How to preserve Gouqi

I believe most people know that wolfberry is a very common food. Wolfberry has the function of beautifying and conditioning the body, so it is welcomed by many people in life. Wolfberry can be eaten directly or soaked in water. Women can regulate qi and blood by drinking wolfberry, and men can enhance kidney function by drinking wolfberry soaked in water. However, the consumption of wolfberry is not large, so it needs to be preserved intact. Simply freezing it in the refrigerator is not allowed. So how should wolfberry be preserved?

1. Drying method

1. Mix the newly picked wolfberries with alkaline water and spread them evenly on a wolfberry plate ("wolfberry plate": a special tool for drying or baking wolfberries. Generally, wooden strips are nailed into a wooden frame 90 cm long and 60 cm wide. Window screens are nailed under the wooden frame, and a horizontal bar is nailed under the window screens. The wolfberries are spread on the window screens. Note that cardboard or bamboo mats can be used, but they are not as breathable and ventilated as window screens).

Dry in a shady, ventilated place (preferably one day). After the wolfberries lose some of their moisture, move them to the sun for drying.

2. Choose a ventilated and flat place for exposure (most people in Julu County choose to do so on their own roofs). The wolfberry plates should be placed individually, stacked up on cloudy and rainy days and every night, and covered with plastic film in time to prevent the wolfberries from getting damp. The plastic film should be removed in time after the weather clears and in the early morning of the next day to prevent the wolfberries from turning black due to high temperature. When the wolfberries are 70% to 80% dry, cover the plate in time.

3. To put the wolfberries in the plate on a hard surface that is sunny, ventilated and easy to clean (the roof of a bungalow is best). The buttoning should be done in the early morning. The night before closing the plate, do not cover the wolfberry plate with plastic film. Allow the wolfberries to absorb moisture in the plate overnight. This way, the wolfberries can be easily removed from the plate (if they are not allowed to absorb moisture, a large amount of wolfberries will stick to the window screen and will be difficult to remove). After sealing the plate, the wolfberries should be spread evenly.

4. After the wolfberries are dried, they should be packed into bags in time. Double-layer bags should be used. The time for bagging should be chosen at four or five o'clock in the afternoon. At this time, there is sufficient sunlight and relatively little humidity, so the wolfberries are not easy to get damp. After bagging, the bag mouth should be tied immediately.

This method is easy to use in spring and summer when there is plenty of sunlight and low air humidity.

2. Baking method

1. To make dried wolfberries by baking, you need to build a small baking room. Leave a vent on the top of the small baking room and install an exhaust fan. The windows should be nailed with plastic film. Hang a cotton curtain at the door, and leave a one-foot-high ventilation hole underneath the curtain. In the small baking room, use bamboo poles to build a rack to hold the wolfberry plates. There is a coal fire in the room, which is always kept at 60 to 70 degrees Celsius.

2. Mix the newly picked wolfberries with edible alkaline water, spread them evenly on the wolfberry plate, and place the wolfberry plate on the bottom layer of the rack in the small baking room. After the wolfberries lose some water, they will gradually move up. (Note that the temperature at the bottom of the small baking room is low, and the temperature at the top is high. If you put the wolfberry plate directly on the top, the wolfberries will "collapse" on the plate. While maintaining the temperature in the small baking room, it is also necessary to ventilate and allow air to pass through, and remove moisture from the small baking room in time).

3. After the wolfberries are dried, they should be placed on plates and packed in bags in time, otherwise the wolfberries will be "burned" due to the high temperature in the small baking room.

This method is easy to use in autumn because there is more rain, less sunlight, and higher humidity.

There are tricks to the storage of wolfberries. In fact, wolfberries are dry and cannot be exposed to moisture. If placed in a humid place, it will affect the wolfberries. Put the dried wolfberries into bags. It is best to use two layers of bags and place them in a sunny and low-humidity place. This can ensure that the efficacy and nutritional value of the wolfberries will not be lost.