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How to dry zucchini for the winter, is it dried zucchini
Among the numerous preparations from zucchini, squash and zucchini, cooked products prevail – marinades, jams, caviar and stews, various salads and dressings. However, the problem with these undoubtedly tasty preparations is the loss of valuable vitamins. A smarter and healthier way of cooking is with dried vegetables. The question of whether zucchini is dried at all is removed automatically after studying the properties of this product for a dietary and simply healthy diet.
How to dry zucchini for the winter?
As with most types of seasonal vegetables, there are simple rules for preparing the product that allow you to quickly and easily cope with the preparation and get valuable raw materials for creating delicious dishes:
- only whole, undamaged vegetables of milk ripeness are used. For large overripe zucchini and squash, as well as zucchini, the seeds and the tissue that binds them are removed before drying;
- it is advisable to use peeled vegetables, the drying process will go faster and more evenly, and hard particles will not be felt in the finished dish;
- cutting zucchini into pieces is performed evenly;
- drying is carried out until moisture completely evaporates from the product.
How to dry zucchini for the winter: preserving the beneficial properties
The drying process can be carried out in the fresh air, in a special dryer or oven. The first method is the longest and involves placing chopped vegetables on a stretched mesh or gauze for better ventilation, no direct sunlight. In the oven, drying is carried out at a temperature of 55-60 degrees Celsius, in the dryer – according to the instructions.
How to dry zucchini for soups and main courses?
There are two options for cutting here: slices or cubes, depending on the desired shape of the food in the dish. It should be noted that dried courgettes do not need to be soaked before cooking. Delicate fibrous pulp, even when dried, is easy to boil, giving food an amazing velvety taste. If the product is planned to be used as an additive to ready-made meals or in a raw food diet, it is better to grind the dried zucchini using a coffee grinder or a hand mill, turning them into flour.
Dried zucchini in cosmetology
Another interesting use for this type of blank is masks and peeling from flour obtained by grinding a dried product. The nutritional properties of such masks are not inferior to procedures with fresh vegetables, but they take less time to prepare. Extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, honey, milk can be used as additional ingredients, depending on the skin type.