How To Store Barberry Correctly

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

The unpretentious barberry feels great in almost any climate, so it can be found more and more often in modern gardens. This plant differs from many of its other counterparts in that absolutely everything is useful in it: both wood, and leaves, and fruits - it is not surprising that many people strive to prepare barberry for future use. How can you preserve the miraculous barberry?

Dry the fruits

The barberry berries intended for drying are harvested in late autumn - by this time the barberry should be fully ripe. In addition, it is during this period that the berries are distinguished by the highest concentration of nutrients.

The collected fruits are washed and slightly dried, after which they are laid out on a baking sheet and sent to dry in the oven. Barberry must be dried in stages, just like many other berries. At the beginning of drying, the temperature in the oven should be between forty-five and fifty degrees, and then it is gradually increased to sixty degrees. Determining whether it's time to finish drying is very simple: when squeezing in a fist, the berries should not stick together. As for the shelf life of dried barberry, it is easily preserved for several years, especially if it is placed in plastic bottles.

Dry twigs with leaves

The leaves that are planned to be dried must be harvested towards the end of spring or at the very beginning of summer - during this period the barberry leaves are still very young and surprisingly tender. Twigs from shrubs are cut along with young shoots. The most optimal length of the branches is considered to be ten centimeters. There is no need to wash them before drying - they are immediately laid out in the open air, in a safe and well-shaded place. If the sun's rays fall on the drying branches with leaves, their healing properties will significantly decrease, since the destruction of an alkaloid called berberine will occur.

The twigs with leaves dry completely in about a week - after this time, they are tightly packed in clean canvas bags and sent for storage. Without loss of healing properties, they can be easily stored for up to two years. By the way, in this form, barberry is often used for the subsequent pickling of cucumbers - the cucumbers become crispy and incredibly tasty.

And the infusion of dried twigs with leaves has an excellent anti-inflammatory effect, promotes the outflow of bile and is an excellent pain reliever.

We prepare the roots

Harvesting roots should be done in late autumn. For this, about one third of the total volume of the roots is dug out. You do not need to wash them - it is enough to shake off the soil from the roots and pinch off the slightly blackened or rotted areas of the rhizomes. Then the raw materials are laid out for air drying in a dark room. The attic is especially good for this purpose.

In principle, you can also dry barberry roots in the oven - as a rule, this process takes from two to four hours. And the roots are dried at a temperature of forty-five to fifty degrees. To understand if the roots are properly dried, they are slightly broken - in the places of the break, they should remain lemon yellow.

In order not to harm the barberry, the roots for the next drying from the same bushes can be taken no earlier than after eight to ten years. And they are stored tied in bales in dry and well-ventilated places - dried roots are perfectly preserved for up to three years.

How else can you store barberry?

Barberry berries can not only be dried - they are often frozen. Or you can simply grind them in a coffee grinder - barberry makes a great seasoning that perfectly complements a wide variety of dishes. You can also add this seasoning to tea.

In addition, you can always make jam, tincture, jelly, marshmallow or sauce from barberry - such blanks will delight with their unsurpassed taste throughout the season!