The answer to the question how to dry barberry at home, we will break into chapters, each of which will be devoted to a separate element of this curative plant. But, first of all, we will talk about what is so valuable its individual parts.
The value of barberry
Dried barberry is used, both in cooking and as a medicinal substance. A particularly good combination of dried berries with some Caucasian and Central Asian dishes.
This pilau is cooked exactly with barberry, its combination with other ingredients of this dish gives this amazing dish a unique touch of sourness.
That's interesting! Connoisseurs of oriental cuisine consider pilaf without barberry as simple rice porridge.
Dried barberry leaves are also used in cooking, for example, they are put in jars when pickling cucumbers.
Due to the high content of various nutrients, dried barberry is widely used in medicine. And this is not surprising, because the individual elements of this plant contain:
- berries - vitamins "A", "C" and "K", useful acids and pectins;
- leaves, roots and bark are rich in alkaloids and vitamins "C" and "E".
Special application of barberry against such a terrible disease as scurvy, is known to people since antiquity.
Procurement of
Before proceeding to the narration how to dry barberry, we will tell you how to properly prepare and process raw materials for subsequent drying.
Fruits
Barberry berries are harvested after full maturation. Usually it happens in the late autumn, in the middle strip almost in front of the frosts. At this time, they accumulate the greatest amount of vitamins.
Fruits are gently picked up, then sorted and washed in a colander under running water.
Warning! The unripe berries of barberry are slightly poisonous, their use can lead to stomach upset.
Leaves
Barberry leaves are cut with small twigs. From a tree cut off shoots of current year in length approximately in ten centimeters. This procedure is carried out in late May or early June, preferably the day after the last rain. This is done because before drying the leaves are not washed, and the last shower washed away the accumulated dust from them.
When transporting, it is not recommended to add cut slices a layer thicker than ten centimeters so that premature fermentation does not start.
Thus, there is a simultaneous harvesting of both leaves and bark from twigs.
Roots
Root preparation in one bush barberry can be repeated no earlier than ten years, otherwise the plant can get sick and die. The harvesting of the roots is carried out in the autumn after the plant has gone to rest before winter. The earth under the bush is neatly cleared and the third part of the roots is cut off from different directions.
You need to do this in dry weather, so you can easily shake the soil, as they, like twigs, do not wash before drying.
Drying
First, look how beautiful the dried barberry looks in the photo.
Berries
Most often dried just the berries of this plant, so the story of drying barberry we'll start with them. This process does not represent anything complicated, drying the fruits in the oven on a baking sheet.
First the temperature is maintained in the region of 40-50 degrees, when the berries will start to wrinkle add up to sixty, the degree of readiness determines the squeezing of berries in the palm of your hand. The finished product does not stick to the hands and between themselves.
Store dried barberry in glass jars or plastic bottles, our favorite "poltorashki."
Roots
After cutting the damaged and sore spots, the roots are laid out on a baking tray and dried in the oven at a temperature of 45-50 degrees for two to four hours. The duration of the process depends on the thickness and moisture of the roots.
The yellow color of the surface of the roots is an indication that the drying is carried out correctly. In addition, if the rootlet is cut and broken, then inside it must also be lemon color.
Leaves and sprigs
These barberry pieces are dried outdoors in the shade under a canopy for a week. Dried branches with leaves are stored in bags of natural fabrics.
Tip! When drying the leaves of barberry, do not allow them to get into the sun. The sun destroys the most important alkaloid in the plant - berberine, and the product becomes less valuable.
We finish the story about drying barberry with an interesting video about berries: