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Drying of fruits and berries. Video
Drying is an inexpensive way to prepare fruits and berries for future use. From dried fruits, you can cook compotes and fruit drinks, add them to the filling for pies and other dishes. You can dry fruits and berries in a natural or artificial way – in the sun, in the oven or using special devices.
Drying fruits and berries
You can dry a variety of vegetables, fruits and berries – both garden and wild. Please note that during processing, the fruits lose a lot in weight; for example, from a kilogram of fresh raspberries or strawberries, you will only get 150–130 g of finished dried product. It is necessary to process mature, and in some cases even overripe products. For example, an overripe plum with shriveled skin dries faster and tastes better.
Most often used for drying:
– pears and apples of early varieties; – plums; – peaches; – apricots; – rose hip; – raspberries; – strawberries; – dogwood; – grape.
Before drying, the fruits must be sorted out. If you want to dry whole fruit, sort by size. Wash the berries, and additionally treat the fruits with a vinegar solution (1 tablespoon of vinegar per 1 liter of water). This mixture will help remove pesticides from the fruit.
Cut the fruit into pieces, remove seeds and seeds. Apples and pears of early varieties do not need to be peeled, their skin is quite thin. Remove the stems from the berries.
So that the fruits retain their color and do not darken, treat them with a citric acid solution before drying – 5 g per 1 liter of water
In order for the fruits to quickly acquire the desired condition, they can be blanched in boiling water before drying. Another way is to steam the fruit. Prepared raw materials are placed in wire baskets and placed over containers of boiling water for 10-15 minutes.
Sour fruits and berries can be boiled in syrup before drying. They will be better stored, they will acquire softness and pleasant consistency. Put the prepared fruits in a spacious saucepan and cover with hot 50% syrup. Leave the mixture for 6-8 hours, then drain the syrup, heat and pour the fruit over again. Leave the mixture for another 6 hours, then bring it to a boil, discard the fruits in a colander, let the syrup drain, and put the berries or fruits on a baking sheet. Let them dry, and then send them to the oven to dry.
Natural drying: sun and air
In the sun, you can dry berries, apples, pears and other fruits, cut into slices or slices. Spread them out in an even thin layer on a tray and place in a sunny place. Protect fruit from dust and debris. Bring the trays indoors at night and cover with a cloth.
Drying in the open air lasts 2-3 days. Finished fruits should become flexible, they do not break or crumble. Place ready-made fruits and berries in linen bags or cardboard boxes and store.
Drying in the oven – fast and right
Most often, fruits and berries are dried in the oven. All types of fruits are processed separately; for each type of fruit and berries, you need to choose your own temperature regime and processing time. For example, to dry apples qualitatively, pre-blanched and chopped fruits are laid out on a baking sheet covered with cotton or linen cloth and placed in an oven preheated to 75–80 ° С.
You can use a sieve instead of a baking sheet.
Dry the apples until the moisture has evaporated 2/3. Then reduce the temperature to 55 ° C. The drying process will take about 10 hours. Finished fruits should contain no more than 20% water, they have a slightly “rubbery” consistency, do not emit juice and do not break.