How to dry dill for the winter at home

Video: How to dry dill for the winter at home

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Dried dill is used not only as a fragrant seasoning, but also has healing properties if decoctions are made from it. It is important to know how to properly dry dill for the winter at home. Many are accustomed to doing this, although there are also a couple of practical tips and tricks that you need to use.

The composition and benefits of dried dill

Dill, whether fresh or dried, is a storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. It includes:

vitamins of group A, B, C, E, K, PP;
minerals: potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron;
essential oils;
oleic, palmitic, linoleic acids;
flavonoids are natural antioxidants.

Dill has not only a spicy aroma, but also healing properties, it can be used to cure a number of diseases and unpleasant symptoms, such as:

improper work of the gastrointestinal tract and digestive system;
constipation, abdominal distention;
violation of menstruation;
insomnia, neuroses;
high blood pressure;
decrease in the protective function of the body;
deterioration of vision.

A simple variety of greens that grows in everyone in the garden, and how much benefit is contained in dill.

Harvesting and sorting greens

The final result depends on how to properly dry dill for the winter at home. Where to start first of all - of course, with the preparation of greens.

In this event you need to be guided by proven advice:

the assembly period can be continued until the end of the first summer month, until umbrella-shaped inflorescences have formed on the plant;
harvesting is recommended in early hours and in sunny weather, without precipitation, after waiting for the dew to dry on the branches, or in the late evening;
dill bushes need to be pulled out directly from the rhizome, immediately cutting it off;
sluggish and lifeless bushes covered with yellowness with signs of rotting or pest damage should be avoided.

It is recommended that the purchased dill be dipped in a solution of water and soda for a couple of hours, in this way you can get rid of harmful substances.

It is recommended to rinse the herbs under cold running water, in no case should you rinse the dill under warm water, it will very quickly lose its fresh appearance and shape, becoming unsuitable for further drying.

Ways to dry dill at home

In fact, there are a great many ways, the only one is not recommended to do this on a newspaper or glossy magazines. The explanation for this is very simple, the ink used for printing is toxic, even after a certain number of years, and wet dill greens “saturate” with harmful substances in a short time, losing their vitamin value.

Drying in a dryer and in the oven is considered the most popular methods, but you can learn how to dry dill for the winter at home by following step-by-step recommendations:

the oven should be warmed up to no more than 40 ° C;
the first layer is to lay out the chopped dill, and lay out whole branches on top, or cover the sheet for baking with parchment paper;
during drying, the oven door should not be closed close, a small crack should be left for air to enter;
the procedure takes at least 3 hours in time, while the leaf must be removed periodically, turning the greens to the other side.

There is a built-in oven in every house, as well as dill on the site, so it is very simple to dry it for the winter at home, no additional devices are needed for this.

You can dry the dill in the refrigerator, for this, the twigs need to be chopped, put on a baking sheet and covered with a napkin, and then placed in the refrigerator for a day.

The natural drying procedure, although it takes a considerable amount of time, has not yet gone out of fashion. It includes the following nuances:

the drying room should be dry, out of direct sunlight, and most importantly ventilated so that the greens do not absorb extraneous odors;
the surface must be flat;
twigs can be dried whole or chopped;
in time, the process takes 3-4 hours.

This method allows you to preserve the spicy aroma even after the drying procedure.

Proper storage

It is not enough to know how to prepare dill at home for the winter and dry it. It is also necessary to learn how to properly store the dried spice.

For dill to retain its fragrant aroma for a long time, it should be stored in a dark, dry place, in glass jars with screw lids or in a container for seasoning.