How to dry raspberry berries and leaves at home

Most housewives prepare raspberries for the winter in the form of boiling, freezing or drying. But heat treatment leads to the loss of most beneficial substances, and frozen foods take up a lot of space. It is dried raspberries that are easy to store and retain more vitamins than in the two previous cases.

To dry berries, you do not need to have a special device. There are different drying methods. Some of them can actually be used without even having electricity. Read on to learn how to dry raspberries at home.

Are dried raspberries healthy?

Dried raspberries much more useful frozen berries or jam. It is believed that in this form the product retains from 70% to 90% of nutrients, because during the preparation process it is not subjected to heat or cold treatment. Long-term storage is ensured by a very low moisture content, which does not allow bacteria to multiply.

100 g of dried raspberries contain 241 kcal. The high calorie content is explained by the presence of glucose, sucrose and fructose in the berries. This amount of product accounts for:

• 4.2 g protein;
• 2.6 g fat;
• 43.4 g carbohydrates.

Dried berries are rich useful elements. It contains:

• vitamins B, C, A, alpha-tocopherol;
• minerals: molybdenum, copper, potassium, calcium, cobalt, magnesium;
• salicylic, malic, tartaric, citric, nicotinic acids;
• essential oils;
• pectins;
• tannins.

Thanks to its rich composition, raspberries have a number of beneficial properties. Among them:

1. Cleansing the body of toxins, toxins, and bad cholesterol. This improves the condition of the cardiovascular system.
2. Improvement of metabolism, activation of enzymes. When you include dry raspberries in your diet, it is easier to lose excess weight and not gain it again.
3. Improving the absorption of nutrients. This effect will help cope with vitamin deficiency.
4. Strengthening vascular walls and increasing their elasticity. This property reduces the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and hypertensive crises.
5. Elimination of inflammation and antimicrobial effect. Berries help cope with colds and inflammatory diseases.
6. Improved bowel function.
7. Strengthening the immune system.
8. Strengthening the heart muscle.
9. Prevention of destructive processes in the musculoskeletal system.

Not only the berries are useful, but also the leaves, shoots, and inflorescences of the plant.

Pay attention! Raspberries help cope with the consequences of alcohol intoxication.

Rules for collecting and preparing berries

To dry raspberries, it is important to learn how to properly prepare the raw materials. Otherwise, the berries will spoil or contain harmful substances.

For drying, berries are collected that have already acquired sweetness and a red tint, but are not overripe. In some cases, it is more convenient to use an unripe crop.

Raspberries are removed from the bush, carefully separating them from the stalk. Store-bought berries will also work. In this case, they will have to be sorted out, removing wrinkled specimens.

Harvesting is carried out only in dry weather. This should be done at lunchtime, when the sun is especially active.

Raw materials intended for drying cannot be washed. Otherwise, the berries will become saturated with moisture, take a long time to dry, or simply spoil.

The collected raspberries are sorted, cleared of small debris, stalks, leaves and beetles. Specimens with any damage or dark spots are removed.

Important! Raspberries for drying are bought only in dry weather.

Drying methods

There are 5 ways to dry raspberries:

• in an electric dryer;
• naturally;
• in the oven;
• in the microwave;
• a combination of natural and artificial methods.

It is important to learn how to identify dry berries. If you pick them up and squeeze them, there will be no juice left on your fingers. Ready raspberries have a darker, almost burgundy color. It is important that it does not crumble in your hands. This indicates that the product is overdried.

The natural way

The natural method involves drying raspberries without using any equipment. This option is considered the most useful, since the berries dry under the influence of fresh air, without elevated temperatures.

The advantages of this method are the preservation of useful substances and the absence of the need for any special devices. However, the process takes from 5 days to a week.

How to dry raspberries naturally:

1. Lay a sheet, film or newspaper on the prepared area. Often special trays or trays are used. The berries are carefully laid out on the litter in one layer. The top of the raw material is covered with gauze to protect it from insects.
2. The berries on the litter are placed in a well-ventilated, dry place. It is important that it is in the shade. Otherwise, there will be few vitamins left in the finished product.
3. At least once a day, stir and turn the berries so that they dry evenly on all sides. During the drying process, raspberries should not be exposed to moisture, debris or dust.
4. In cloudy weather and rainy days, the product is brought indoors.

Raspberries can be dried at home, in the garden in a shaded place or in the attic. The main thing is that the place is well ventilated.

The second method requires more preparation time. But during the drying process you won’t have to pay attention to the product:

1. Raspberries are strung on a thread and distributed so that there is free space near each berry.
2. The ends of the thread are tied to form a ring.
3. Raspberry “beads” are hung in a dry, well-ventilated, shaded place.
4. When drying is complete, the raspberries are removed and stored on a string.

With this method, the berries are evenly dried and ventilated on all sides. This speeds up the process and does not require human intervention.

note! When dried naturally, the berries turn out smooth and beautiful, do not crack or deform.

Microwave

This method ensures the fastest preparation of the product. The drying process of one portion takes no more than 5 minutes.

When dried in the microwave, raspberries are exposed to high temperatures. This somewhat reduces its usefulness. Also, due to high pressure, some berries burst, which makes the appearance of the product less attractive.

Advice. To prevent raspberries from bursting in the microwave, choose unripe berries.

Drying raspberries in the microwave is easy. The main thing is to follow the instructions:

1. Cover the microwave plate with gauze. Place raspberries on it in one layer, leaving free space between the berries.
2. The berries are covered with gauze. Set the power to 200 W and turn on the device for 5 minutes.
3. Every minute the microwave is opened, the berries are turned over and checked for readiness.If the berries are not ready in 5 minutes, add another 2 minutes.

When the berries are dry, they are removed from the microwave and allowed to cool. Thanks to the gauze pad they will not stick to the box.

In the oven

In this case, the preparation time is 4-6 hours.

Despite the fact that raspberries cooked in the oven are not as healthy as those dried in the usual way, if the temperature is chosen correctly, most of the vitamins in them are preserved. The berries are deformed in the oven, but not as much as in the microwave.

How to dry raspberries in the oven:

1. The baking sheet is covered with parchment paper. Place raspberries on it in one layer.
2. Place in a cold oven. After this, set the temperature to 60°C degrees.
3. After an hour, the temperature is reduced to 40°C. After another half hour, it is raised again to 60°C. This continues throughout the drying period.
4. To dry the berries evenly, they are periodically stirred and turned over. It is important to ensure that the raspberries are always laid out in 1 layer.
5. Every 10 minutes the oven is opened for 3-5 minutes. This step is optional if the oven has a convection setting.

In the dryer

When using an electric dryer, most of the nutrients are retained. The device has low power and consumes a small amount of electricity.

The drying time in a special device is one day. This time varies depending on what temperature the hostess sets.

How to dry berries in an electric dryer:

1. Place raspberries in one layer on special grids. There should be a small distance between the berries.
2. The dryer is set at 40-60°C. The higher the temperature, the faster the berries will dry, but will be less healthy.
3. In order for the raspberries to dry evenly, it is recommended to turn off the device several times during the drying period, waiting for it to cool completely, and then turn it on again.

Combined method

The combined method combines drying in an electric dryer and drying under natural conditions. This allows you to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins, reducing the preparation time of the product.

Drying using a combined method:

1. The berries are laid out on a tray or other support in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place and covered with a layer of gauze.
2. For 3 days, the raw materials are periodically turned over. In wet weather and during precipitation, it is removed indoors.
3. After 3 days, the raspberries are transferred to an electric dryer in one layer. It is not necessary to leave a distance between the berries.
4. The temperature of the device is set to 40°C. Raspberries are dried until ready. This process usually takes 3-5 hours.

Drying raspberry leaves and shoots for tea

Absolutely all above-ground parts of raspberries are healthy and tasty. Housewives harvest not only berries, but also young branches, leaves and inflorescences.

Such products are used for tea drinking, as a replacement for black and green tea. They are used in folk medicine to prepare medicinal decoctions for colds and baths for diseases of the female organs. The greenery of the plant is also used in cosmetology.

Like berries, raspberry inflorescences and leaves are dried for the winter. It is important to know some of the nuances of this procedure.

Preparation of raw materials

The best quality is obtained from raw materials collected in June or July, during the flowering period of the bush.

Leaves are collected together with the stalk during the day, when the sun is most active in dry weather.

Good greens have rich color and regular shape.There should be no spots, damage, convex formations or other signs of disease.

The collected leaves are sorted, removing all damaged or wilted specimens. Then they are wiped with a dry, clean cotton cloth to remove dust and debris.

Note! The leaves are not washed before drying.

Drying methods

Raspberry leaves dried in two ways: natural and artificial. The first option is the most popular, as it is easy to implement and retains a greater number of useful elements.

How to dry raspberry leaves at home for tea in a natural way:

1. The leaves are sprinkled on a fabric mat or newspaper. The layer should not be too thick.
2. Then place it in a warm, dry and dark place. It is important that it is ventilated, but without drafts. Otherwise, the leaves will fly away.
3. To ensure uniform drying, stir them 2-3 times a day.

The duration of preparation in this way is from 3 to 5 days. To speed up the process, the leaves are tied into a bundle by the cuttings and hung in a suitable place by a thread.

With the artificial method, a lot of time will have to be devoted to preparatory work. But the taste of the tea will be more intense, and the preparation itself will take less time:

1. Each sheet is rolled with your fingers into a tube. You should get tight and thin strips that do not unwind on their own.
2. The baking sheet is covered with parchment paper. Blanks of raspberry leaves are poured onto it.
3. The temperature is set to 40-50°C. The leaves are stirred periodically, and the oven is opened slightly every hour.

Depending on the temperature, the duration of drying the leaves in this way ranges from 1 to 3 hours.

Storage rules

To ensure that dried raspberries do not lose their beneficial properties, they must be stored correctly:

1. Raspberry leaves and berries are stored in fabric bags or special (not metal) containers. In this case, the container should be half filled. Otherwise, the workpiece cakes and deteriorates.
2. Store the dried product in a dry place. In humid climates it will become moldy.
3. It is important to protect the product from direct sunlight. Such exposure deprives it of most of its beneficial properties.
4. Dried raspberries last up to 2 years. The shelf life of dried herbs is 3 years.

Conclusion

One of the most convenient ways to prepare raspberries for the winter is drying. Dry berries do not take up much space and retain a large amount of nutrients. It is used to prepare drinks, added to various dishes, cosmetics and medicinal preparations.

Drying raspberries is easy. In this way, not only berries are harvested, but also other parts of the plant - leaves, young shoots, inflorescences. The main thing is to follow the step-by-step instructions and not exceed the specified temperature.