Many people prefer to drink teas made from the leaves of garden plants, for example, black currant, rather than store-bought teas. Such drinks are distinguished by excellent taste and aroma and at the same time bring only benefits to the body. For the winter, currant leaves can, of course, simply be dried. But it is better to ferment them all the same. From such leaves it will be possible to obtain a much more aromatic and rich drink. The very same fermentation of currant leaves is a simple procedure.
It is necessary
- - currant leaves;
- - meat grinder;
- - a thin clean white cloth;
- - a can of water;
- - baking sheet;
- - paper;
- - dried citrus zest for flavoring;
- - wooden or plastic dishes.
Instructions
Step 1
Collect the required amount of leaves from the black currant bushes. Only absolutely pure should be taken for fermentation. It is undesirable to wash the leaves before starting the procedure. Young currant leaves are best suited for fermentation. But you can take old ones too. However, in this case, fermentation of the leaves will take longer.
Step 2
Leave the harvested leaves to dry in the shade for about 12 hours. This procedure is necessary in order for the currant essential oils contained in the tissues to turn into a concentrate. Determining that the leaves have withered enough is simple. To do this, you need to bend one of them in half. At the same time, the main vein should not emit a "clicking" sound. In a well-dried leaf, it becomes very elastic.
Step 3
Place the dried leaves in a plastic bag and place the last in the freezer. You can keep the starting material in the cold from 5 hours to 2 days. It is best to freeze it a little longer. Currant leaves are dry and sap reluctantly. After freezing, this process will go faster. Indeed, when it freezes, the juice, like any other liquid, will expand. And this, in turn, will lead to rupture of the cell walls. As a result, the juice will come out and fermentation of the leaves will subsequently be more successful.
Step 4
Scroll the frozen material in a meat grinder immediately. With this method of preparation, at the final stage, you will get granulated currant tea, which will be very convenient to store. Roll the gruel into a plastic, enamel, or wooden bowl. In metal leaf fermentation at home is not carried out.
Step 5
Stir the rolled mass slightly and cover with a damp cloth. Place a jar filled with water on top as a press. Wait for the end of the fermentation process. It lasts for about 8 hours. It will be possible to determine the readiness of the mass by smell. After the fermentation of the leaves comes to an end, they will acquire a pronounced currant-cherry-almond aroma.
Step 6
Cover a clean baking sheet with a sheet of heat-resistant paper. Spread the fermented mass on it in a thin layer. Place the baking sheet in the oven. The door of the latter should be opened slightly. Dry the mass for about 1.5 hours. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. The fermented leaf is ready. Now you can make unusually rich brown aromatic currant tea from it at any time.
Step 7
In order to make the finished drink even more aromatic and tasty, add dried crushed rose petals or some kind of zest to the dried mixture. Also, many lovers of herbal teas ferment the leaves of several garden crops at once - currants, raspberries, cherries, etc. - and at the final stage they simply mix them. In this way, very useful herbal formulations can be obtained.
