How to dry viburnum berries for decoration!

How is viburnum useful?

The traditions of its use in Russia for treatment, prevention of diseases and simply for the pleasure of experiencing its refreshing taste go back more than one century. The unique composition containing minerals, vitamins, organic acids and many other useful substances contributes to its wide use:

to maintain the tone of the heart muscle;
for the treatment of gastrointestinal pathologies;
for the treatment of skin diseases (lichen, acne);
for the prevention of atherosclerosis, colds;
as an additional remedy in the treatment of nervous system disorders.

Knowing how to preserve viburnum at home for the winter, you can use these healing fruits for a long time.

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How to properly collect viburnum?

The best time to collect it for preparations for the winter is late autumn, the time after the first frost. It is then that the fruits lose their inherent bitterness and become sweeter. The berries are not picked one at a time, otherwise they will lose their juice. The best way to collect is to cut off the clusters using pruning shears. Brushes can be transported in a fairly thick layer in any container to the recycling site. The skin of the berries is strong enough, and you don’t have to worry about them bursting.

How to preserve fresh berries for a long time

Only berries picked at the right time have a chance of being preserved for a long time. It is better to collect chokeberries at the end of September, and red ones - after the first frost. It is better if it is a dry and sunny day.

Cut whole bunches and place them in shallow baskets or boxes. Then carefully sort out the harvest so that rotten or bruised berries do not spoil the rest.

In a cool, dark, dry place, chokeberry berries can be stored for a month, red berries - 2 months. If you have a dry cellar, then at a temperature of about 0ºC the berries will remain fresh until spring. At higher temperatures (up to 10ºС) you can safely count on a 3-4 month shelf life. Bunches of berries are strung on a cord so that they do not touch each other and hung from the ceiling or loosely placed in wooden boxes or cardboard boxes, making holes for ventilation.

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Storing fresh viburnum

At home, you can store berries directly in clusters, placing them in a loosely closed container in the refrigerator or hanging them in any cool room. You don’t have to worry about the product deteriorating or losing its healing properties; this won’t happen for several months.

When storing bunches of berries in an apartment, the lifespan of the product is slightly reduced. If it is not possible to store the berries at low temperatures, it is advisable to process them.

Freezing viburnum

Remaining on the tree, the berries survive the frosty winter quite calmly, if they do not become food for wintering birds. Even viburnum brushes hanging on the balcony can withstand prolonged frosts and retain their taste and beneficial properties after defrosting. In order to extend the life of medicinal berries, you can freeze them by separating them from the cluster along with the stalks.

There is no need to wash viburnum in order to store it in the freezer; this is done right before use.

Leaving the stalks on will prevent the juice from leaking out when storing the berries. The fruits are placed in bags or plastic containers. If the berries are dry, they will remain crumbly even after freezing. From frozen viburnum you can prepare fruit drinks, compotes, jelly, and medicinal infusions.

Drying viburnum

You can prepare these berries for the winter by drying them in the oven. The brushes are laid out on a baking sheet, the regulator is set at 50–60 ⁰С. The oven door should be slightly open to prevent viburnum juice from leaking out of the bursting berries. The stalks can be removed after drying the berries. Dried viburnum should be stored in dry glass jars, closed with lids.

Advice
Drying is considered complete when the berries become wrinkled.

You can dry berries for the winter in a less intensive way, but simply by laying them out in the open air in the shade. The fruits are laid out on clean white paper, covered with gauze or a thin cloth on top. This drying method requires time and patience; the berries need to be carefully stirred from time to time.

Rub with sugar

To preserve the healing properties of viburnum, this method of preparing it for the winter, such as rubbing the berries with sugar, is perfect. To do this, you need to sort out the berries, separate those that are not of good quality, rinse the fruits in cool water, and dry them.

The following methods are used for grinding:

rubbing through a sieve;
blender grinding;
grinding the mass using a meat grinder.

There is no need to separate the seeds from the berries, otherwise you will lose the healthy juice. Crushed seeds will not interfere with the use of pureed viburnum.

The crushed mass must be mixed with sugar in a 2:1 ratio, that is, there should be twice as much sugar as berries. It is laid out in sterile jars and stored in the refrigerator or in a cool basement. During long-term storage, juice may separate and fall down the container, but this does not affect the quality of the original product. This method of preparing berries for the winter allows you to preserve all the vitamins in them.

You can store pureed berries by sterilizing in boiling water. Half-liter jars filled with crushed berries and sugar need to be sterilized for 10 minutes, and liter jars - twice as long. The amount of sugar during canning can be reduced by half compared to the previous recipe. After sterilization, the pureed berries are rolled up and stored in a cool place.

How to preserve red and chokeberry for the winter

Rowan berries have long been used in folk medicine. It is known as an effective remedy for supporting immunity, normalizing blood pressure and increasing blood clotting. In addition, berries normalize the condition of the gastrointestinal tract and help with thyroid dysfunction.

In addition to vitamin C and vitamin A, which it contains more than lemon and carrots, respectively, the berries are rich in vitamin P (two or three berries contain the daily requirement), iodine, essential oils, tannins and organic acids.

It should be noted that, despite all the benefits, drugs containing rowan are strictly prohibited for use by pregnant and lactating women, as well as those who have suffered a heart attack or stroke, or are diagnosed with coronary heart disease. With caution - people over 50 years of age and with frequent heartburn.

Jams and preserves are made from rowan, jelly and marshmallows are made, juices are squeezed, jelly is made, but during heat treatment a significant part of the beneficial micro- and macroelements is lost.

The methods below will allow you to maximize the benefits of these berries in winter.

Squeezing the juice

By separating the juice from the berries, you can stock up on a healthy product for the winter. The selected fruits are washed, sorted and sent to the juicer. Add sugar to the juice obtained after squeezing and mix. It is mixed in a 1:1 ratio and poured into sterilized containers (jars, bottles). Viburnum juice should only be stored in the refrigerator.

You can replace some of the sugar with honey or use the following recipe to store juice for the winter:

viburnum berries – 1 kg;
water – 200 ml;
honey - to taste.

After squeezing the juice from the viburnum, all ingredients must be mixed, boiled for 10 minutes and stored in a cool place. This preparation can be used to prepare viburnum marshmallow or jam, marmalade, fruit drink, compote.

Making the liqueur

A medicinal liqueur can be prepared from these healthy berries, preserving their healing properties for the winter. It includes:

viburnum juice – 100 ml;
water – 100 ml;
sugar – 100 g;
vodka – 500 ml.

All components of this recipe need to be moved and kept at room temperature for two days, then seal the liqueur and bottle it. This drink can be stored at any temperature, even room temperature.

Cooking jam, jelly, pastille

You can prepare a lot of sweet viburnum delicacies for the winter. To make jelly, just take a kilogram of berries and sugar and two glasses of water. First, the berries are boiled with water for half an hour. Then sugar is added to this mass and the jelly is cooked for another 45 minutes. All that remains is to put it in jars and roll it up.

To make jam, you need to take 300 ml of water and 1.3 kg of sugar per kilogram of berries. To evenly soak the fruits, they need to stand in hot syrup for 10-12 hours. Then the jam is cooked, removing the foam, and packaged.

A tasty and healthy delicacy - viburnum marshmallow - is made from a kilogram of berries, boiled until soft in a glass of water. The mass, rubbed through a sieve, is mixed with sugar and boiled again until the consistency of a soft dough. This mass should be spread on wooden baking sheets and dried in the oven.

How to Preserve Rowan for Crafts in Glycerin

Plants are preserved in an aqueous solution of glycerin for use in arrangements of dried and fresh flowers, leaves of trees and shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Thanks to this method, you can get elastic and elastic leaves of a dark green, dark burgundy or brown color with an oily sheen. Such material can retain its qualities for 2-3 years.

Prepare the required solution from 1 part technical glycerin and 2-3 parts hot water and mix thoroughly. Leaves, stems and branches with leaves are placed in the solution and kept in it for 2-3 weeks. If you keep it longer, the color intensity of the material increases. Plants with leaves with pulp, lingonberries, swamp iris, rush grass, oak, mahonia, horse sorrel, solidago, plantain candles, reeds, cattails, magnolia and others, are successfully dried in a glycerin solution. In this way you can dry branches of oak, rowan, barberry, hawthorn. In early autumn, the branches are cut, washed, bad leaves are removed, the ends of the branches are trimmed with an oblique cut under water, and the ends of thick branches are broken. After these procedures, the branches are placed to a depth of 15–20 cm in a solution of 1 part technical glycerin and 3 parts water heated to a boil. The branches are covered on top with a film or plastic bag to reduce evaporation, and left in this position for a month, regularly adding the solution to the original level and updating the cut every 3-5 days, removing 1-2 cm. The branches must be kept in the solution until the leaves will not become oily and elastic until they change color.

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Before placing the rush plant in glycerin, wipe the plant with a rag and wrap it in a sausage in newspaper. If the solution is absorbed, you need to dilute it again and repeat the operation.

Some plants, when soaked in glycerin, change their colors and shades. For example, beech leaves turn black, eucalyptus greenish-brown, sweet olive, loquat, holly and magnolia turn brown.

Taken from https://prostoflora.ru/buket/45.html

23.01.2021 Other handicrafts

Plants are preserved in an aqueous solution of glycerin for use in arrangements of dried and fresh flowers, leaves of trees and shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Thanks to this method, you can get elastic and elastic leaves of a dark green, dark burgundy or brown color with an oily sheen. Such material can retain its qualities for 2-3 years.

Making vinegar

The benefits of such a natural product are comparable to the benefits of apple cider vinegar. For viburnum vinegar, you need to put half a kilogram of berries in a three-liter jar, a glass of sugar, and pour two liters of water. You can flavor vinegar with blackcurrant and cherry leaves. This jar should stand in a dark place at room temperature for about two months. During the first week, its contents are stirred periodically. Viburnum vinegar is ready when it becomes transparent.

The availability, ease of storage and preparation of these medicinal fruits make them one of the most common products for use as a health remedy.

Due to the fact that I am an ardent fan of simple preparations, I dry and freeze a lot for the winter. I definitely prepare viburnum, especially since the dried fruits retain all the value of fresh berries. Thanks to modern technology, in particular the electric dryer, it has become easier to stock up for the winter, although you can dry it in the oven and in natural conditions.

Whole ripe viburnum berries.

We dry on the radiator

The most popular way to dry oranges for decoration is to do it on a radiator. This method will only become feasible in the cold season, when the heating is on.

For this procedure you will need the following:

corrugated cardboard;
clothespins (preferably stationery ones, which clamp well, but if you don’t have them, you can also use clothespins);
awl.

Since all these attributes can be found in any home, the method can be called cost-free, except that you will have to spend money on buying citrus fruits.

The first thing you need to do when starting work is to cut out two identical plates from cardboard, approximately 10x30 cm in size. Next, take an awl and make holes in these cardboards. The more holes there are, the better. Place thinly sliced orange slices on one of the plates and cover with a second piece of cardboard. Along the edges you need to secure the resulting “sandwich” with clothespins. See for yourself how many of them you will need, the main thing is that the slices are pressed tightly with paper and do not fall out during the drying process.

The structure can be installed both horizontally and vertically, inside the battery. This placement is even more convenient because heating occurs on both sides and at the same time you can dry many more citrus rings.

The process takes 2–3 days, depending on the thickness of the slices and the intensity of heating of the batteries.

So you have learned how to dry oranges for decoration at home. Agree that such a procedure does not require large material costs and time. And having received bright, fragrant citrus rings as a result, you can easily create masterpiece decorations with your own hands that will delight both you and the guests of your home.

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Preparing viburnum for the winter: master class on drying in a dryer

Other simple ways to prepare viburnum for the winter

You can dry viburnum in other ways, in particular in the open air, but under a special canopy, in attics and in the oven. Moreover, you can dry it with twigs (this method is for drying in the attic and under a canopy, where the viburnum is hung in small bundles so that it is blown from all sides), but under a canopy and in the oven it is better to separate the berries from the twigs in advance.

Drying viburnum in the oven

The washed viburnum berries, separated from the branches, are first dried on a cloth (you can take a towel), and then the fruits are laid out in one row on a baking sheet covered with parchment for baking. In the oven, the temperature is set at 55-60 degrees. Sometimes the oven door should be left slightly open during drying. The berries are mixed periodically.

The berries, separated from the branches, are placed in boiling water for 2-3 minutes (the berries are placed in a colander). Blanching will rid the berries of their inherent bitterness. Then the naturally dried berries are covered with sugar and left for a day. The viburnum will release juice, which is drained and the berries are again covered with sugar. The resulting juice is drained again. After this, the berries are laid out on a baking sheet covered with baking parchment and dried at a temperature of 85 degrees for half an hour.

Viburnum brushes should be washed and then left to drain off excess water. Viburnum clusters are dipped in honey heated over low heat and laid out in one row on a dish. The crust that sometimes forms on the berries when they are dried does not allow them to spoil for a long time.

When sorting viburnum bunches, berries even with minor damage are removed. The berries are packaged in plastic bags in small batches, which are sent to the freezer.

The washed viburnum berries are left in a sieve or colander to drain the water. Take a clean, dry glass jar and put a little sugar on the bottom. Then comes a layer of viburnum, which is also covered with sugar. According to this scheme, the jar is filled to the top, and a large layer of sugar completes the filling of the container. In this form, viburnum should be stored in a cool place.

Winter bouquet

If the generous summer pampers us with an abundance of flowers, their bright colors and subtle aromas, then winter brings with it a different kind of beauty - the beauty of snow-white spaces, frost-covered trees, frosty patterns on the windows. And yet, it’s nice when summer suddenly reminds you of itself with the sudden blossoming of the Decembrist flower (zygocactus), amaryllis, Amazonian lily, African violet and other plants that preserve the colors of summer on the window of your room. But the lack of light and heat in winter limits the possibilities of nature even in a room, and therefore, even in the summer, you have to think about how best to preserve the memory of summer for the winter. And it turns out that our capabilities are not as limited as it sometimes seems. You just have to take care of this in advance, spend a little work and time, and a bouquet of flowers. will show off on your table in winter.

Winter bouquet. There is a lot of material for compiling it, and if you add imagination to this, you can get a real work of art.

Most often, dried flowers are used in winter bouquets - immortelle - acroclinium, helichrysum, gomphrena, that is, plants that naturally have dry, brightly colored flowers. Only their stem is usually soft, and to maintain their straightness, dried flowers are hung in a shaded place with their heads down.

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There are many known plants among annuals, perennials and wildflowers that, when dried in air, retain the color and shape of flowers and inflorescences. These are yarrow (cultivated as pearl mussel), eryngium (eringium), amaranthus caudatus, gypsophila (lerekatichpole), tansy (wild mountain ash), physalis (lanterns) with red pericarp, lunaria, heather, arable clover and a number of other plants.

Dandelion inflorescences, cut on the day of wilting, after a few days turn into fluffy balls, which are well preserved in winter if a wire is passed through the stem.

You can preserve the color and shape of some leaves by ironing them through paper with a moderately hot iron. Even better is bulk drying of flowers in dry sand.

Many flowers, dried in the usual way - under pressure, retain their color well and can be used to create colorful panels.

Grains that are good for winter bouquets are: feather grass, decorative and seed barley, cotton grass, hedgehog grass, bromegrass, cattail and others.

A winter bouquet can be given its original shape using the branches of some trees and shrubs. Twigs of evergreens - spruce, pine, thuja - can be found throughout the year; they enliven the bouquet with their greenery. In winter, bare branches of deciduous trees can serve as material for creating silhouette bouquets, the graceful and whimsical shape of which attracts attention in the same way as the colorfulness of a summer bouquet. In this case, branches of oak, maple, hazel, birch, larch, thorny bushes - gooseberry, white acacia, barberry, hawthorn - can be used.

The branches of some plants retain colorful fruits for quite a long time. These are rosehip, rowan, barberry, asparagus.

In the second half of winter, tree and shrub plants, having completed their dormant period, acquire the ability to bloom in water, and some of them - to produce flowers. A winter bouquet of blossoming branches creates a spring mood and is especially pleasant at this time.

Already in February, birch branches can be used for forcing; poplar, hazel, cherry, almond-legume, bird cherry, willow. In this case, one important condition must be observed - do not damage the trees, cut off the branches carefully, choosing the unnecessary ones.

In winter bouquets you can also use leaves, twigs and flowers of indoor plants - they are used to make small table bouquets or place plants in wall vases. Leaves of begonias, asparagus, ferns, cyperus, ivy, tradescantia, etc. are good for this purpose. Sometimes two or three leaves placed in an elegant transparent vase bring more joy than a large but randomly collected bouquet.

Where there are greenhouses, and if desired, in indoor conditions, in winter you can get flowering forcing plants; plants of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths. For this purpose, the bulbs are planted in September (in jars or boxes with soil), kept for 45-60 days at a low temperature, and then brought into the room and placed on a bright window where the plants bloom.

When composing bouquets and compositions, various plants are used in the most advantageous combinations, without, however, getting carried away by the abundance of material. Just as in summer bouquets, plants are placed freely, achieving their most artistic arrangement. Unlike a summer bouquet, in which colors play the main role, in a winter bouquet the leading place is given to the form, in which the vase is also important. Vases should be in harmony with the plants in shape and color. Their shape can be very different, including flat. A composition or bouquet, especially from dry material, can be made without a vase: they can be strengthened with a plate, moss, wire, tattoos on a stand made of polished wooden hemp, on a wooden, metal or glass plate.

In addition to plants, compositions on a plane can include various additional materials: pebbles, shells, minerals, animal figures, etc.