What are the methods for drying honeysuckle

Honeysuckle has the effect of clearing away heat and detoxifying, and has been used to treat and relieve various febrile diseases, such as fever, sore throat, rash, etc., with obvious therapeutic effects. After honeysuckle is picked, it must be processed in time to preserve its medicinal properties intact and effectively. Once honeysuckle becomes moldy, its quality will be reduced. Now let’s talk about the methods of drying honeysuckle.

1. Traditional drying.

Foil can be made of sorghum stalks and propped up with wooden sticks, about 50 to 70 centimeters above the ground, lower in the south and higher in the north, or spread directly on a drying mat. The thickness of the drying material should be appropriate. It should be thicker when the sunlight is strong to avoid drying too quickly and affecting the quality. It should not be spread too thickly when the sunlight is weak to prevent the flowers from turning black. When drying for the first time, do not turn it over with your hands to avoid the flower color turning black. It can be turned over only after it is 80% dry in the sun. It is best to harvest and dry it on the same day. After drying, place it in a dry place and seal it tightly, but the flower heart is not completely dry at this time. It will become damp again after a few days. Then dry it in the sun for half a day to a day, use wind to remove the remaining leaves and impurities, then package and store it in a cool and dry place to prevent moisture and insects before sale. Disadvantages: It is difficult to control the temperature and the degree of drying, and it is greatly affected by the weather. The quality of the produced honeysuckle is not high, and it is rarely used at present.

2. Drying method:

It is not affected by weather, the temperature is easy to control, and the yield rate is higher and the quality is better than sun-drying. It is an effective measure to improve product quality in honeysuckle production. First, we need to build a drying room. The size of the drying room depends on the amount of fresh honeysuckle. Generally, 4,000 to 5,000 kilograms of fresh flowers can be used to build a 650X550X450 cm drying room. It can also be expanded or reduced as needed. A stove can be built at one end of the house, and a fire channel can be built in the room. The fire channel adopts the form of a Huilong Kang. There is a chimney and skylight on the roof, 30 cm above the ground, and a vent is left on the front and back walls every 3 meters. There is a drying rack on each side of the room, 20 cm away from the wall, and a 1 to 1.4 meter aisle is left between the two drying racks. The distance between the racks is 25 to 30 centimeters, and the bottom layer is 40 centimeters away from the fire path. Foil made of bamboo strips or sorghum stalks is placed on the racks in layers, and about 3 kilograms of honeysuckle can be dried per square meter.

3. Modernized microwave fixing of honeysuckle.

The microwave equipment is used to dry honeysuckle, which can be used for both withering and drying. Microwave sterilization uses the moisture of the material itself to form a steam environment, and combined with the oscillation effect of high-frequency microwaves, the sterilization effect is good and the material color is bright. At the same time, some moisture is lost in the sterilization process, which greatly saves drying costs. After the withering is completed, the finished product is completed by microwave drying once. The dried flowers are evenly dry and green in color. The nutritional components of the materials are not destroyed or changed at all. At the same time, it has a sterilization function. The bacterial content of the microwave-dried honeysuckle can fully meet the hygiene standards required by the food QS certification. Another advantage of microwave drying is that it has a high yield of high-quality honeysuckle. According to measurements, 4.6 kilograms of fresh flowers can produce 1 kilogram of dried flowers, and the drying rate is 8% higher than that of the drying method.