dressing dishes, making sauces.
From 4-4.5 kg of fresh garlic, 1 kg of dried garlic is obtained.

* DRIED MUSHROOMS.
Prepared as for pickling, the mushrooms are wiped with a clean cloth, strung on threads and dried in the sun, near a Russian stove or in the oven.

* DRYING APPLES.
The most suitable varieties are with dense white flesh. Apples of such varieties as Antonovka, Cinnamon, Borovinka, Titovka, Anis, Aport, Slavyanka, Shtetinskoe, Pepinka Lithuanian, Papirovka, Parmen winter gold are good for drying.

From summer varieties and volunteers, a dried product of a lower quality is obtained.
Apples are usually sized according to the size of three types: large - 75 mm and above, medium - 55-75 mm and small - 35-55 mm.

1 METHOD. Before drying, the fruits are washed, apples are cut into slices, pears - into quarters and then thinner slices. Then they are kept for several minutes in a weak solution of citric acid, blanched for 3-4 minutes and dried. For apples, this procedure in the sun takes 5-6 days, for pears - 2-3 days, followed by drying in the oven or in the oven. When drying in the yard, the fruits should be covered with gauze, and removed overnight. Store products in plastic bags in a cool place.

2 METHOD. Small fruits, as well as wild animals, are cut into 2 or 4 parts, or dried whole. Large apples can be dried only in slices or slices 5-7 mm thick.
It is better to cut after removing the seed nest, which results in higher quality products. It is not necessary to peel the skin.
Chopped apples are dried in the air, placed in one or two rows on sieves and exposed to the sun or placed in a dryer. To preserve the white color, the sliced ​​apples are preliminarily fumigated with sulfur for 5-10 minutes.

The temperature in the dryer is set to 75-85 ° C, and by the end of drying, when the apples have lost 2/3 of their moisture, the temperature is lowered to 50-60 ° C. Drying is continued for 6-10 hours.

Drying in the sun usually lasts 3-4 days. The apples are turned over daily by gently shaking the sieve. You can transfer them to another sieve.

Properly dried apples should have a yellowish-brown or light yellow color (fumigated apples), be elastic when compressed, when bent, they should not break and release juice, contain up to 20% moisture. For 1 kg dried apples consume 6.5 kg of unpeeled fresh apples or 8.5 kg of peeled apples, including waste.

Dried apples are on sale peeled and unpeeled from the skin and core, but must be cut into circles, or slices, or halves. They contain 40-45% sugar and up to 24% water, while a fresh apple contains up to 85% water.

* DRYING PEARS.


The pears are dried whole, 1/2 or 1/4 with or without the removal of the seed nest, if desired, the skin is peeled or not.
The fruits of summer and early autumn varieties, such as "Bessemyanka", "Bartlet", "Zelenaya Ilyinka" and others, are used for drying. Pears are removed from the tree for drying when they are just starting to ripen. Dried pears contain up to 36% sugar and up to 24% water.
Pears are used for drying, fully ripe, but not overripe. The fruit should be sweet and juicy. Tart fruits with coarse flesh produce a dried product of poor quality. Winter pear varieties are not used for drying.

Before drying, pears are treated in the same way as apples.
The fruits of wild and small-fruited pears are usually dried whole and not peeled.
The temperature in the dryer should first be at 80-85 ° C, and then at 50-55 ° C. Whole pears are usually dried for 18-20 hours, and the halves are usually dried for 12-16 hours.
The fruit should be turned frequently during drying.

With solar drying, pears are poured into one from every two trays after two days and dried in the shade. The product, which is not fumigated, may have a dark brown color. When removing the skin and seed nest, 7.5 kg will be needed for 1 kg of dried product, and 5.5 kg for drying unpeeled pears.

* DRIED APRICOTS: apricots (apricots, dried together with seeds), dried apricots (dried in halves), kaisa (dry whole apricots, from which the stone is squeezed out) contain up to 46% sugar and 15 to 20% moisture.
These fruits are usually dried with a skin, pitted, cut into halves. If you decide to dry apricots in the oven, then start drying at a low temperature, and then increase it to 70-75 ° C. However, the most The best way drying - in the sun. It takes 5-7 days in clear weather. The fruits are laid out on a net or on wooden frames with the slices up.

Here you have homemade dried apricots. It is a very rich in nutrients vitamin product. store in a dry, well-ventilated place.

* PEACHES dried without pits, as long as the moisture in them remains 15-20%; sugar in dried peaches 51%.

* Very tasty dried FIG, it is one of the best and most nutritious dried fruits, it contains up to 55% sugar.

DRYING OF GARDEN AND FOREST BERRIES.

* DRYING ROSE.
In the middle lane, rose hips are harvested in September, when the berries acquire a bright orange-red color. When collecting, it is necessary to preserve the stalk and receptacle, then the loss of vitamin C during drying will be less.

For drying, ripe fruits of high-vitamin species of rose hips are selected. The fruits are dried immediately after harvest to avoid loss of vitamins. Thin-skinned ones - whole, and thick-skinned ones - by cutting in half and immediately removing seeds and hairs.
The fruits are sorted out, sorted according to the degree of ripeness and washed in cold water. It is not recommended to remove the sepals, as it is associated with the loss of vitamin C.

The duration of drying of fruits affects the preservation of vitamin C. The faster they dry, the more vitamin C is retained.

1. A slightly different method of drying rose hips is also used: whole fruits or halves are kept at a temperature of 100 °: whole fruits - 10, cut - 6-7 minutes, then dried at 70-75 °.

2. the usual way dried at a temperature of 80-90 ° C in ovens or ovens for no more than 4-6 hours.

After drying, the fruits are easily rubbed in the hands to remove the sepals.

3. Frozen rose hips begin to dry at a temperature of 70-80 ° C, and then reduce it and so dry. This, for example, is practiced in Russian stoves or in stoves where there is drying, and one or two nights after heating the stove, the rosehip is completely dried.

Properly dried fruits are brownish red or red with a wrinkled surface. The moisture content of the fruit should be no higher than 20%, the taste should be sweet and sour, the smell should be completely absent. The rose hips are stored in sealed bags.

* DRYING ROWAN AND ARONIA

Dried fruits, harvested in the fall, before frost. They are separated from the stalks, washed in cold water and then blanched in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Blanched fruits are cooled in cold water, discarded on a sieve to drain the water and transferred to an oven or oven.
Dried at 70-75 ° (chokeberry at a temperature not higher than 60 °). Well-dried fruits are wrinkled, retain their shine and pleasant aroma, and when squeezed, they do not collapse.

* IRGA
Separately collected fruits lose juice, therefore it is recommended to remove them with whole brushes for drying. When the weather is fine, it is best to dry it in the sun.
When drying in an oven or oven, the temperature should not be raised above 60 °.

"Raisin" from Irga (after I. F. Ovchinnikov)
Sun-dried irga tastes like raisins and can be used instead. The fruits in the brushes are dried in the air or in the oven (oven), after which they are separated from the stalks, placed in a clean, well-washed and dried plywood box (30 X 20 X15 cm), lined with clean paper from the inside, and poured in layers icing sugar or finely crushed granulated sugar.
A washed and ironed gauze is placed on the top layer of the fruit, on top of which a small load is placed on a plywood board.

* DRYING CHERRY.
The most suitable varieties for drying are Vladimirskaya, Shubinka, Lyubskaya, Podbelskaya, Samarkandskaya, Anadolskaya, with dark-colored pulp.

To speed up drying, the fruits are scalded with a 1% solution of baking soda or just boiling water. After washing with cold water, they are laid out on sieves and dried, first at 50-55 ° C, and then at 75-80 ° C. It is not necessary to remove the bones. Dried cherries contain 15 to 20% moisture.

Dried cherries should be glossy, elastic, black-brown in color, do not release juice when squeezed. Humidity with solar-air drying is not more than 18%, with artificial - 19%. To obtain 1 kg of dried cherries, 4.5 kg of fresh ones are required.

* DRYING DRAIN.
The best for drying plums is "Hungarian". Dried "Hungarian" is that famous Sochi (or Tuapse, or Abkhazian) prunes, which are so highly valued by both consumers and nutritionists; Doctors recommend an infusion of dried prunes for some stomach ailments.

For drying, other varieties of plums are also used, including cherry plum and blackthorn.
Sugar content in dried plums ah varies depending on the variety; consider that the average sugar content of dried plums does not exceed 39-41%, and the moisture content in them is from 12 to 25%.

1. Place the plums in a basket and dip in a hot soda solution (1 tablespoon per 1 liter of water), keep in it until it boils.
Take out the basket, chill the plums in cold water, rinse. Arrange them on sieves, expose to the sun, where and keep until the plums are completely dry.
Plums of this drying are very tasty.

2. They can also be dried in a Russian stove or oven. It will take less time.
Large fruits can be dried in pitted halves.
Lay out the plums in one layer, not very tightly, cut up. Drying begins at a temperature of 45 ° C, after 3-4 hours it is raised to 60 ° C, and then to 75-80 ° C. To obtain a product of a higher quality, it is recommended to take breaks for 4-5 hours two or three times during the drying process, cooling the fruits in the air, since when they are quickly heated, juice begins to flow out of them.

Each time after a break, the temperature in the dryer is raised. Drying can be carried out continuously if you start loading the dryer from the upper tiers, gradually moving the sieves to the lower tiers, where the temperature is maintained at 75 ° C.
Plums on sieves are periodically inspected and mixed. In sunny weather, you can dry up plums in the air, and then dry them in a dryer.

Artificial drying of plums, depending on the varieties and sizes of fruits, lasts about two days. When drying in the sun, the sieves are removed under a canopy overnight. During drying, the fruits are turned over from time to time. Well dried prunes should have an elastic and soft appearance, do not release juice when pressed (moisture content no more than 25%). The color for the first grade is black, glossy, and for the second, brownish brown. To obtain 1 kg of prunes, 4.3 kg of fresh plums are needed.

** BERRIES.

Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, blueberries, black and red currants and other berries are dried at home.
They are sorted out, discarding rotten, overripe and unripe, as well as weed impurities (needles, twigs, leaves, etc.), and washed in cold water (strawberries, blackberries and raspberries should not be washed). In raspberries and blackberries, the stalk is separated, the strawberries are cleaned of stalks and sepals.

Prepared berries are poured in a thin layer on a sieve and dried in an oven or oven at a temperature not exceeding 60 °. It is recommended to stir the berries several times during drying.
Dried berries are stored in a tightly sealed container.

BERRIES of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, currants are also dried at a temperature not exceeding 60 ° C, stirring occasionally. Dried fruits and berries are stored in closed containers - in boxes, barrels or bags - in a cool dry place. Diet broths and drinks are prepared from dried fruits. Raspberries are dried to 10% moisture content.

* CRANBERRY.
For drying, ripe berries are harvested in autumn, before snow falls or in early spring. "Snowy" cranberries, which are harvested in spring, are practically devoid of vitamin C, which is important for humans, although they taste sweeter than fall cranberries. In no case is cranberry suitable for harvesting, which is harvested still green and hung in attics until it acquires the color of a ripe berry. In such fruits, there are fewer biologically active substances, bitterness is present, and they are characterized by a reduced resistance to storage time.

Ripe berries are stored for 2-3 months in fresh in a cool, dark and well-ventilated place. Cranberries are usually stored in bulk in small boxes.
Berries soaked in sugar syrup or in water, can be stored all winter. To do this, the berries must be washed, sorted out, poured into a container (glass, enamel or wooden), pour cold water, cover with a paper napkin on top and put the load.

Cranberries do not tolerate stagnant air, so they should only be stored in well-ventilated cool rooms. The DRIED CRANBERRY should contain only 5% moisture.

NOTES:

* Dried fruits and dried berries largely preserve the vitamins contained in fresh fruits.

* The speed of drying is very important - the faster, the more nutrients are stored in the product.

* Size is important - the thinner and finer the product is cut, the faster and easier it is to dry.

* Blowing the mixture to be dried speeds up the process.

Practical advice and recipes for drying.
Many of us have thought more than once what kind of food to take with us on a hike, on an overnight fishing trip or traveling for a long time away from our home and a pot of hot soup. Therefore, how to save food for longer and at the same time lighten the weight of your ration is an urgent problem. Here is one of the solutions that I chose for myself - dried vegetables and fruits! It is lightweight, compact, and will allow you to stir up a vitamin soup even in a winter forest, and in summer it will allow you not to be distracted by collecting and searching for pasture while there are such reserves in your backpack. By the way, you can also dry meat and fish, but I think about these so important products :) I will make a separate article So How can you independently make a dryer and make yourself soup sets based on the principle of packet soups of the USSR ?! So drying ....

Drying is the most ancient way of processing and preserving vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and is widely used to this day.

Drying has a significant advantage over all other canning methods, since it does not require any complex devices and special containers. And solar-air drying takes place in natural conditions in the open air. Drying of fruits and vegetables occurs due to the evaporation of the water contained in them. In order for this process to proceed intensively, it is necessary to ensure a constant supply of dry air, and in dryers - heated air, and the removal of air already saturated with moisture.
Air drying in the sun.

Usually, an open, dry area is chosen for solar-air drying, away from roadways, pets, garbage bins and other unfavorable environmental factors. It is advisable to place it in the garden.

The solar fruit and vegetable dryer is designed for harvesting fruits for the winter.

The dryer is a box (1) 1200x1000x250 mm in size, made of planed boards with a thickness of 20-30 mm or plywood with a thickness of 10-12 mm. The top of the box is covered with glass (4). Openings are provided in the lower and upper walls of the box for the natural circulation of air heated by the sun.

The fruits, prepared for drying, are laid in an even layer on a metal mesh (2) with a mesh size of 5x5 mm. To speed up drying, a black-painted metal sheet (3) is placed on the bottom of the box.

On a sunny day, the temperature inside the dryer rises to 70 degrees. The air entering the bottom holes heats up and evenly blows the fruit on the wire shelf. In two to three days in such a dryer, you can cook up to 1 kg of dried fruits.

Whole dried fruits and vegetables, or large pieces they are carefully examined, undried and possible clogging are removed. Products are put in boxes lined with paper and stored in a dry room. Used equipment is washed and dried.

For a good color of the dried product and its reliable storage, some types of fruit are kept in a solution of sulfurous acid before drying or fumigated with sulfur dioxide (gas from burning sulfur). For fumigation, small free-standing chambers of refractory materials are built, in which a hearth with burning sulfur and trays with raw materials are placed. During this operation, fire safety rules must be observed and the inhalation of sulfur dioxide must be avoided.

Artificial drying and arrangement of drying installations for artificial drying.

Artificial drying uses Russian stoves, fire, gas or electric stoves and other heating installations, as well as ovens and dryers of various designs. It is convenient to dry fruits or vegetables in special drying cabinets. They are placed on a stove or other heating surface on bricks laid flat with gaps for air flow. The average size of the drying cabinet: height 1 m, width 0.7 m. Convenient for installation above a gas, electric or wood stove, a small dryer with a base size of 400x400 mm with a total height of 660 mm. It accommodates seven sieves in height with a total area of ​​approximately 1 sq. meter.

To make a dryer, you need two sheets of roofing iron. The roof is made removable, and in some cases it may not be used. The sieves are installed on shelves made of roofing iron and each is fixed to the walls of the dryer with rails and screws. Openings are made at the bottom of the walls for fresh air. The floor of the dryer is also made of roofing iron and has eight holes, each 10x5 cm in size, for hot air. These openings can be closed with two gates, which are attached to the underside of the dryer floor. Inside the dryer, a perforated cartridge made of roofing iron (section in the form of the letter P) is attached to the rear wall under the first and under the upper shelves. A hole of 8-10 mm is made in the side wall of it, through which a thermometer is introduced. At the top position, the thermometer readings should be at least 40 ° C, at the bottom position, the temperature required according to the drying recipe is monitored. When the thermometer is not in use, the holes are closed with wooden or cork stoppers. If the product is moistened on the top sieves, then reduce the layer of product on all sieves or dry on only five or even four sieves. To improve traction, an elongated iron pipe can be attached to the lid, but in this case, under the pipe on the underside of the lid at a distance of 2-2.5 cm, you need to hang a pallet into which water droplets formed in the pipe will fall.

When installing the dryer on gas stove you should first put a metal circle. If this is not done, the floor of the dryer will overheat from the burner flame, which can cause the product to burn and even the sieves to burn. When using for drying ovens (ovens), the door is not tightly closed to allow air to enter, otherwise the product will steam up. In the initial period of drying, this gap should be wide, then it is gradually reduced. The sieves are placed on bricks or on the side projections found in ovens.

Drying can be carried out in a Russian oven, after removing all the coals and cleaning under. Before installing the sieves, you must make sure that the temperature in the oven is not higher than the required one, otherwise the products may burn, the skin of whole fruits may crack and juice may leak out. You can check the temperature in a simple way: Sprinkle a few drops of water on the floor of the oven. If it boils, the oven is too hot. You can also put a piece of white paper in the oven. If it does not turn yellow after 2-3 minutes, then the temperature can be considered acceptable.

The sieves are placed on a support made of bricks laid flat. The stove is not tightly closed with a damper, for which it is placed on two bricks or planks. In addition, it is positioned somewhat obliquely so that the exhaust air can escape through the side slots. To reduce the draft, the chimney is half-covered. As the product dries, ventilation is reduced, covering the chimney more and more. By the end of drying, the shutter is removed from the supports and the oven is closed so that there are small gaps only on the sides. You can make a special shutter with slots at the top and bottom.

DIY portable dryer-heater

Many people use dryers, including electric ones. Mostly electric dryers have a high power consumption or not very attractive prices. I propose a variant of a cheap and effective infrared dryer, which can be easily made from a heating film used for underfloor heating.


This is how the heating film itself looks like:

For the manufacture of a dryer, you will need:

1. Heating foil of the desired size. The film 50 cm wide consists of separate modules 25 cm long, so you can make almost any length. In my opinion, the ideal size is 50 cm by 100 cm. The power consumption of a dryer of this size would be 110 W, i.e. slightly larger than a conventional light bulb. And it will be easier to place such a dryer anywhere.

2. Electric wire with a switch and a plug for connection to the electrical network.

...................................................................................................................................

3. Insulation kit. It is better to use bitumen insulation (5 x 5 cm, 6 pcs.), Which is used when installing underfloor heating. It is advisable to additionally put wide PVC insulation on top. Such insulation can always be purchased from sellers of heating foils.

4. Kit for connecting the supply wire to the heating foil.

To do this, you can use:
...................................................................................................................................
- standard clamps (2 pcs.), used when installing underfloor heating;

...................................................................................................................................
- eyelets (2 pcs.);

...................................................................................................................................
In this option, you will additionally need a ring terminal (2 pcs.).

...................................................................................................................................
This connection option is the most reliable, but additional devices will be needed to crimp the eyelets.

Soldering wires. This option is best used if you know how to handle a soldering iron. To prevent overheating of the film during soldering, a metal bar must be placed under it.

The end result is an efficient dryer of the desired size that can be easily rolled up into a small roll. The maximum heating temperature of the dryer is 58 degrees.
Apples on such a dryer dry out in one day.

Are vitamins destroyed during drying?

When drying, the loss of vitamins and other nutrients is minimal. Much research has been done on all the nutrients in dried foods. Home-dried products, when you yourself can adjust the required temperature and quantity of products, are significantly superior in quality to factory counterparts. When compared to canned and frozen foods, when extreme temperatures are used, dried foods benefit from little degradation.

Here are some recommendations:
- Vitamin A is preserved during drying. Since it is sensitive to light, foods that contain it (carrots, bell peppers, etc.) must be stored in a dark place. A certain amount of vitamin C is lost during the cutting, grinding process, as it reacts with the oxygen in the air.
- The nutritional value of fresh food is not lost during drying, although some dried foods, such as fruits, become sweeter because when the product loses moisture, sugar is concentrated in a small volume. Dried vegetables and fruits are high in fiber and carbohydrates, which are not degraded during the drying process. They are low in fat.
- Preservation of micro- and macroelements (potassium, sodium, magnesium, etc.) is much higher than with any other methods, including canning. When canning, there is a danger of botulism due to the fact that bacteria easily multiply in a liquid medium. In the case of drying, the development of botulism is possible only when we restore dried foods, and do not use them for a long time. If the food is not dry enough during drying, or the container in which the dried food is stored is not dry enough, then such food can be susceptible to the damaging effects of mold. If there is a suspicion that mold has appeared in the products, such products should be discarded.
- Remember that microorganisms that spoil food (bacteria, mold and yeast, etc.) are always present in the air, water and soil. It is necessary to adhere to hygiene and sanitary requirements at all stages of the drying process.
- As for the safety when drying meat, it is recommended to hold the dried meat in the freezer for two hours.

SUSPENDED MACAROV DRYER
(another survival machine: drying food over a fire)

This dryer can be used over a fire in the Forest and over any other source of open fire and heat.
(for example, over a barrel in which a fire is burning, etc.), and not just at home over a gas stove.
For the Survivor, this design is very relevant and materials for it are easy to find ..)

Base - 2 nets, each stretched over its "own" road bike wheel rim.

The mesh is knitted directly on the rim.

First, 8 mm from the edge of the rim, a number of holes with a diameter of 4 mm are punched (drilled), after which a wire (nichrome) intended for knitting a mesh is hooked into these holes, forming loops inside the rim (Fig. 3, a).

Rice. 3. Technique for knitting mesh inside the rim:

a - the formation of loops on the inside of the rim;
b - the ends of the wire of the first row of loops are twisted on the outside of the rim;
c - reducing the number of loops, the loop of the next row is pulled from two loops of the previous row.

When the loops are inserted into all the holes, the wire from the coil is chopped off and the ends of the wire are tied on the outside of this rim.
(Fig. 3, b).

- Now we insert the end of the wire of our coil into the hole from the inside of the rim, connect it with the existing knot (Fig. 3, c) and begin to form the second row of loops with the same hook inside the rim, pulling the wire from the coil into the loops of the first row.

Please note that the knitting goes inside the rim, that is, it is necessary to reduce the number of loops in each new row.
And for this, some loops of the next turn will have to be tightened immediately into two loops of the previous turn as necessary (see Fig. 3, c).


For knitting a wire mesh, 5 "rods" of steel wire with a diameter of 1 ... 2 mm and a length of 20 mm longer than the length of 1/4 of the circle of the knitting turn are required.

You will also need a hook with a barb (Fig. 4), which is easiest to make from a 5x80 mm nail and a handle (a piece of wood with a diameter and length of 35 mm).

* Rice. 5. Hook for pulling the loops.

With the help of a hook, as already mentioned, the wire is pulled in a circle into the loops of the same wire inside the rim and a bar is immediately introduced into each new loop formed so that the knitting does not bloom (Fig. 5).
Pulling out the loop, a piece of wire is threaded into it

Rice. 5. Having pulled out the loop, a piece of wire is threaded into it so that the loop does not "go down".

Having finished weaving 8 or 10 loops of loops, instead of rods, insert a piece of wire into the loops of the last loop and tighten its ends, forming a ring. For a tie, a wire that is about 2 times thicker than knitting is desirable. The netting in the form of a ring should be well tensioned. Then weaving is repeated until the rim is completely filled.

As the diameter of the turns decreases, the rods are usually replaced with shorter ones, with which it is more convenient to work.

The upper mesh of the homemade dryer is suspended on a bracket using a "spider" consisting of three branches with hooks on one side and earrings on the other, sitting on the upper ring.

see fig. 2 - Design of the dryer for mushrooms, vegetables, fruits
and other products:
1 - grids; 2 - hook; 3 - traction (branch) of the "spider"; 4 - bag; 5 - bracket; 6 - thrust; 7 - pipe.

From above, the mesh is covered with a bag, the upper part of which is made in the form of a cone.

For the manufacture of a bag "leaning" on the branches of the "spider" are suitable: wrapping paper or newsprint, a piece of cloth (calico) from an old sheet measuring 2400x1000 mm.

At the top of the bag, arrange a neck from the top of a plastic bottle.

The throat is needed for the outlet of heated gases. A similar mesh is suspended from the top mesh using three hooks made of 4 mm wire. A homemade dryer for vegetables, mushrooms and fruits is placed over a fire (fire, gas stove) on a bracket that is attached to a vertically installed pipe. The bracket can be moved along the pipe, fixing the nets at the desired height.

Skillful hands and a creative mind will allow many to make a similar dryer for vegetables, mushrooms, fruits and other products at their own discretion, catching the meaning from this description.

Drying berries- a great way to preserve the gifts of summer, not only tasty, but also extremely useful. This is the best alternative to freezing and canning, since after drying the berries do not contain any chemical preservatives, everything is only natural.

Dried berries you can put it in yogurt or add to a pie, cook various dishes with them, cook jelly or compote, add to cakes and pastries, decorate a dessert. For drying, they usually take black currants, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and other berries.

Dried berries on special equipment - in dryers (infrared, electric dryers and others), but you can dry berries at home - in an ordinary Russian oven, in the oven, in the sun, or in a homemade dryer.

Forest berries must be picked when they are ripe, clearing them of debris and twigs.

Drying berries in a Russian oven

All berries (except raspberries, blackberries, wild strawberries and strawberries) must be thoroughly rinsed in cold water. Remove all debris, rinse, then select only ripe berries, but not too soft or rotten (raspberries should be taken unripe, as ripe raspberries will turn sour). Berries damaged by insects or spoiled must be selected and discarded.

Drying berries should be started from a temperature of 35-40 ° C.

It is important that the air is quickly evacuated with water vapor. To do this, the furnace needs supply and exhaust ventilation for air circulation. It is simple to make it: put bricks in the corners of the oven and in the middle, on them - a sieve with berries. Two more bricks must be placed under the flap and bend its upper edge. The chimney must remain ajar. Thus, the air circulates, passing through the damper and the sieve, picks up the wet vapors and exits back through the opening with the bent edge of the damper.

During the drying process, the berries need to be shaken and turned over from time to time.

The temperature for drying gooseberries, strawberries, currants and strawberries should be 40-45 ° C, for raspberries - 60-65 ° C.

Dried berries stored in a cool and dry place.

Drying berries in the oven

In the oven, the berries are dried, after wrapping them with gauze or cotton cloth. It is necessary to place the berries on the oven rack and maintain the temperature at 60-65? С. Alternatively, place the berries on a foil-lined baking sheet. The oven door must be slightly opened to allow moisture to escape. During drying, it is important to ensure that the berries do not burn, dry out or stick together, stirring them with a wooden spatula. The entire drying process takes 4 to 12 hours. From 10 kilograms of fresh berries, approximately 1-1.3 kg of dried berries are obtained.

Dried fruits can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight bag.

Drying berries in the sun

If the place where you live has a dry and warm climate, then the berries can be dried in the sun.

To do this, lay out the berries on plywood (with ventilation holes), a sieve or on a sieve, and cover them with a bird net. The laid out berries are first laid out in the shade so that they wither in the wind. After some moisture has evaporated from the berries, they are transferred to the sun. It is necessary to have a canopy over the place where the berries are dried so that they can be hidden from too hot sun or rain. When they are dry on one side, they need to be turned over. In general, it is important to mix the berries periodically, so they will dry evenly.

To speed up the drying process, you can put a newspaper stack under the berries. As soon as the layer of newspapers is moistened, they need to be replaced with new ones.

Rosehip is dried by stringing its fruits on a thread and hanging in the shade. In this case, the drying process takes several weeks.

Drying berries in dryers

In production, special dryers are used, where a large number of berries are dried at a temperature not exceeding 60 ° C, so that the shell of the fruit does not break and sugar caramelization occurs. With this technology, 80-90% of vitamins are preserved.

The dryer can be made with your own hands from iron sheets, placing shelves inside and making holes for ventilation. This dryer can be installed on any surface that can be heated.

Simple dryers can also be purchased at the store.

To determine whether the berries are ready, it is enough to squeeze them - the fruits should not stick together or lose elasticity.

Keep dried berries can be in glass jars, paper bags, gauze and linen bags, in boxes.

Dried berries are a product that has long been widespread in many countries. Harvesting fruits for the winter by drying allows you to preserve their beneficial properties and make tasty treat... They can be used in any form: add to baked goods, make compotes and desserts, make jam and eat without pre-processing. Healing properties decoctions of dried berries will help prevent many diseases. The variety of fruits that are dried for storage allows you to get almost the entire range of these delicious gifts of nature in winter.

Properties

Dried berries are specially dried fruits of shrubs and trees. It can be cherries, barberries, rose hips, hawthorns, cranberries, dogwoods, grapes, blueberries, strawberries and many others. Harvest them a little different ways, as a result of which they can be dried or cured, taste qualities and their texture is different.

The richness of useful substances in dried fruits from berries is very large, they have anti-cold, bactericidal, expectorant and tonic properties. Different varieties may additionally contain antioxidants, minerals, essential oils. The properties of these substances can hardly be overestimated: they improve the functioning of the heart, central nervous system, and have a calming effect.

When dried, it is very good to store dogwood. These are red berries growing on a small shrub. Too sour fresh, it retains a slight sourness when dried, along with all its richness in vitamins and organic acids, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. It tones, helps to cope with colds, strengthens the immune system, supports blood vessels and heart muscle.

Dried Goji berries, representatives of the nightshade family, are also popular. They are supplied from China. They are sure that their effect on the body will help cure almost all known diseases and restore strength. Their taste is very sweet, they are sold both whole and ground.

Juniper fruits have been known since ancient times for their bactericidal properties. They are harvested in early autumn and dried without thermal heating. At the same time, organic acids are preserved: malic, formic, ascorbic, and also essential oil, of which they contain about 2%.

The benefits of rosehip and sea buckthorn for people with weakened immunity are obvious, even children are prescribed decoctions from these dried fruits during the period of frequent illnesses. The content of fat and proteins in dried berries is low. They are loaded with carbohydrates. The total calorie content is about 300 kcal, depending on the type of product.

Useful qualities

Any fruits, when properly dried, retain their benefits almost to the full. They can be used for restorative, therapeutic and prophylactic purposes, making decoctions and tinctures.

Contraindications

But also avoid overuse dried berries should be used by people with diseases of the intestines and pancreas, pancreatitis, stomach ulcers.

The natural pigments they contain can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, allergy sufferers and children should definitely start using them with one or two berries to identify possible allergies.

The use of dried fruits from dried berries by children is possible from the age of two years.

Drying features

For industrial and commercial production, food GOSTs are in force, which determine the quality indicators of dried products of different varieties. They indicate the size, color, density of the finished product, which helps the consumer to get quality berries.

At home drying of these wonderful gifts is done for personal use. By collecting and drying the berries yourself, you can be sure of the quality of the berries themselves and their correct processing and storage.

For drying, whole ripe fruits are harvested without signs of ripeness. Sepals are left on all berries, with the exception of raspberries and blackberries. They are harvested unripe to avoid souring.

Berries can be dried in several ways. The fruits collected in dry weather can be simply spread out on a flat surface covered with paper. The drying area should be well ventilated, and direct sunlight should be limited. Every day the layer is turned upside down. With this method of drying, the fruits lose a fairly large amount of vitamins due to their oxidation with oxygen.

It is possible to dry the berries in the oven. A baking sheet is lined parchment paper, spread the berries in a thin even layer. The oven temperature is initially set at 45C and gradually rises to 75C. At the same time, the oven door must remain ajar. The drying process takes about 2-4 hours, you can check the readiness by checking the presence of juice in the berry. Dried berries should not contain juice.

You can get dried berries pretty quickly in the microwave. To do this, they are laid out between the fabric, and dried until tender in small portions.

Use

The use of dried berries for health purposes is extensive. Decoctions are made of them, a mixture with nuts and honey is made to improve the work of the heart.

People who are overweight need to eat these fruits carefully. On the one hand, this is a healthy and tasty substitute for sweets; for weight loss and maintaining carbohydrate levels, it is better to eat a couple of dried berries instead of sweets and flour for tea. On the other hand, consuming them excessively can lead to the deposition of excess fat.

For information on how to dry berries in the open air, see the following video.

Have you tried to prepare dried berries for future use? Drying for fruits and vegetables at home allows you to do this without unnecessary hassle, not like the old old-fashioned way by stringing it on a thread.

With the help of electric drying, you can also prepare mushrooms, vegetables, roots, dried fruits by cutting them into thin chips.

Today we will dry strawberries, recipe and step by step photos Ekaterina sent to her notebook:

Good day everyone! First, I will introduce myself. My name is Ekaterina, my mother is on maternity leave. I really love to pamper my family with all sorts of different goodies.

Jam in our family somehow faded into the background, we grind the berry with sugar and freeze it, but not only the berries should be in the freezer. Summer has just begun, we must also leave space for other fruits and vegetables. It was then that I thought about how I can preserve all the aroma and vitamins of juicy strawberries and save space. What if you try to dry it? The result made me very happy. The daughter happily eats berry chips, and her husband makes tea.

Ingredients:

Cooking process:

I cut the thoroughly washed strawberries into 5 mm thick plates, laid them out in one layer on a vegetable dryer, set the temperature to 70 degrees and went about my business for 6 hours with peace of mind, not forgetting to change trays so that the berry dries evenly.

Then, with the help of a knife, she removed the already dry strawberries from the pallet and put them in a glass jar.

The husband immediately tried this miracle, dry berries in tea do not "creep" like fresh strawberries, take just as much water as they need and give all their aroma. If desired, you can add a leaf of mint, lemon balm or a little thyme to strawberry tea.

Now we are waiting for the raspberry to repeat the experiment!

Make homemade preparations along with the Recipe Notebook, recipes can be selected under the heading of the same name.

Strawberries are rich in nutrients and vitamins; they are used in cooking and home medicine.

In order to delight themselves and loved ones with delicious berries even in winter, many dry them. In order to preserve all the useful properties and durability of strawberries as much as possible, you need to be able to dry them correctly.

Preparatory work before drying strawberries at home

The preparatory phase is the most important start to work. After all, the further fate of the berries will depend on him. Before drying strawberries, you should carefully approach the collection of berries. When the crop is harvested, it is followed by a careful selection of the best berries. Unripe, green, overripe and rotten berries should be excluded so that they do not spoil the entire harvest. Berries with traces of blows and other damage are also not suitable. The selected fruits must be thoroughly rinsed under running water and the tails or leaves must be removed.

How to dry strawberries outdoors

Dried berries are known to retain more useful components than those that are processed into jam or jam.

There are several ways to dry strawberries: using an oven, fresh air and accessories. How to dry strawberries at home is up to you, but first, familiarize yourself with each of the methods.

Drying strawberries in the fresh air Is a time consuming process. In general - not the easiest and most convenient, but natural way. Selected and peeled fruits should be spread in a loose layer on a clean surface such as cloth or paper. The place where they will be located should be well-ventilated. The sun should get there, but in such a way that its rays are not directed directly to the berries.

When the place is chosen, you can safely leave the strawberries to dry all day until dark. With the onset of dusk, the berries are brought into the room. In the morning of the next day, the berries will need to be taken out again and found in a convenient place for them. So the strawberries will dry for about 2-3 weeks. You can determine the degree of readiness of the berries by their appearance. Properly dried strawberries have a deep burgundy color, shiny grains, they are easily separated from each other.

It is best to store dried berries in cloth bags. The fabric should be chosen natural so that the berry breathes. The bags themselves are placed in a dark, dry place. The shelf life of dried strawberries is 2 years. They can be used later, if they have been stored correctly, but the taste and useful properties of the fruit will begin to fade away. Therefore, it is better not to delay and apply the strawberries within the specified shelf life.

How to dry strawberries at home: choosing a convenient way

It is much easier and faster to dry strawberries, having available tools. How to dry strawberries at home:

1.Using the oven- This is one of the most common methods of drying berries. To do this, preheat the oven to 35 ° C. While the oven is heating, the berries are neatly laid out on a baking sheet in an even layer. Then the baking sheet must be placed in the oven and left there for about 1 hour. During this time, the berries will begin to wither. When the time is up, without removing the berries from the oven, the temperature will need to be increased to 60 ° C and dried for a few more hours (2–2.5). With any drying method, the finished berries look the same. As soon as your color becomes saturated and dark, and the berries themselves stop sticking together, then drying can be considered complete.

2.Using the airfryer – easy way shift responsibility to the apparatus. For drying, a special mode is set, in which there is airflow, and the temperature reaches 45-60 ° C. Having placed the harvest of berries in such a device, you can not worry about their fate and calmly go about your business. Due to the active air circulation in the airfryer, the drying time for berries is reduced several times compared to the oven. The only feature that should be taken into account when using the airfryer is that the outflow of moisture is not taken into account in the machine. It is imperative to provide it in any possible way, leaving the lid slightly open. Airfryer minutes - small surface area. A large supply of berries will have to be dried in several passes. In total, it will fit into the unit, depending on its characteristics, from 0.8 to 1.2 kg of strawberries, and the output of dried berries will result in 0.3–0.5 kg. Well, the advantages include the speed of work and the absence of heat from the drying process.

3. How to dry strawberries in an electric dryer. Today you can pick up all kinds of dryers from a huge assortment. They may differ in cost, characteristics, principle of operation. Therefore, the drying time for strawberries can vary within 6-12 hours. But each model is individual, so it is better to familiarize yourself with the instructions for a particular unit in advance. Place the berries on clean trays so that they do not touch each other. The temperature in the dryer should be set at around 50–55 ° C. You will have to keep an eye on the berries in electric dryers, checking their readiness. The berries will show that they are ready. Then you can put them in bags or glass containers and store in the right place. Glass containers will better protect drying from pests.

Into the forest for berries: how to dry strawberries for tea

In order to drink fragrant and healthy strawberry tea in winter, which saves you from many troubles, you need to take care of harvesting berries in a timely manner.

They should go to collect them in the summer, at the end of June., it is possible throughout July, depending on climatic conditions. There are many varieties of berries, so you can find them growing both in the field and in the forest. Fruit should be picked in dry weather, preferably warm. You should not go in search early in the morning, since the dew will not have time to disappear.

Take care of a good ventilated area when drying strawberries. Check the berries periodically for mold. As soon as they darken and become crumbly, you can collect them in a container.

When it's time for tea, add 1-2 tablespoons of dried berries to black or green tea to impart a refined taste, aroma, as well as enhance immunity. You can diversify your drink with strawberry decoctions, as well as with plant leaves.

Healthy leaves: how to dry strawberries for tea

Not only the fruits, but also the leaves of the strawberry are rich useful properties... From them aromatic and healing tea is obtained, provided that it is properly prepared.

1. The collected strawberry leaves should be laid out in the shade and dried.

2. Each leaf is rolled into a tube between the palms so that the juice begins to stand out.

3. The finished straws should be laid out on a baking sheet in a layer of 5 cm, covered with a slightly damp natural cloth and left in a room with a temperature of about 27 ° C for 6-8 hours. In this position, fermentation should begin.

4. When a bright berry aroma appears, it means that the chemical reaction is over. The leaves will need to be dried in the oven at 90 ° C for an hour.

5. Finished leaves are dried in the same way as berries in a cool dry place.