Drying cranberries - how to dry cranberries at home

Housewives use different harvesting methods, but in order for them to retain all their beneficial properties and vitamins, the best option is drying cranberries.

There are several ways to dry cranberries: in the microwave, in the oven, in an electric dryer and in air.

Basic rules for preparing cranberries for the drying process

1. Only ripe and whole fruits are suitable for drying.
2. Before the drying process, cranberries must be properly processed.
3. To increase the sweetness of the berries, you can use sugar in preparation for drying.

Now we will talk about everything in more detail.

Preliminary stage

The preliminary stage is to properly prepare the berries. It is known that the berry has a rather thick skin, which interferes with the normal drying process. Therefore, there are two ways to prepare cranberries for drying:

1. Boil water in a saucepan and blanch the pre-selected and washed berries for 1 minute.
2. In order to balance the acid level in the berries, you can soak the berries in sugar syrup for 4 hours. After this, place them in a colander and let the water drain. The berries are ready to dry.

Important! After heat treatment of cranberries, the berry retains much more vitamins and beneficial elements in its composition than when fresh cranberries are dried without treatment.

Methods for drying cranberries

In the microwave

A microwave is a faithful assistant in the kitchen. With its help you can significantly reduce drying time.

Place the pre-treated berries in one layer on a dielectric grid, having previously covered it with cotton cloth.

Turn on the oven and set the timer for 3 minutes. Open the microwave door and gently stir the berries. Turn on the microwave again for 3 minutes and mix the berries again. Thus, we alternate the process of turning it on for 3 minutes and turning it off for 1 minute until the berries become suitable for storage for the winter.

As a rule, this process does not take more than 15-20 minutes, but depending on the size of the fruit and the microwave model.

In the oven

Place the prepared blanched berries in a single layer on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 45 degrees and place a baking sheet with cranberries in the oven chamber to dry. As soon as the berries have dried a little, increase the temperature in the chamber to 70°C and continue the process. The duration of the procedure for drying cranberries in the oven is no more than 7 hours.

Important! When drying cranberries, ensuring air circulation is a must. Therefore, periodically open the oven door and turn the baking sheet over. The drying time depends on the brand of oven.

In an electric dryer

An electric dryer significantly speeds up the drying process, while the berries turn out tasty and do not lose their attractive appearance. You can use dried cranberries all year round to make fruit drinks, desserts, sauces, etc.

Place the prepared berries on a paper towel, which will help remove all moisture after blanching.

Then, place the berries in an even layer on the trays of the electric dryer and set the temperature to 55°C.

Remember that fruits on the lower trays dry out a little faster than those on the top ones. Therefore, larger berries can be placed down or the trays can be swapped during the drying process.

The duration of the drying procedure is up to 40 hours.

On air

The old way of preparing cranberries is air drying. To do this, you need to prepare the berries exactly as described above, or simply cut the berries into two halves. Place in a single layer on a wooden tray or plywood, first lining it with parchment paper or foil. You can also use lattice trays.

Place the tray of berries on the balcony or attic and stir the berries daily, which will ensure even air access to the fruits.

Storing dried cranberries

You can store dried cranberries in plastic containers in the freezer or in a glass container with a tightly closed lid in a cool, dark room.

If you prefer the method of storing in linen bags, then remember - you cannot store dried cranberries in bags in rooms with high humidity.

We invite you to watch a video in which the famous doctor Elena Malysheva talks about the benefits of dried cranberries.