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Rosehip storage at home: how to save fruits for the winter? How it is more useful to dry your hair: with a hairdryer or naturally What to add where

In summer, when there are a lot of berries, it is easy to saturate your body with vitamins. The situation is more difficult in winter. Of course, at this time of the year you can buy fresh fruits and vegetables in the store, but they are not only expensive, but often not tasty. That is why in the summer it is worth devoting a little time to preparations.

Berries for the winter can be frozen or dried. Both methods are not complicated and allow you to save a maximum of useful substances. However, if you need to focus on one thing, then it is better to choose frozen berries. They are 90% as healthy as they are fresh!

Vitamins in frozen berries are most often preserved in full. You can only lose those that are destroyed at high temperatures (for example, vitamin C), and only if you blanch the berries before freezing.

What berries can be harvested for the winter?

It remains to find out which berries can be frozen. Almost everything, except for fruits with very soft pulp. Overripe strawberries or watermelons will definitely turn into ice porridge. Therefore, choose ripe berries, but without flaws on the peel.

And in order to subsequently do without unpleasant surprises, it is also worth figuring out how to properly freeze berries for the winter. It's simple: pack the fruits in portions so as not to re-freeze; do not wash soft berries beforehand and freeze the fruits, spreading them in one layer. After 6 - 8 hours, they can be transferred to a bag or plastic container.

Frozen berries are stored for a year if the temperature in the freezer is from 18 degrees and below. If it is higher, then you should not stock up on fruits for more than 4 months.

The benefits of dried berries

Dried berries are quite a bit inferior to frozen ones, but definitely more useful than canned ones. Vitamins in them can be destroyed during heat treatment, but losses are minimal. Also, dried fruits are never the cause of food poisoning. They saturate the body with useful substances in the cold season and strengthen the immune system. They are also indispensable when you need to quickly replenish your energy supply. Dried berries have more calories than fresh ones, so they satisfy hunger in a couple of minutes.

Dried homemade berries are usually stored for a year, that is, until the new harvest. Although if you keep them in a dry and cool room in a glass jar or linen bag, then they do not have an expiration date.

What is prepared from dried and frozen berries

Both dry and frozen berries are used to prepare various drinks: compotes, jelly, fruit drinks. Dried wild berries are also added to tea.

By and large - any tubular, but ideal for drying and storage at home White mushrooms , boletus and boletus .

Forest mushroom harvest

How to cook mushrooms for drying

Do not wash the mushrooms: they absorb water like a sponge, this will lengthen the process and affect the quality. Carefully clean them with a knife from the earth, grass and moss, and then wipe with a slightly damp cloth or sponge. Divide into piles according to size, and then cut. Large mushrooms into several parts, and small ones can be dried whole.

For some drying methods and to reduce cooking time, it is better to cut the mushrooms into thin plates. Keep the beautiful caps of small mushrooms whole.

Preparing mushrooms for drying

How and where to dry mushrooms

Drying mushrooms outdoors

The most affordable way is to dry naturally outside or in a well-ventilated area in dry, hot weather, avoiding direct sunlight.

To do this, chopped mushrooms are strung on a thick thread, twine or fishing line so that the pieces do not touch. Or in one layer laid out on clean paper or cotton fabric. Under favorable conditions, it will take at least a week. If the weather suddenly turned bad, and there is a Russian oven in the country house, you can dry the mushrooms in it or in a conventional oven, heated to 60 ° C and with the door ajar.

Mushrooms ready for drying

Drying mushrooms in the oven

Drying in an oven is the most convenient way to harvest in an urban environment.

Mushrooms are best dried on a wire rack or lined with baking paper. Throughout the process, the cabinet door must remain open to allow air to circulate. We start with a temperature of 45 °C. When the mushrooms are no longer sticky, increase to 60-70 ° C and dry until tender, turning over from time to time.

Drying mushrooms in the microwave

You can even dry mushrooms in the microwave. For this method, it is desirable to cut them into petals, spread them out in one layer on a wire rack and leave for 20 minutes at a power of at least 150-180 watts. Then drain the liquid released from the mushrooms and cool them. The procedure must be repeated until the mushrooms are dry. This method is troublesome, but the result is so-so. Mushrooms turn out not so fragrant and, most likely, lose many of their beneficial properties.

Drying mushrooms in a dehydrator

If you're a fan of stockpiling dried mushrooms or fruits, then a dehydrator is just what you need. In this specially equipped cabinet, the air is heated and distributed evenly. Raw materials gradually lose moisture, completely retaining their valuable properties.

Drying mushrooms in a dehydrator

Where and for how long can dry mushrooms be stored

Mushrooms are stored in suitable conditions no more than 2-3 from the moment of preparation. You can store them in paper, and preferably canvas bags, in cardboard boxes and loosely closed glass jars in a dry place. In the old days, even pillowcases were used for storage.

Mushrooms can be ground into a powder and added to dishes to taste. Or in flour for making dumplings, pies with meat, fish and mushrooms.

Mushroom homemade powder is a great spice

Is it possible to make sure that all the vitamins collected in the garden are completely preserved until winter?

Alas, the dream of conserving vitamins is a utopia, - says Svetlana Derbenyova, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Leading Researcher at the FGBUN "Federal Research Center for Nutrition and Biotechnology". - The lifespan of vitamins is very short (some nutritionists believe that it is calculated in days). Therefore, vitamins in stale fruits are much less than in fresh fruits, and heat treatment kills them almost completely.

However, in addition to vitamins, vegetables and fruits also contain other, no less useful, but more stable substances (trace elements, antioxidants, etc.), which tolerate canning well. And some vegetables after heat treatment become even more useful than fresh ones.

Therefore, realizing that it is impossible to gorge on “usefulness” for the whole winter in a few summer months, we must try to prepare our crop as correctly as possible. There are many original and quick ways to harvest vegetables and fruits that ripen in Russia.

carrot tea

Carrots are the only root crop in the world, from which tea has been prepared for many centuries, or rather, a delicious vitamin drink (because carrots do not lose their beneficial properties during drying and heat treatment).

How to prepare. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater, wrap in foil and seal tightly. Put in the oven for 1 hour. Then unfold the foil and leave to dry until cooked.

Recipe. To prepare a drink, put a handful of dried carrots in a teapot, pour boiling water over it and let it brew for about 30 minutes. Carrot tea can be drunk without sugar - due to the high sugar content, the drink turns out to be sweet in itself.

Tomatoes with herbs

It is no coincidence that tomatoes are called the most useful vegetable. They are rich in potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and zinc, as well as vitamins C, E and group B. But the main value of tomatoes is in the high content of the antioxidant lycopene, which reduces the risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This healing substance is better absorbed after heat treatment.

How to prepare. Take 7 large tomatoes and 1 bunch of parsley. Cut the hard center out of the tomatoes, cut into cubes and transfer to a deep container. Wash the greens, chop, add to the tomatoes and mix well. Spread the mixture into culinary forms and put in the freezer for 3-4 hours. Then remove from the molds and arrange in batches in portions. The blank can be stored in the freezer for 6-8 months. Take out immediately before cooking borscht, stew, pilaf and use in cooking without prior defrosting.

Plum

Plum is the most easily digestible fruit. A storehouse of dietary fiber necessary for the normal functioning of the intestines and antioxidants (protecting against breakdowns in cells).

How to prepare. Gourmet dessert of plums in wine syrup. Prepare the syrup to start: add 0.5 tbsp. white wine, 0.5 tbsp. granulated sugar, 2-3 circles of ginger and 4 cloves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cook for another 10 minutes. Wash 400 g of plums, remove the stones, chop the pulp into slices and put in syrup. Boil 5 minutes. Transfer prepared products to a sterile container, seal. And at any time you will have a wonderful sauce for pancakes, ice cream, strudel filling, etc. at your fingertips.

eggplant mugs

The purple color of eggplant indicates a high content of antioxidants, which prevent the occurrence of any type of cancer. In addition, eggplant is one of the few low-calorie foods that saturate quickly and for a long time (due to its high fiber content). Eggplant is often called the "vegetable of longevity" (it is no coincidence that this is one of the main ingredients of Caucasian dishes) - the optimal ratio of potassium and magnesium supports heart health.

How to prepare. This recipe will allow you to cook a dish in winter that will taste no different from summer. Wash the eggplant, cut into circles, sprinkle with salt and leave for half an hour (this will save them from bitterness). Then dip the pieces in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then immediately cool in cold water. Dry the mugs on a towel and put in a wide shallow dish. Freeze (place the container in the freezer for 4 hours), then arrange in portions in plastic bags). In this form, eggplants can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Get it just before cooking (fry, stew).

Spices

“Greens (parsley, dill, basil, cilantro) grow even among the most negligent summer residents,” says Igor Sokolsky, candidate of pharmaceutical sciences, specialist in phytochemistry. - Herbs are rarely harvested, although a pinch of spices contains more antioxidants than a glass of berries. Spices have an anti-carcinogenic effect, reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It is best to prepare bouquets of spices - a bunch of parsley, dill, cilantro, celery, mint, basil and lovage. Each plant must be cut, dried, spread out in an even thin layer on clean paper (it is not worth drying the bundled bunches - this leads to decay and a decrease in useful properties). Grind dried herbs to 2-3 mm, then mix and store in a dry place. Bouquets can also be frozen and dipped for a few minutes in the dish being prepared.

What to add

Soup with meat broth: 1. Parsley, dill, celery, basil. 2. Parsley, celery, lovage.

Soup with fish broth: 1. Parsley, dill, bay leaf. 2. Parsley, thyme, dill, bay leaf, green part of the leek.

Soup with vegetable broth: 1. Cilantro, basil, celery. 2. Parsley, lovage, dill.

Canned stewed meat: parsley, basil, bay leaf.

Braised fish: basil, lovage, dill.

It is difficult to imagine any culinary masterpiece without fragrant herbs. But if in summer this important component is available in any quantity, then in winter it is difficult to find it even on store shelves. Therefore, housewives prepare greens for the winter for the future and at any time of the year they can afford to “saturate” home cooking with aroma and useful substances.

What is better to freeze, preserve or dry greens for the winter, how to do it, and how to properly store the "green" crop - read the answers to these questions in the editorial material.

Ways to harvest greenery for the winter: pros and cons

Harvesting "greenfinch" for the entire winter period for most housewives is not a difficult process, as it does not require special skills or the use of ultra-modern kitchen devices. To prepare greens for the winter, three methods are usually used - drying, preservation and freezing.

Many people are wondering what is better to dry or freeze greens for the winter, or preserve them in jars in order to preserve the nutrients in it as much as possible and avoid spoilage? To choose the best option for themselves, housewives should understand the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Drying herbs for the winter

Pros:

• dried herbs and herbs are perfectly stored in paper bags and jars, retaining their aroma for a long time;
• are a concentrated product - 1 tsp. dry greens equals 1 tbsp. freshly cut;
• drying is ideal for hard-leaved herbs (thyme, savory, rosemary, lavender), which are best stored dried and unfold with an incomparable fragrant bouquet in the finished dish.

Minuses:

• drying greens will take a lot of time and access to open air;
• the pronounced aroma of dried herbs retains only 4 months;

Freezing greens for the winter

Pros:

• the fastest and easiest way to harvest greens;
• you can freeze greens in whole bunches without cutting;
• keeps for a long time in the freezer.

Minuses:

• a large freezer is required.

Conservation of greenery for the winter

Pros:

• canned greens are stored for a long time;
• all useful substances are preserved in greenery;
• greens do not lose flavor.

Minuses:

• long and laborious process;
• An open jar is stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 2-3 days.

How to do it?

The most popular ways of harvesting greenery for the winter among modern housewives are drying and freezing, in which it retains its naturalness and usefulness. How to freeze the greens for the winter, so as not to spoil the product and in the winter to please the household with fragrant dishes with herbs?

To dry fresh herbs for the winter, no special skills are required - the herbs collected from the garden are thoroughly washed with water, finely chopped, laid out on paper and dried in the open air in the shade from the sun.

An important point: properly dried greens, when squeezed, do not stick together and turn into powder, but break into small fragments.

For freezing all types of greens, without exception, are suitable, which are washed, dried with a paper towel and cut before being placed in the freezer. There are two ways to freeze greens for the winter - dry and wet.

During the dry method of freezing, the greens are frozen in plastic bags, and during the wet method, in silicone molds for ice, in which chopped greens are poured with water, frozen, and then transferred to bags and stored in the freezer.

Pickled greens for the winter

You can pickle greens for the winter with vinegar or just with salt. But canned greens can be stored for a long time in a closed jar in the pantry, but for salted greens, you will need to allocate a shelf in the refrigerator and, when adding to food, do not forget that the seasoning added is extra salty. This can ruin the taste of the dish. Salting is perfect for green onions, spinach, sorrel, dill and parsley.

"Delicious" marinade for all kinds of greens

Ingredients:

• Water - 1 l
• Salt - 50 g
• Sugar - 150 g
• Vinegar 9% - 150 ml

Cooking: dissolve salt and sugar in water and bring to a boil, 2-3 minutes before turning off the marinade, add vinegar to it. Pour the chopped greens tightly packed in a jar with boiling marinade, sterilize for 2-3 minutes and roll up. This marinade is perfect for harvesting garlic, wild garlic and sorrel.

"Oil" marinade

Ingredients:

• Water - 300 ml
• Vinegar 9% - 30 g
• Salt - 50 g
• Vegetable oil - 50 g

Cooking: boil the marinade from water and salt, at the end of cooking add vinegar and pour the greens tightly packed into jars with boiling filling. From above, add vegetable oil to each jar, which should cover the surface of the greens by a few millimeters. Banks can be rolled up or closed with nylon lids.

"Wine" marinade for fresh herbs

Ingredients:

• Table wine - 100 g
• Vegetable oil - 100 g

Cooking: marinade for such preservation of greens is prepared from table wine and oil in a 1: 1 ratio. The ingredients are combined in one bowl and beat until a homogeneous emulsion is formed, then pour the tightly packed greens in a jar with the resulting mixture so that the liquid level covers the greens by 1-2 cm.

Note: greens prepared in a wine marinade have an unusual aroma and retain the color of a fresh product. It is great for making sauces and salads, as it does not contain salt and has a light shade of table wine, which will only complement the culinary masterpiece.

To tumble dry or not to tumble dry, that is the question. And if you dry, then how to do it right so that things do not deteriorate? What kind of things machine drying is generally contraindicated? Answers to these and other questions in our material about the rules of drying in dryers

Simple truths: the rules for drying clothes in dryers

"It's amazing how others do not understand their own benefit," said a two-colored python to an unlucky baby elephant in Kipling's fairy tale. The same can be said about people who do not see the point in purchasing a dryer. Unfortunately, this device is not yet among the most popular items of household appliances. But in vain, because the dryer has a number of advantages compared to the "grandmother's" methods of drying clothes. From it you will get clothes dried to the optimum level: soft and pleasant to the touch, not overdried, not wrinkled. Some items won't even need to be ironed after tumble drying. However, all these benefits will be available only if a number of rules are observed, which should not be forgotten in order to achieve the optimal result of the dryer.

Machine drying: do's and don'ts

Let's start with those things that are strictly forbidden to dry in the car. These are, first of all, ultra-thin fabrics (tulle, cambric), things with embroidery and interspersed with metal decorations, as well as nylon, that is, those that are contraindicated in intense mechanical and thermal effects. Great care must be taken when drying multi-layered textiles that dry unevenly, such as down jackets, feather pillows. For these things, the so-called intensive or extra-drying mode is usually used, and at the end they can be dried using the “warm air” function. This combination of modes and functions is not available in all dryers, so you must strictly follow the manufacturer's instructions. So, in Miele machines, drying feather pillows and down jackets is usually allowed, but it is not recommended to dry such things in models of Gorenie brand and some other manufacturers.

Careful drying also requires new knitted items (t-shirts, underwear), which often shrink when washed. Therefore, so that they do not reach very microscopic sizes, they cannot be overdried. The same, only to a greater extent, applies to wool: you can dry sweaters and jackets only using a special delicate drying program and, preferably, additional devices, which will be discussed below.

Synthetics and mixed fabrics can be tumble dried. Moreover, the dryer will work on things like an iron, and many of them will not need additional ironing. Some cotton items can also be put on right away or put away in the closet.

In order for consumers to know exactly which type of drying is best for a particular item, manufacturers put special symbols on the label:

As a rule, 5 to 7 kilograms of laundry can be dried in a tumble dryer at a time (depending on the model). There are also compact dryers designed to dry 33.5 kilograms of laundry. It is necessary to make a reservation that the maximum load figures mean the weight of dry, not wet things. Please also note that these figures apply only to cotton and linen fabrics, for synthetics and mixed fabrics they need to be halved (that is, to 23.5 kilograms), and the mass of loaded wool should generally be no more than 1 kilogram. If the woolen thing weighs a little more, of course, it is not necessary to tear it apart, but you should not put other things in the car. The maximum load must not be exceeded, otherwise the drying result will deteriorate significantly, and the laundry will wrinkle and wear out faster. In general, the more laundry in the machine, the more likely it is to wrinkle. Therefore, for example, for drying shirts and blouses, a maximum load of one and a half kilograms is usually recommended, regardless of the type of fabric.

Laundry preparation

To achieve uniform high-quality drying, things must be straightened and sorted. If the laundry is usually sorted by type of fabric even before washing, then it is recommended to disassemble them according to the degree of humidity and the desired degree of drying just before laying them in the dryer. You can also sort by size, but this is not necessary - the main thing is that small things (socks, underwear) do not get inside larger ones, for example, duvet covers. To avoid this, zip up all pillowcases and duvet covers or dry them separately.

Once again, make sure that there are no foreign objects among the laundry, especially those that, during high-temperature drying, can melt and ruin the laundry or damage the dryer. You need to be very careful with such a delicate part of the women's toilet as bras: many of their models have removable "bones" that, if dropped out, can tear clothes or ruin the dryer drum. So the “bones” will either have to be removed in advance, or, if you are afraid that the bra will lose its shape, sew on. All zippers, buttons and hooks on clothing must be fastened, the ends of fabric belts and straps from swimsuits and aprons must be tied together.

Program selection

The right drying program is a guarantee that in the end you will get not only dry, but also pleasing to the eye and to the touch laundry. Drying programs used in dryers can be roughly divided into drying by time and by residual moisture content of the fabric. The principle of drying by moisture has proven itself, therefore, in modern high-quality dryers, preference is given to it, and drying by time may be present as an additional option.

Moisture drying allows the tumble dryers to implement numerous automatic drying modes. The most widespread programs are “under the iron” and “in the closet”. In the latter case, the thing can be put on or removed immediately; iron dry leaves the laundry slightly damp and easy to iron.

Many models of dryers have an extra or super dry program. Please note that this mode is only suitable for very dense fabrics or multi-layered items (ordinary cotton items may shrink when using it, while linen ones become rough and stiff). To avoid these troubles, it is better to use a gentle or delicate program for them.

Another common classification of programs: by type of fabric (cotton, linen, synthetics, wool) or by type of item (jeans, shirts, sportswear). In some devices, for example, Miele, both programs are presented, and then you need to study the instructions very carefully. As a rule, it explains with the help of a table which clothes fall under the “jurisdiction” of which regime.

Additional modes and devices

Of the additional programs, it is necessary to single out the ventilation or “cold air” mode, when the laundry is intensively blown with air at room temperature. This mode will help eliminate unpleasant odors from clothes that do not yet need to be washed. With it, you can also rid things of adhering animal hair.

In some machines (for example, Bosch-Siemens or Miele) the so-called “anti-crease” is provided, that is, after the end of the main drying cycle, the dryer drum will make rare revolutions for a certain period of time (from 1 to 3 hours). Thus, the fabric will be protected from caking and wrinkling. However, you should not count on this function too much: there is a risk that things, left in the car for a long time, will be overdried. Therefore, it is better to unload the dryer immediately after finishing work.

For things that can withstand drying with warm air, but do not tolerate intense mechanical stress, modern dryers from some manufacturers (Bosch-Siemens, Miele, Gorenie) are equipped with special baskets. They are fixed horizontally inside the drum of the machine, things are placed in the basket, and thus their movement and mechanical impact on them are excluded. In such baskets, it is good to dry woolen items, soft toys, fabric shoes.

At the end of work

After the drying cycle is completed, you need to take care of the machine itself so that it lasts as long as possible. If you have a condensing unit (and this is the most popular, “advanced” and common type of dryer today), then after each drying, it is necessary to pour out the accumulated moisture from the condensate tank. However, if a drain hose is connected to drain the condensate, this operation is not required.

But cleaning fluff filters is a mandatory process for any type of dryer. These filters collect small particles of fabric that are blown out of things during the drying process. A clogged fluff filter can further reduce the efficiency of the machine and make drying too long and uneconomical. You can clean the filters with your hands or with a vacuum cleaner (very carefully!), and in case of severe contamination, it is recommended to rinse them with water. After washing, before use, the filters must be thoroughly dried.

If you need to run the machine for another drying cycle, be sure to let the machine “rest” for 40 minutes. If the dryer is used frequently, the heat exchanger must be cleaned after every 100 drying cycles. Usually it is washed with water and dried thoroughly. A detailed story on how to carry out this operation should be in the instructions for the dryer. Even if you use your dryer relatively infrequently, you should clean the heat exchanger at least twice a year.

In this article, we outlined the basic principles for handling the dryer and preparing clothes for drying in it. If you follow our recommendations, as well as the advice of manufacturers (as a rule, they are in the instruction manual for the device), the dryer will provide you with additional free time, carefully dried clothes, and therefore a good mood for a long time.