Prevention of currant leaves from diseases and how to cure a plant. Dried blackcurrant leaf: we save the pantry of vitamins at home Is it possible to freeze currant leaves

Currant is considered one of the most useful, vitamin-rich berries. It is effective for raising immunity, which is important in winter. If you eat 50 grams of berries every day, you can provide yourself with a daily supply of vitamin C.

Bush currant leaves have no less unique properties. Tea prepared with the addition of this leaf is healthy and fragrant.

Ingredients

Servings: - + 5

• currant berries 1 kg

per serving

Calories: 78 kcal

Proteins: 2.0 g

Fats: 0.4 g

Carbohydrates: 22.9 g

1 hour. 30 min. Video recipe Print

Rinse the currants thoroughly, spread a thin layer on a paper or cotton towel and let dry. From time to time, the berries need to be mixed or slightly shaken so that all the moisture is completely gone.

After 1 hour, transfer to special bags or plastic containers and send back to the freezer. As a result, you will receive a blank, as in the photo.

Recipe for freezing currant leaves

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Servings: 10

Energy value

• calorie content - 2 kcal;
• fats - 0 g;
• proteins - 0.2 g;
• carbohydrates - 0.2 g.

Ingredients

• currant leaves - 100 g

Step by step cooking

1. Carefully sort out the currant leaves, remove debris and dry parts, leaving only whole green leaves.
2. Rinse under running water and lay out on paper towels to dry completely.
3. Cut into strips about 1 cm wide and fold into special resealable bags. Send to the freezer.

Now you will not wonder if it is possible to freeze currant leaves for the winter for tea.

Freezing Secrets

The main secret of the correct freezing of currants is the presence of freshly picked berries. From the moment it was plucked to freezing, no more than two hours should pass. The same goes for leaves. It is this pace that allows you to save a maximum of vitamins and minerals.

Before sending the currants to the freezer, it must be dried as much as possible after washing, otherwise the berries will turn out in ice. This method is very convenient. You can use the preparation for cooking compote in spring or at other times of the year or make jam by twisting the currants in a meat grinder with sugar.

Shelf life

You can store at a temperature of -18 and below for 1 year, at -10 it is desirable to reduce the shelf life to 5-6 months.

Storage container

The best option for freezing currants would be a plastic container, and a special tightly closed bag is suitable for the leaves.

For harvesting according to the recipes proposed above, almost all varieties of currants are suitable: black, red, white. The main thing is not to miss the moment of fruit ripening in order to get the maximum of vitamins in an incredibly tasty and fragrant berry in winter.

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With blackcurrant, few berries can be compared in terms of the content of nutrients and the amount of vitamins. And she also has excellent taste. Mostly used, although the twigs and leaves of this plant contain no less useful substances. They are used to fight colds and to improve immunity. Currants are used in cooking, and also in cosmetology. Nourishing creams made on the basis of the leaves of this berry effectively affect the skin, as it contains a large amount of vitamins. So that they can be used all year round, you need to know how to store currant leaves. We will talk about this further.

How to collect and dry currant leaves

Young currant shoots retain almost all of their nutrients throughout the year. In the summer they are used fresh, and for the winter they can be dried or frozen. During the period when the currant begins to bloom, its crown contains the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals needed by the human body. Therefore, it is desirable to harvest raw materials during this period. Leaves are harvested when the weather is dry and there is no dew on the grass. It is best to use young shoots for harvesting; they should not show signs of damage by harmful insects and diseases.

Do not wash harvested raw materials before drying! This will greatly complicate the process. Wipe the dirtiest leaves with a damp cloth, and for the rest of the raw materials, you can use a dry cloth.

• For drying, take a baking sheet or cardboard box. Any flat surface that can be moved will do.
• Cover the surface with paper. Do not use newspapers or paper that has something printed on it.
• Spread the raw material in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
• Dry should be in a place closed from sunlight, which is well ventilated for 5-10 days.
• Keep an eye on the humidity level, with high humidity the leaves will dry much longer.
• Be sure to bring the raw material indoors at night to avoid morning dew on it.
• Turn the raw material once a day to dry evenly.

In the oven

If there is no time or a convenient place for drying in natural conditions, you can give preference to the oven.

• To do this, prepare the raw materials. When using the oven, the shoots can be washed, then laid out on a paper towel and dried well.
• While the oven is preheating, spread the leaves in a thin layer on a baking sheet.
• If you want to get fragrant tea from currants, you should roll the leaves into a tube, using 2-3 pieces at a time. Next, put the raw materials in a convenient container and cover with a damp cloth. Put the load on top and leave it like this all night. In the morning, future tea should be finely chopped and sent to the oven in this form.

Do not dry currant leaves at high oven temperatures. 60-80°C will be enough.

• So that the moisture that evaporates from the leaves has somewhere to go, turn on the air recirculation in the oven or open the door a little.
• To speed up the process, you can turn on the air convection mode in the oven.
• On average, drying will take about 4 hours, after which time the raw materials should be completely dry.
• If you feel that the currant shoots are still a little damp, leave them in the oven for another hour.

Storage of dried currant leaves

After the shoots are completely dry, they are transferred to glass jars and covered with lids. Also, for long-term storage, you can use paper bags or bags made of natural fabric. The workpiece can be broken into pieces, this will not affect its quality in any way. It is important that the jar in which you will put the dried raw materials is completely dry. If, after it has been washed, even a little moisture remains in it, the entire workpiece may deteriorate. It is highly likely that mold will begin to develop in it.

Bags or jars with dried leaves are stored in a dark, dry place at room temperature. It can be a shelf in a kitchen cabinet or pantry. It is very important not to keep the workpiece near foods or spices that have a pronounced smell. Also, do not store currant leaves above the stove, where moisture often evaporates. In this case, the workpiece may become damp and deteriorate.

Dried currant leaves can be stored for 2-3 years. During this period of time, they will retain all their beneficial properties and aroma. But still it is better to update the blanks annually.

Note! During long-term storage in blanks, various kinds of midges or bugs can start. Check the dried shoots once a month for insects that may have settled there.

Basil, dill, cilantro, parsley - you can't do without them all year round. Freezing greens is easy. Prepare greens for freezing: rinse in a bowl of water 2-3 times, dry on a towel. Finely chop the greens with a sharp knife or scissors, arrange in bags, releasing excess air from them as much as possible. You can create a mix of different herbs or freeze them individually. If you put the chopped herbs tightly in an ice container (preferably silicone) and top up with water, then you will get herbal cubes. They are very convenient to use, adding to soup or other dishes shortly before the end of cooking.

What greens can be frozen yet? For example, separately (leaves or small twigs) you can freeze mint to add to the teapot. Mint for a cocktail is best frozen in ice molds.

What greens are frozen for the winter

• To decorate dishes. Better than others, curly parsley, which needs to be torn with your hands, is suitable for these purposes. Do not cut the leaves of ordinary parsley, but tear off the leaves from the branches. Lightly chop the chives.
• For soup. Freeze sliced ​​leeks and chopped sorrel leaves.
• For tea. Gather a bunch of herbs and leaves for herbal tea. Leaves of raspberries, black currants, strawberries, blueberries, mint or lemon balm, St. John's wort, thyme are suitable. Put all the greens in a large teapot, pour boiling water over it and leave to brew. Pour the cooled broth into ice molds and freeze. Ice from aromatic broth is very convenient to add to tea and use for cosmetic purposes.

How to freeze greens in the freezer

Freezing the beam

Is it possible to freeze greens in a bunch? Certainly! You can freeze greens in a whole bunch by cutting off the stems and wrapping it tightly in cling film. In the freezer, the herb bundle will turn into a dense sausage, but by unrolling the cling film, you can easily cut off any amount of grass you need to cook the dish.

Sweet corn

Corn is a favorite product with a unique composition of carbohydrates. It is classified as an environmentally friendly product due to its property not to accumulate nitrates. You can rarely meet a bag of frozen grains in the store, which means that for lovers of corn this is an occasion to freeze it yourself. You can freeze corn in the form of a cut grain or whole. Choose cobs of milky ripeness, the grains of which have not had time to coarsen. Clean the cob of covering leaves and stigmas, cut off the kernels and arrange in bags. For freezing whole, choose medium-sized cobs. Blanch the corn: put it in boiling water, and after 5-7 minutes after boiling again, the corn will be ready.

Black currants began to be cultivated in the eleventh century in monasteries. In ancient Rus', currant bushes were an indispensable attribute of monastic cloisters. They could be seen along with other economic plantings at the monastery gardens. The monks were the first to appreciate the taste and benefits of black berries, and then the leaves of the currant bush. When the Mongol-Tatars invaded Rus', the Russian monks began to migrate to Western Europe and took only the most valuable with them. They did not forget to take blackcurrant seedlings.

The monks reached France and Germany, where they stayed in Orthodox churches. There they began to breed blackcurrant, the benefits and taste of which were quickly appreciated by Western healers. And now the number of lovers to drink fragrant blackcurrant tea from berries or leaves is becoming more and more. In addition, due to the fact that there is an Isidri dryer, you can treat yourself to a fragrant drink all year round.
How to collect leaves for drying?

It is worth knowing that only properly collected and dried raw materials will give all their benefits to drinks and dishes. Therefore, before drying currant leaves for, a number of certain rules should be observed:

· You need to choose the right time to collect the leaves. This should be done when they have already fully blossomed on the bush.
· It is best when there is still no bright morning sun, but the dew has already dried up.
Leaves are not harvested immediately after rain, you must wait until the bush dries.

· Collection can be made in different periods. It all depends on the goal pursued. The most useful decoctions are obtained from young, succulent leaves, when the plant has not yet bloomed (this period falls on May-June).

Then they contain the maximum amount of nutrients and vitality. But do not be upset if you did not have time to do this. Can be harvested when leaves are deep green. In August, currant leaves acquire a strong and especially pleasant aroma. There are fewer vitamins in them, but the beneficial properties are still preserved, currant leaf tea remains just as tasty.

Leaf blades should not be affected by fungus, rust, be wilted.
The leaves are dried in various ways: on the street, in the oven, in attics and verandas. But this is a long process, in addition, it is necessary to constantly turn the leaves over, remove them at night and protect them from the sun and rain so that they do not turn black. If you have a dryer for fruits and vegetables Isidri at home, all these problems can be avoided.
Store raw materials in cloth or paper bags. You can also put them in a ceramic or glass container with tight-fitting lids.

home drying leaves

Drying currant leaves is not difficult. So our actions are:

1. Collected and processed currant leaves. We recommend rinsing the leaves before drying, even if they look clean at first glance. Otherwise, after drying, small particles of debris and dust can be found on the pallets.
2. The collected currant leaves were evenly distributed on 30 trays of an electric dryer. At the same time, each of the trays had about 68 grams of fresh currant leaves.
3. Turned on the device, set the temperature mode to + 60 degrees. For high-quality drying of raw materials, it took us 10 hours.

4. From 2000 grams of fresh currant leaves, 445 grams of dry raw materials were obtained.
5. Using a blender, crushed some of the leaves into powder.
6. Sifted it with a sieve and again passed through a blender.
7. Pour into a jar with a tight lid for further storage.

Shelf life of dried blackcurrant leaves is 2-3 years.

Useful properties of currant

Currant leaves are harvested for the winter for subsequent brewing of them into wonderful vitamin tea, which is a unique general tonic, since the leaves contain bioflavonoids, tannins, phytoncides, essential substances, a high content of vitamin C. You can use such a drink as a diuretic, cleansing, tonic and antirheumatic agent. In order for currant leaf tea to acquire additional healing properties, it should be consumed with milk, honey and lemon.

Blackcurrant leaves contain phytopherol, carotene, ascorbic acid, B and P vitamins, glucose, fructose, useful organic acids, glycosides, pectin, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, calcium, potassium, boron, iodine.

Dried blackcurrant leaves have astringent, diaphoretic, tonic, diuretic properties, and have a disinfectant effect.

· Tea.
A full teaspoon of powdered dry crushed leaves is poured with cool water (200 ml) and brought to a boil over low heat. Immediately remove and filter. Drink twice a day for swelling, rheumatism and arthritis. This herbal tea has a calming effect on the central nervous system, which is useful for nervous exhaustion.

· Infusion.
Used for gout, arthritis, cystitis, migraine, tonsillitis and tonsillitis.
The infusion is made as follows: 6 tablespoons of dry raw materials are poured into three cups of boiling water and left for four hours in a sealed container. Strain and drink half a glass 4 times a day.

It helps to remove oxalic and uric acid from the body, which prevents the appearance of kidney stones and the development of urolithiasis.

Take an infusion 5 times a day in a glass for pyelonephritis, cystitis. Useful infusion for diabetes, anemia, depletion of the body, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, liver disease.

By the amount of vitamin C, blackcurrant fruits and leaves occupy one of the leading positions among the representatives of the plant world. They are used for catarrh of the stomach, diarrhea, diathesis, cough, dropsy, loss of strength.

Currant leaves have medicinal properties for skin diseases, boils, ulcers, scrofula, gout and rheumatism in the form of baths.

Regular use of blackcurrant leaves helps prevent the development of cancer, slow down the aging process, stop bleeding, enhance the effect of antibiotics, and increase appetite.
For older people, a blackcurrant leaf drink helps maintain vision and maintain normal brain function. The decoction gently lowers blood pressure, gradually expanding the vessels.

Broth can be replaced by a series when bathing babies to prevent sweating. An infusion of blackcurrant leaves is used for washing with micro-inflammations on the skin, and a decoction is an excellent hair rinse that will make the hair silky and shiny.

It is important to know!
But there are contraindications for the use of blackcurrant leaf. The leaves contain a lot of vitamin K, which significantly increases blood clotting. Therefore, do not use them for thrombophlebitis.
Leaves are contraindicated if there is gastritis with high acidity, a stomach ulcer. Some people may have an allergic reaction to blackcurrant.

Do not get carried away with currant tea and pregnant women. But in small quantities, such a drink will help to cope with toxicosis, improve sleep, and strengthen the walls of the uterus.

Application in cooking

Stocking up on blackcurrant leaves for further brewing tea, do not forget about other plants. Combining cherry, dogwood, strawberry, pear, quince leaves with blackcurrant leaves, you can get a fragrant, tasty and super healthy drink. And lemon balm will make it a light sedative.
By experimenting with the amount of leaves, you can create your own drink that will be both delicious and help with any health problems.

In cooking, dried blackcurrant leaves are not used as often as berries. As a spice, they are used to prepare hypoglycemic salads and flavor drinks (for example, homemade kvass).
You can try to make wine from dried leaves. To do this, 70 pieces of leaves are poured with 200 grams of vodka and insisted for 4 days in the refrigerator. Then add a bottle of red wine and 300 grams of sugar, mix and infuse for another 10 days.

You can cook currant vinegar. The leaves are placed in a glass container, pour cold water with 100 grams of granulated sugar. The dishes are covered with gauze, cleaned for 2 months in a dark place, after which the resulting vinegar is filtered.

Currants add a wonderful subtle flavor to drinks and dishes and fight numerous health problems. And fish or meat dishes, sprinkled with seasoning with ground blackcurrant leaves during cooking, will become more spicy and healthy. You can season this powder with meat salads, vegetables.

If you sprinkle blackcurrant leaf powder into fish or meat broth and add a few berries, you get a tart, aromatic sauce.

As you can see, the scope of dried blackcurrant leaves is quite extensive. And you should definitely take advantage of this natural storehouse of vitamins for your health.

Summer gives us unique days when you can enjoy fresh fruits, berries, vegetables and herbs. In addition, all summer "gifts" can be stored for the winter, if available. Then at any time of the year there will be natural sources of vitamins in the house.

Dry, enjoy!

To obtain useful herbal infusions, it is not at all necessary to go out into the forest - you can collect healing foliage in every area where currants grow. But this plant will be quite enough to make stocks of a fragrant vitamin preparation. The main thing at the same time is to know how to correctly collect, dry and store currant greens. This is what we will talk about today.

When to Collect

Each plant has its own stages of life. In order for it to accumulate as many useful substances as possible and be able to act as a medicine, it must be collected at a time when the maximum amount of useful elements is present in its ground and underground parts.

Important! It is better to take young surface leaves that have not yet gained a thick green tint.

Currant has many varieties that differ in both flowering time and fruiting period. Therefore, it is quite difficult to clearly answer at what time the leaves of this shrub should be collected. The main guiding moment is the formation of the first flowers. It is at this stage that the highest number of elements such as:

Important! You can not remove all the foliage from the branch.

Some gardeners are sure that it is necessary to harvest material for teas and tinctures in certain cycles of the moon. And the ideal moment for collecting is the period of growth of this celestial body. It was at this time that the plant accumulated a maximum of vitamins and other useful substances.

Drinks are prepared both from succulent leaves, which can be harvested all summer, and from dried ones. But then you need to take care of the competent procurement of supplies for the winter.

Drying

This is the most democratic and easiest way to harvest foliage. Dry both at home and on a production scale.

At home, the material is dried in the old way - in the open air, in the shade. The ideal place is considered a canopy or attic. To get a blank that will be stored all winter, the leaves are spread on a flat surface, on paper or a clean cloth. Leave the unfolded material for a week.

From time to time, the leaves need to be stirred and watched so that mold does not appear on them. The readiness of raw materials for storage can be recognized by their fragility: as soon as the leaves become brittle, they can be placed in storage.

Important! Do not use newspaper for drying, as printing dyes contain toxic substances.

You can also use a conventional oven. The first 15 minutes, the greens are dried at a temperature of 100 ° C, then reduced to 60 ° C and left to dry thoroughly.

If the house has an electric dryer, then you can use it. It is only necessary to control it so that the raw materials do not dry out and brown.

In production, the foliage is dried in two ways: twisting or in drying chambers.

Storage

The dried material is stored in canvas bags or in hermetically sealed glass containers. The place where the workpiece will stand should be dry, not hot and well ventilated.

It is impossible to have spices and other products with an intense smell next to the finished raw materials.

Prevention of currants from diseases: how to cure plant leaves

Measures to protect currant bushes should begin in the spring, until sap flow begins.

First, a “hot” treatment of the bushes is carried out. It will help protect against pests and diseases and ensure full development and a bountiful harvest. The method consists in watering the bushes with eighty-degree water (10 liters per 3 bushes). After a shower, pruning should be done - get rid of damaged and weak shoots.

Before bud break, you can spray the bushes with a two percent solution of karbofos or nitrafen. After a while, you can reinforce the result by treating the plant with Bordeaux liquid.

Did you know? Currant got its name from the old Russian word "currant", which meant "strong aroma".

Beneficial features

Currant greens are rich in vitamins and minerals indispensable for the human body. It contains:

• organic acids;
• (vitamin E);
• pectin;
• silver;
• glycosides;
• cyanidin;
• delphinidin.

Many of these elements are used as nutritional supplements to strengthen the immune system, build muscle and bone tissue.

Thanks to vitamin C, blackcurrant greens serve as an excellent expectorant, antipyretic and antiseptic agent. Currant drinks smooth out cold discomfort, help reduce fever, alleviate the symptoms of laryngitis, inflammation of the palatine tonsils and pharyngitis.

The plant has a diuretic and diaphoretic effect, promotes the removal of toxins, purine and uric acid from the body.

Potassium helps to normalize the water-salt balance and regulates the acid-base composition of the blood. Currant green teas help restore blood pressure and strengthen the heart.

Currant also has cleansing properties that allow you to effectively deal with diathesis, skin dermatitis, prickly heat.

Leaf drinks

Methods for preparing vitamin drink based on the gifts of nature have been passed down from generation to generation since ancient times. And to this day they have reached almost unchanged.

Did you know? Tibetan medicine uses currant leaves to treat tuberculosis of the lymph glands, diseases of the urogenital area, heart disease and general ailments.

Tea

Currant leaves are often used as individually, and complete with other medicinal herbs or with ordinary, unflavored tea.

In order to prepare a vitamin drink, the leaves are mixed with simple tea (or other herbs) in equal proportions, a tablespoon of the mixture is poured into 0.5 liters of boiling water and brewed in a closed container for 20-30 minutes.

If desired, tea can be made without additives. In this case, they simply take a tablespoon of dry leaves (fresh - 2 tablespoons), pour 0.5 liters of boiling water and leave for 20 minutes.

Such teas help to strengthen the immune system and improve well-being.

Decoction

In case of severe diseases or after surgery, to speed up the rehabilitation process, it is recommended drink decoctions of currant greens. They have an excellent effect in the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cystitis, acute pyelonephritis and skin diseases.

The drink is prepared simply: 5 st. spoons of leaves and berries are placed in an airtight container (better - a thermos), pour a liter of boiling water and let it brew for 40-60 minutes. You need to drink 5-6 glasses a day.

Infusion

To get a vitamin infusion, no special effort is required: a little crushed leaves (preferably with berries) pour 300 ml of hot water. After that, the container is wrapped in a towel or thick cloth and left for 4-5 hours.

This drink is drunk in a glass in the morning and in the evening. It helps to cope with colds, reduce fever and get rid of cough.

If you add honey to dried leaves (3 tablespoons of herbs, a spoonful of honey, 400 ml of water), you get a drink that can normalize blood pressure. Drink it in a glass three times a day.

Did you know? In some US states, the cultivation of blackcurrant is banned, because the plant is affected by a special disease that is dangerous for a relic tree - American pine.

Alcohol tincture

Making an alcohol tincture from currant leaves is very simple: crushed dried leaves are placed in a container, filling it almost completely, after which they are poured with alcohol or vodka. You need to insist for a day, in the dark, then strain through cotton wool or gauze.

This will seem surprising to many, but currant leaves can be used for making various wines and liqueurs.

For example, to make currant wine, you will need 70 pieces of leaves, 150 ml of vodka, 0.7 liters of red wine, 300 g of sugar. The leaves are poured with vodka and sent for 10 days in a cool place (preferably in the refrigerator). After that, wine and sugar are added to the mixture. The solution is thoroughly mixed and left for 10 days.

Summing up, it can be noted that currants are a real find for a person. The plant is quite unpretentious and can be cultivated even in northern conditions, it bears fruit stably and is characterized by a persistent aroma and bright taste. Therefore, healthy teas and tinctures at home can be prepared by anyone.