A plant hung in autumn with clusters of red berries has been known since ancient times. People are familiar with the amazingly healing power of this plant. It has always been used in the preparation of various drinks and dishes, as well as many medicinal products.
In order to take advantage of the magnificent healing properties of this wonderful plant, you must first collect the berries, and for this you should know the time of harvesting of red mountain ash. This information is presented in the article.
Mountain ash forest
In autumn, gardens and forests are covered with colorful leaves of various bushes and trees. And against this background, orange and red clusters of mountain ash stand out as a bright spot. Often, especially in the harvest years, under the weight of these fruits branches of shrubs lean. During the period of migration, red-breasted bullfinches sit on them, who like to feast on, as well as hazel grouse, sparrows, waxwings and pike, ripe berries. However, such beauty does not happen every year - as a rule, after the harvest comes a lean year.
In total, there are about one hundred species of mountain ash, but the most common is ordinary mountain ash, growing in forests in abundance.
Before answering the question of when the red mountain ash is harvested, we will find out the places of its growth and provide a description.
Spread
Red mountain ash is found everywhere in the temperate climatic zone of the earth. Especially in large quantities, it grows throughout Europe (from the Kola coast to the Mediterranean, from the Urals to Scandinavia), in the Caucasus and Central Asia.
As an introduced plant, it can also be found in temperate climates (in North America, even in the Far North). This is due to the fact that mountain ash has the ability to survive even at the lowest temperatures (up to 50 ° C). Best of all, the plant bears fruit in the western part of the forest zone (in comparison with the eastern) of the European Plain, as well as in the taiga (in comparison with mixed broad-leaved forests).
Ripening time and storage
In order to find out the time of harvest, you should know the time of its ripening. To collect fruits, it is necessary not to miss the period when the berries turn red and are poured with juice.
The people even have a holiday (September 23) - rowan name day, when the same period of picking berries. The fruits at this point are poured with juice and fully ripen, and it is believed that you can harvest to store fresh red mountain ash at home fresh.
Bunches of berries are suspended in the cellar, stored in barrels of water. So they persist until spring.
Plant description
Red mountain ash - a bush or tree and the same name for the berries of one of the varieties of mountain ash.
Its spherical fruits are small (up to 1 cm in diameter). They are covered with an orange-red skin. Inside is a juicy pulp with rounded small seeds in shape.
Due to the presence of bitterness in berries, fresh they are practically not eaten. But, due to its rich composition, they are the most valuable raw material for the medical and food industries. Rowan is used for the production of various drinks (non-alcoholic and alcoholic), it is prepared using jam, jam, jams, marmalade, sweets, etc.
Harvesting Tips
The bush of the plant is covered with beautiful clusters of red berries closer to autumn, but this does not mean at all that the period has come when red rowan berries are harvested. For a while, the berries have a bitter taste, and therefore it is not yet advisable to collect them.
There are some harvesting rules:
- it is advisable to pick berries after the first October frosts, due to the fact that light frost kills bitterness;
- in terms of the start of the first frosts, as a rule, the time of harvest falls in October - November;
- berries should not be picked on the road, otherwise it can be harmful to health, not help.
When is red rowan harvested?
To prepare a wide variety of dishes and drinks, you need to withstand a certain period after the berries have fully ripened. For jam, wine, liquors and tinctures, mountain ash should be collected in November, after the bitterness leaves the berries. They by that period are becoming tastier and sweeter. Slightly frozen fruits are good for a wide variety of workpieces.
- Berries for tincture. When to collect red mountain ash? The main conditions for the preparation of such alcoholic beverages at home are the pronounced taste and juiciness of rowan berries. Harvest ready for harvest after the very first autumn frosts or right in front of them. This is the second half of October or a little later. But you should not bring it to frozen, otherwise the berries lose their moisture.
- For wine, the harvest time is similar - no later than the beginning of November. Berries by that time lose some astringency, which is not bad for dessert drinks. Dry and semi-dry wines are best made from berries harvested in September.
- Rowan jam is a rather rare dessert, but it is very tasty, especially if the fruit is harvested on time. When to collect red mountain ash for jam? If you cook it from ripe, but slightly bitter berries, then you can harvest for this during the same (above) holiday. But the jam will be tastier if you wait for the first freeze.
Benefits and Composition
From the earliest times, mountain ash has been popularly used as a decorative, medicinal and magical plant. Traditionally, its berries are consumed both fresh and dried, and are also used for canning and cooking.
Since ancient times, people have known its excellent healing properties, today confirmed by science. The berries contain 8-12% sugars, organic acids, a huge range of trace elements and vitamins, a small amount of protein, essential oils and tannins.
Conclusion
Knowing when red rowan berries are harvested, one can prepare the most varied and healthy dishes and preparations from a well-ripened berry crop.
However, the brushes of the fruit of a reddish plant also serve as a wonderful decoration for autumn and winter forests and gardens. And from the very beginning of winter, flocks of birds gather on them, loving juicy berries that become sweet after the onset of the first frost.