Preparing honeysuckle: dry the berries, leaves and twigs of honeysuckle, prepare a delicious marshmallow.

Honeysuckle is an early-ripening and early-ripening berry. Often the berries ripen when some trees have just bloomed. The ripening of berries is not uniform, and the berry picking often extends for several weeks. Experienced gardeners simply spread a cloth under the bush and collect the fallen berries every few days.

Drying honeysuckle

If you have not treated your garden with anything poisonous, then it is not necessary to wash the berries before drying. Just go through them, select leaves, twigs and other debris and you can start drying.

Berries can be dried in the open air, scattered on mesh trays, or on paper. The sun won't hurt the berries, but take care to protect them from birds and flies: cover the drying area with gauze or a piece of tulle. Drying honeysuckle in the fresh air lasts about 10 days.

Dry honeysuckle in an electric dryer at a temperature of +50 degrees until ready. Depending on the size of the berries, this will take from 8 to 12 hours.

You can also dry honeysuckle in the oven.To do this, cover a baking sheet with baking paper, spread the berries in a thin layer, and place the baking sheet in the oven. Open the oven doors slightly and set the temperature to +60 degrees. Drying time for honeysuckle in the oven is 4-6 hours.

Dried berries taste like raisins, and they can be used in cooking in the same way as raisins. The taste of berries dried in an electric dryer is no different from those dried in the fresh air. They can only be distinguished by color.

Dried honeysuckle berries should be stored in paper bags in a dry and cool place. Storage in airtight containers is not recommended. Even dried honeysuckle contains a little moisture, and this threatens that mold will appear on the berries very soon.

Honeysuckle marshmallow

Usually, not much sugar is added to homemade fruit marshmallows, or even without it. This won’t work with honeysuckle marshmallows. Although it is healthy, the acid will not allow honeysuckle to become a real delicacy. Therefore, to prepare honeysuckle marshmallows, they take the same amount of sugar by weight as berries.

Grind honeysuckle with sugar in a blender until the sugar is completely dissolved, then pour the mixture onto the marshmallow tray of an electric dryer. Dry the marshmallow at a temperature of +60 degrees, about 8 hours.

Twigs and leaves of honeysuckle are also used for medicinal purposes. They can be harvested all season long until the leaves fall. Honeysuckle leaves are dried in the fresh air and stored in a paper or fabric bag until the next season.

You can learn more about honeysuckle by watching the video: