The best ways to dry black currants at home

Children and adults love currants - they are the healthiest and most delicious berries from the garden. However, her ripening period is short - you can eat fresh currants only for a few weeks. For this reason, various ways of harvesting this berry are so popular. One of the most common is canning, but with such processing, taste and useful substances are lost. Alternatively, blackcurrant drying is used.

In the article we will tell you how to dry black currants at home, what to look for during its storage and how to use the harvested berries.

Is it possible to dry black currants

During canning, due to heat treatment in fruits and berries, most of the beneficial compounds are destroyed. And this disadvantage is especially evident when harvesting vitamin berries, which include black currant.

It is interesting! Currant was known in Russia in ancient times and was considered a healing berry.

Preservation is not the only way to preserve currants for the winter. Drying is much softer than cooking, and helps to preserve more vitamins and nutrients of the berry, as well as its taste and aroma.

Preparing currants for drying

Although drying cannot be called a complex process, it requires adherence to certain rules, first of all - the preliminary preparation of the product.

Currants are harvested on a sunny day, since wet berries are much worse stored. Only fully ripe berries are selected and get rid of sick and rotten ones. They can infect others and degrade the taste of the product. For drying, currants are suitable, which are collected with brushes.

After harvesting, the currants are washed and left to dry. It is best to spread it out on a soft towel to absorb moisture.

How to dry black currants properly

The water content in currants is about 85-90%. In order for it to be called dried, this indicator must be reduced to 15%. It is important to make sure that it does not get smaller. Overdried currant loses its taste and benefits for the body.

There are many ways to dry black currants. Some require only sun and air, others require special devices. Drying conditions and times vary.

On air

This drying method is the oldest of all. Due to its simplicity, many gardeners dry currants this way.

The best way to dry berries is using wooden trays or trays. If laid out on metal, it will give the blanks an unpleasant aftertaste. The surface is covered with tracing paper or parchment and the currants are spread over the paper in an even, thin layer. It is important to ensure that it does not lie crowded, otherwise drying will be uneven.

After that, cover the currants with gauze and take the trays out to the balcony or attic. From time to time, it is checked and slightly ted up to avoid spoilage and uneven drying.

Drying takes 2 days on average. After the moisture from the berries has evaporated, it is recommended to leave them in the oven for 5-6 hours at a temperature of + 55 ° C. Then the harvested crop is laid out in glass or ceramic containers for winter storage.

This combined method is used to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins in dried berries.

Drying in the sun

Drying currants in the sun is the same ancient and simple way as harvesting them in the air.

For such drying you will need:

1. Line the wooden tray or pallet with parchment paper (baking paper) or tracing paper.
2. Pour currants evenly onto the paper in one layer.
3. First place the container with berries in the shade, and when some of the moisture evaporates, transfer it to the sun. In the hottest part of the day, harvest the berries under a canopy.
4. To prevent flies, bees, wasps and other insects from spoiling the berries, cover the trays with gauze or a thin cotton cloth.
5. To avoid damage to berries and uneven drying, the currants are periodically mixed, making sure that they are evenly located on the surface.

Sun harvesting takes about 2 days. After that, the sun-dried berries are dried in the oven for about 5 hours.

Important! Direct sunlight has a detrimental effect on the content of vitamin C, which is destroyed in the sun. Therefore, the preparation in the sun is recommended to be combined with other methods, for example, drying in the oven or microwave.

Oven

Harvesting currants in the oven is the most popular drying method. It is simple and allows you to dry the berries much faster and better, in the air and the sun.

Before drying in the oven, the currants are sorted out, all spoiled and damaged berries are sorted out, washed and dried from water in the open air.

How to make a blank:

1. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment (preferably in 2 layers) or aluminum foil.
2. Spread the berries evenly on the coating in one layer.
3. In the oven, set the temperature to + 45 ° C and place the currants there for 1 hour. At this stage, the berries should wither a little.
4. Remove the berries and let them cool. Simultaneously raise the temperature to + 70 ° С.
5. Place the cooled currants in the oven again and dry for about 2 hours until tender.

The finished product is stored. When drying, never immediately set a high temperature. Because of this, a crust forms on the currants, which will interfere with the evaporation of moisture.

Important! When drying, take into account the size of the berries. If the currant is large, it is kept for about 3 hours.

Microwave

Using the microwave, you can quickly dry the berries. Currants, harvested in this way, are beautiful, bright and tasty. However, the microwave will only help if there are few berries. Cope with the whole harvest she can't.

Cover the microwave plate with a cotton cloth or napkin and evenly sprinkle the sorted berries on it. It is important to make sure that they are in one layer. Cover them with another napkin on top.

The prepared currants are placed in the oven and set to 200 watts. Warm up for 5 minutes. After that, the microwave is turned off, and the dried berries are checked for readiness. If necessary, they can be dried several more times, checking and stirring the berries every 30 seconds.

Electric dryer

An electric dryer is a device specially designed for the preparation of dried fruits. It is suitable for gardeners who prefer not to preserve the harvest of fruits and berries, but to dry it.

For drying currants in an electric dryer, set the temperature to no more than + 50 ... + 55 ° С. At a higher level, the berries will be covered with a crust.

The currants are sorted out, washed and dried in air. After that, it is evenly laid out in one layer on the trays of an electric dryer. The laid out berries are left for 10 minutes, and then the pallets are placed in the dryer.

After that, it is enough to check the berries and stir slightly. The drying process takes 50 hours from the moment the currants are placed in the dryer.

Checking the readiness of currants

During the drying process, the appearance of the berries changes. At the initial stage, they acquire a brownish-burgundy color, after which it changes to dark red... But only when the currants begin to wrinkle and turn black, they are checked for readiness.

When checking, the berries are shaken up.Larger ones may not be ready yet and will deteriorate during storage, but take off all the rest. When all the currants acquire a black and burgundy color, wrinkle and have a slight peculiar smell, the berries are cooled and laid out in a special container for storage.

How to store dried currants

During storage, a number of rules are observed:

• dried berries are stored in a dark place, since direct sunlight destroys the vitamin C and other beneficial trace elements they contain;
• use glass containers or ceramic dishes for storage;
• keep currants in a container with a tight-fitting lid to avoid moisture ingress;
• the storage room is warm and dry.

It is not recommended to store the product in iron cans - in them, in less than a month, all the berries will be saturated with a characteristic iron taste, and the workpiece will be spoiled. In the absence of the necessary utensils, even tight-fitting cardboard boxes are suitable.

Important! Before storing currants, be sure to let them cool down to room temperature. If the berries are still hot, packaged, they will produce condensation, which encourages the development of mold.

How you can use dried berries

Dried currants have even more uses than fresh ones. For example, it is added to kvass to improve its taste, birch sap is fermented with it, making it carbonated in a natural way. Various homemade liqueurs and liqueurs are prepared with it.

The healing properties of currants do not disappear even after drying. This berry has antiviral properties, prevents colds and works as an antipyretic. Decoctions and tea are prepared from dried currants, which facilitate the course of the disease. These drinks can be consumed by healthy people as a preventive measure and just like that - they are tasty and aromatic.

Dried currants are used not only for teas and decoctions. It is suitable for compotes and fruit drinks as the only ingredient or as part of a recipe.

Some housewives grind and use this berry as a seasoning for dishes or an addition to baked goods. It can be added instead of raisins to cheese cakes. Dried currants are even suitable for puddings and ice cream.

Drying currant leaves

Harvesting currants is not limited to berries alone. Very popular and leaves this plant. They are added to tea, resulting in a delicious drink with a pleasant aroma. That is why many gardeners dry them for the winter.

Currant tea is not only tasty, but also has medicinal properties. This drink fights colds, from which many suffer with the onset of the autumn and winter cold. Such tea is also used for the prevention of diseases, it maintains the required level of vitamins and nutrients in the body.

Important! Currant leaves, for all their usefulness, have contraindications. They should not be added to tea for those who suffer from ulcers or gastrointestinal acidity.

Currant leaves are harvested early in the morning or in the evening in clear weather. Wet leaves deteriorate quickly, so in case of rain, you should wait until the moisture evaporates from them. Leaves that grow in the middle of the branch are suitable for drying.

The collected leaves are sorted out, getting rid of damaged by insects or diseases. After that, they are laid out on white paper or cotton cloth in a dry place with air access. The leaves should lie in one layer without overlapping each other.

Currant leaves are laid out in bags or paper bags only after they have completely dried. This is checked by breaking one of them. If the sheet crumbles easily, it means that it is completely ready for storage and use.

Often, currant leaves are not dried in the air, but using an electric dryer. This speeds up the process.

Harvesting currant leaves is not limited to classical drying. In addition to her, there is another way - fermentation. It is not that popular, but it is quite effective.

The leaves are fermented as follows:

1. The collected leaves are placed in a dark room for 24 hours, stirring them up from time to time.
2. After a day of soaking, the leaves are rolled up in tubes and wait until they begin to secrete juice.
3. The tubes are laid out in glass containers, covered with a damp natural cloth and moved to a warm place. The fabric is checked periodically and moistened with water if it is dry.
4. The leaves are fermented until a strong sweet aroma begins to emanate from them. After that, they are dried.
5. For drying, the leaves are cut, laid out on a baking sheet and placed in an oven preheated to a temperature of + 70 ° C. Drying takes 1 hour.

The dried leaves are stored in a dark and dry place. To do this, use tight-fitting glass or ceramic containers.

Conclusion

Black currant is one of the healthiest berries in the garden. Although its fruiting season is short, the berry can be enjoyed at any time, if properly prepared. Drying currants is a fairly simple and effortless process. Thanks to drying, useful substances and vitamins are preserved, which are destroyed during conservation.

Subject to all the rules of preparation and storage, you can delight yourself all year round with a variety of dishes and drinks with this tasty and healing berry.