Drying aronia - this is how it's done

Versatile dried aronia berries

The dried aronia berries, often also referred to as chokeberries, can be nibbled raw as a snack and tastes good as an ingredient in muesli or cake. The dark berries are also very popular as a component of healthy smoothies. A mixture of sweet fruits such as apples, pears, bananas and aronia is very tasty. Try an apple crumble cake with aronia berries or process the fruit in a fruit purée and serve this with a hearty dish with meat or cheese.

Dry the aronia berries in the oven

Aronia berries can easily be dried in the oven. It is ideal if you have a convection oven - one that provides the necessary air circulation. Set the oven to a temperature between 50 and 60 ° C and let it preheat. In the meantime, spread your aronia berries generously on several trays and then put them in the oven. Now the fruit should dry for at least an hour, preferably two. During the process, you should shift the trays from time to time so that all the berries are dried evenly. The dried berries are wrinkled and hard as raisins. An energy-saving alternative to the oven is a dehydrator.

How to dry aronia berries in the sun

The cheapest option, however, is likely to be to dry the berries in the sun. In this case, however, you should be able to count on a consistently stable high.

Air temperature between 25 and 30 ° C
low humidity
Sufficient space to spread the fruit in the blazing sun
Leave the fruit there for several days
Protect berries from birds and other thieves (e.g. with a fly net)
Turn the berries regularly

The dried berries should be stored in an airtight container. They can be kept for about a year.

Tips & Tricks

You can make a delicious fruit tea from dried aronia berries: Pour one or two teaspoons of dried berries with boiling water and let them steep for about 15 minutes. You can also mix the berries with other, finely chopped, dried fruit and put together a healthy fruit tea yourself without any flavoring.