How to dry osmanthus

If you want to use osmanthus as medicine or make other delicacies, you must air-dry it first. This way the moisture in the osmanthus can be completely dried out without any residue, which makes the effect better when it is preserved. Another kind of delicacy is candied osmanthus. Before making this delicacy, you must find a way to completely dry the osmanthus.

How to dry osmanthus

1. Pick the fresh osmanthus flowers clean, use a rice basket to drain out the debris, and rinse them with clean water. I tried soaking them in salt water, but I put too much salt and it became a concentrated salt water. The yellow flowers turned black, which wasted a lot of time.

2. Use the oven to dry at a low temperature for a long time. Last time, because I was impatient, I adjusted the temperature to about 130 degrees, and the osmanthus flowers turned black all of a sudden. I had to throw them away and start over. Baidu said that it is difficult to control the temperature by using a frying pan to dry them like frying tea. Fresh osmanthus flowers turn black quickly when exposed to heat and lose their fragrance.

The processing process of sugar osmanthus includes: selecting flowers → washing flowers → blanching flowers → watering flowers → bleaching flowers → controlling flowers → soaking flowers → packaging and other processes.

(1) Flower selection: Remove impurities such as pedicels, pistils, and flowers with discolored or missing petals.

(2) Washing flowers: Wash the selected flowers in clean water.

(3) Blanching flowers: Put the cleaned flowers into boiling water (the ratio of flowers to water is 1:4, i.e. 1 part flowers to 4 parts water) for 30 to 35 seconds and then remove them from the water.

(4) Watering the flowers: When picking up the flowers, immediately pour boiling water that has been cooled to room temperature into them.

(5) Floating the flowers: Place the flowers in boiling water that has cooled to room temperature and let them float.

(6) Drain the flowers: Spread them thinly and drain them naturally.

(7) Pickling flowers: Mix osmanthus flowers and sugar (or honey) in a ratio of 1:1 and place in a clean container for pickling.

(8) Packaging: Packaging shall be carried out according to the specifications.

2. Dried osmanthus processing procedures: selecting flowers → packing flowers → drying flowers → screening flowers → packaging and other processes.

(1) Flower selection: Pass through a 60-mesh sieve to remove impurities such as pedicels and pistils.

(2) Arrange the flowers: Spread the selected flowers evenly and thinly on the baking frame.

(3) Flower baking: Master the technique of “drying flowers according to the weather, drying flowers according to the weather, and drying flowers quickly and slowly”. In the early stage, the temperature should be controlled at 55℃ to 65℃ to remove moisture; in the middle and late stages, the temperature should be controlled at 40℃ to 50℃ until the flowers are dried.

(4) Screening: Use an 80-mesh sieve to sift and remove impurities.

(5) Packaging: Packaging shall be carried out according to the specifications.