Basic recommendations for storing rose hips
They begin to collect fruits from rosehip bushes at the end of July; by the end of September or in October (in the first days of the month), you can pick the last berries. Only mature raw materials that have not been damaged by any disease are allowed to dry. Healthy, ripe berries have an orange or scarlet color and are firm to the touch. It is better to leave the sepals when harvesting, because if you dry the fruits in this form, the loss of vitamins will be minimal
If the berry has just been picked, it is permissible to store it at a temperature below 15 degrees for only 3 days, after which a loss of vitamins will occur. Rose hips are not washed before storage.
Before storing rose hips for the winter, they are sorted out. The container is prepared, which must be clean, dry and satisfy ventilation conditions. It is good to use thick fabric bags for small volumes of product.
Tip: A suitable container for storing dried rose hips would be glass containers, but the lids of the jars either have holes in them, or gauze is used as a covering material, which allows air to pass through perfectly.
If dry fruits are in glass, they should not be left in the light to prevent destruction of vitamin C. Plastic bags cannot be considered ideal packaging for rose hips; without air masses entering the bag and circulating flow, the berry will “suffocate” and become moldy. Lids without holes to close the jars are also not suitable.
How to store rose hips in the freezer. how to freeze berries for the winter
Of course, you can freeze rose hips. Despite the fact that many are accustomed to drying it, freezing is also a good way to preserve it. The main thing is to freeze the rose hips correctly so that the vitamins are preserved.
Of course it's interesting. But is there any point in freezing something that can be dried? Dried rose hips are stored for a very long time and well. This is usually how they treat him. People's freezers are not made of rubber. Therefore, consider whether there is a need to freeze it or whether it is easier to dry it.
Rosehip is a medicinal plant containing a large amount of vitamin C.
Rose hips are taken in the form of decoctions, tinctures, and syrups.
To make tea from rose hips in winter, they can be pre-dried or frozen in the freezer.
Rosehip can be frozen; it will not lose its vitamins from freezing, and you can store it in the freezer for a long time. Before freezing, you need to wash the berries and then dry them, only then put them in a plastic container or plastic bag.
Freezing rose hips for the winter is one of the best ways to preserve vitamins in nm. To freeze, rose hips must be processed. It is good to freeze rosehip puree, peel the rosehip fruits from seeds and grind them, then put them in containers and in the freezer and store for a year.
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It’s not that you can, rose hips need to be frozen for the winter, because they are very good for health!
I remember even in childhood we found it in the winter and collected it, so it retained its properties in the cold.
Rose hips can also be dried.
Yes, you can. Then you can make a decoction from it - pouring water directly in its unfrozen form (water at room temperature or cold, but not boiling water).
If you have space in the freezer, you can freeze rose hips.
I once tried one year a little, I liked it better with ice cream.
But there’s not enough space, now I’m not only freezing berries, but also some vegetables, so I dry the rose hips the old fashioned way.
Rose hips can be frozen, but I would recommend drying them better. Simply place the rosehips on newspaper and expose them to a direct light source. This way you can preserve useful elements in rose hips.
Rose hips do not need to be frozen, they can be washed and dried until they become wrinkled and hard, and in this form the rose hips are perfectly stored. If you then lightly crush it (not into grains, but in large pieces), you can pour boiling water over it and let it sit for a while, you’ll get a tasty vitamin drink, like compote.
In nature, unpicked rose hips remain on the bushes for a long time; already dusted with snow, it is a healthy and tasty treat for both birds and people. I remember as a child, we dug it out from under the snow and ate it. It was very sweet and tasty.
If you have space in the freezer, then freezing rose hips is the right decision. It will almost completely retain its vitamins and nutritional value. The only thing you need to remember is that to preserve vitamins, you should defrost it not at room temperature, but in the refrigerator.
This rosehip can be brewed, added to various dishes (for example, porridge), and simply eaten.
It is recommended to freeze ripe berries immediately after picking them from the bush. Which leads to a sad conclusion: berries bought at the market and left for at least a day before being put on the counter are absolutely not suitable for freezing. Berries from the supermarket are even less suitable for this purpose. As a rule, they are transported from afar and by the time they are delivered to the end consumer, there can be no question of any freshness.
It's a shame? Still would! But wait to despair. It is quite possible to buy freshly picked berries in the nearest village or holiday village.
Rosehip is considered an unrivaled source of vitamins and other beneficial substances that are almost indispensable for maintaining immunity. Rosehip is widely used in medicines, homemade decoctions and various tinctures for the treatment of vitamin deficiency and diseased kidneys, as well as for normalizing the digestive and circulatory systems.
For general strengthening of the body, rose hips are indispensable during periods of exacerbation of colds, mainly due to the rich presence of vitamin C. In autumn and winter, stocks of frozen rose hips will be an excellent help in maintaining the health of the whole family.
First, let's look at the question of whether it is possible to freeze rose hips for the winter. Like other berries and vegetables, rose hips are easy to freeze. This process allows all the nutrients of fresh berries to be retained immediately after harvest.
Naturally, the rose hips will first need to be subjected to special processing to ensure reliable preservation of the product and its benefits.
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About drying fruits
It is not difficult to understand how to properly store rose hips once they are dried. Fruits can become dry in an electric dryer, microwave or oven. An air fryer will do. You can use a ventilated area and sheets.
A simple way is to ensure excellent circulation of air masses and a shady location of the berries, which are sorted, but not washed, laid out on any horizontal surface in a thin layer, leaving the raw materials to dry for a period of 14 to 21 days. The product is stirred periodically.
Drying berries under the sun is allowed until it rises high. The place should be well ventilated. At night, raw materials are brought into the room. The end of the process is possible when the fruits are completely dry.
Tips and secrets
- It is not advisable to wash fruits before drying. This can be done immediately before use.
- Do not dry rose hips in the microwave. Checked: the berries can burn inside, although this will not be visible from the outside.
- It is not recommended to store dried rose hips in plastic bags, as this material does not allow air to pass through. The berries begin to “suffocate” and become moldy. The freezer ban on polyethylene does not apply.
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Oven drying
Selected dry rose hips need to be scattered in a thin layer on a baking sheet. The oven is heated to 50 degrees, a sheet with berries is placed in it. The temperature is gradually approaching sixty degrees. The cabinet is opened slightly so that the moisture released by the berries evaporates. To prevent the rose hips from burning and to dry evenly, stir the berries from time to time.
The oven will run for about 8 hours. If the temperature balance has been maintained correctly, the berry will be in its normal color, but slightly wrinkled. If you press the fruit when it is ready, it will spring back. The crumbling of the berries indicates overdrying.
Typically, a microwave oven is suitable for extreme cases or for quick use. Too high a temperature threshold in the oven will not allow the berries to dry completely. They will remain damp inside, so their shelf life is short.
Dry rose hips, hot, are placed in sealed boxes and will remain there for 3 days. During this time, the rosehip will reach its normal natural moisture level.
Rules for storing dried berries
If the storage rules are followed, dried rose hips can be used even for up to three years. Let's consider how to preserve the quality and benefits of fruits for such a long period.
- Immediately after you take the berries out of the oven, peel them off the stems. This is very easy to do, because when rubbed, the plant part of the rosehip simply crumbles.
- After this, you need to properly cool them at room temperature. I put the berries in a special wooden box for a couple of hours. Small fabric or paper bags are also suitable for storage. After several days have passed, the rose hips can be placed in long-term storage areas, such as glass or tin jars.
Advice to the housewife: to prevent mold from spoiling the workpiece, it is better not to cover the jars with lids, but to cover them with gauze. Through the holes in it, air will be exchanged and humidity will be normalized.
I hope that I have answered your questions about how and when to collect rose hips for the winter. Harvesting berries is not difficult, the main thing is to follow the advice of more experienced people and pay special attention to the place and time of collection and harvesting. In this case, your berries will be stored and beneficial for a long time. During the winter cold, don’t forget to add rose hips to your dishes and drinks so that your body is enriched with vitamins, and you don’t catch a cold and get sick much less!
Storage after drying
The dried product is stored in cardboard boxes with waxed paper placed at the bottom. Raw materials should be stored without tightly closing, and if there are products nearby with a pungent and intense odor, either one or the other product is transferred to another place. Baskets with fruits and vegetables should also be kept away from rose hips. A dry product can become saturated with moisture from its neighbors, become damp and moldy.
The temperature balance for storing rose hips is near the zero mark of the thermometer. Moisture and direct sunlight are unacceptable for the product so that the vitamins and all the benefits of the berries are preserved. How long rose hips can be stored at home is influenced by the conditions created at the storage location, as well as in what form and where to leave the product.
As a rule, you can store rose hips, following the recommendations of specialists, for up to two years, during which time the therapeutic effect of the fruit is visible. Later, the medicinal qualities of rose hips begin to disappear, and a direct effect is unattainable. Therefore, it is important to monitor the expiration date of berry products and use several methods for optimal storage of raw materials.
When to collect rose hips for winter preparations
Cinnamon rosehip may bloom in late spring, but it does not yet have the maximum number of beneficial properties.
The greatest benefit will come from harvesting at the end of summer and the first half of autumn, until approximately October. There is a belief that it is necessary to harvest rose hips by October 1, and this day is called Arina Rosehip Day.
- Do not think that if you did not manage to finish the collection by this date, you will not be able to make the preparation. The ripening of each plant is individual, depending on the area of growth and climatic conditions, so the first day of October is only an approximate date for the end of the harvest.
- Although rosehip is very useful, this does not mean that it, like any plant, does not absorb environmental pollution. In order not to spoil the natural properties of the bush, it is best to choose ecological collection sites where there are no operating factories or highways nearby, i.e. away from the technological sphere of human activity.
Advice: do not try to pick a berry in its “pure” form, without tendrils and leaves; you are unlikely to succeed without additional effort. Unnecessary parts can be removed after drying without much difficulty.
For those who are interested in learning more about the wonderful properties of this shrub and finding out more nuances about picking berries, I suggest watching an informative video on this topic:
Which method of storing rose hips should you choose?
It is permissible to store both dry and fresh berries. The fresh harvest is cleaned, the stalks and seeds are removed. You can crush the raw materials with a blender or in a meat grinder so that you get a puree, which is laid out in plastic containers or plastic bags and put in the freezer for a year.
Rosehip puree should not be stored for more than a year. The products are used in jellies, jelly, compotes and other dishes, and healing vitamin teas are brewed.
Housewives must choose for themselves whether to use frozen rose hips, which have many uses, or dried berries, which can be stored longer. It is best to keep dried and raw berries, and use different storage techniques.
You can use simple freezing. The washed berries will need to be laid out on a waffle towel. After half an hour, the dried raw materials are packaged in measuring bags and put in the refrigerator. This is convenient; at any time you can prepare, for example, a rosehip decoction or cook jelly.
How to freeze rose hips correctly
- Before freezing, rose hips are subjected to special treatment.
- First you need to collect the berries, and at a certain time of the year, from the end of the summer until the beginning of the first frost.
- The berries should be the same red color, only ripe, and in no case spoiled or wrinkled.
- Leaves are collected in the same way; they must be whole and without blemishes.
Whole berries
- To freeze whole fruits, all stems and leaves are removed, but the berries should be washed well and dried on a paper towel.
- Then place the prepared berries in one layer on a wooden board and put them in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
- Then the rose hips should be placed in prepared plastic bowls or durable bags for long-term freezing.
- It is best to label frozen rose hips so that they are only used within the expiration date.
- It is also necessary to observe the temperature in the freezer, it should be at 16 -18 degrees.
Fruit halves without seeds
If you want to freeze half berries, then the only difference from the above method is that before freezing, the rose hips are cut in half and the seeds are removed.
Rosehip puree
- To freeze ground rose hips in puree, you need to wash the berries, cut them in half and remove the seeds.
- Place everything in a plate and cover with water, leave it for several days, during which time the rose hips should soften.
- Next, we use a blender or sieve, with which it is easy to puree the prepared mass.
- Transfer the mixture into ice molds and place in the freezer for several hours. After a while, remove the frozen mixture and put it back into the freezer for long-term storage in tight bags.
Leaves
- When freezing rosehip leaves, they must first be washed and dried on a paper towel.
- Then put them on a wooden board and put them in the freezer for several hours.
- Next, move them into bags, be sure to release the air, and send them back for long-term storage.
- It is also possible to freeze crushed leaves; accordingly, after washing they need to be cut.
Whole rose hips can be stored frozen for 1 - 1.5 years, pureed and chopped for up to 10 months, whole and chopped leaves for approximately 1 year.
How to freeze rosehip infusion?
To prepare a medicinal drink, you will need ripe wild rose fruits. They need to be washed in warm water. Boil the rose hips over moderate heat for twenty minutes. The drink should be cooled and poured into ice trays. The frozen solution in cubes is packaged in bags and put into the freezer, where the broth will have to be stored. You can use healing cubes as an additive to any cold drink or as a cosmetic item.
How to choose the right dried rose hips
Many of us are deprived of the opportunity to collect and dry rose hips ourselves and purchase them at the market or in stores. In this case, there is a risk of purchasing an incorrectly dried product that has lost its healing properties. Therefore, you should choose berries very carefully.
First of all, examine the surface of the fruit.
There should be no white coating on them. Rose hips dried in accordance with the technology do not crumble when pressed. The skin springs with a barely audible crunch.
The fruits are whole, not split or broken, they are cleared of sepals. The stalks are also removed. Of course, there should be no debris or foreign objects among the berries.
How to dry rose hips?
You will have to tinker a little with freshly picked berries. Sort through them and discard any diseased or dried out fruits. There is no need to wash, remove the stalks either, after drying they are easier to separate.
The faster you dry the berries, the more vitamins will remain in them, so preheat the oven to 40 °C, place the rose hips on a baking sheet in one layer and place in the oven for about 1 hour. After this, increase the oven temperature to 60 °C and now be patient, you will have to dry for another 8 hours. Turn on convection mode to ensure constant air circulation and moisture removal. If there is no such mode, periodically open the oven door and stir the berries on the baking sheet. It is important that the rosehips do not dry out, otherwise all the beneficial properties will disappear and the berries will crumble.
After drying, you will need to remove the sepals; to do this, the berries must be gently rubbed in your hands.
Second drying option: preheat the oven to 100°C, hold the rose hips for 5-10 minutes, and then reduce it to 70-75°C.
It is also convenient to dry rose hips in a convection oven or electric dryer.
