It's no secret that one of the most useful dried fruits is prunes. It can be called a natural medicine with excellent taste. It includes pectin, fiber, a large number of vitamins and minerals. Another positive quality is that even when dried, it remains very useful and does not lose its properties. Let's talk about how to dry prunes.
A wealth of nutrients
Prunes must be eaten in case of anemia and vitamin deficiency due to the large amount of iron in its composition. This is an indispensable tool for bowel diseases. Everyone knows that prunes are a good laxative. It can be used as an antibacterial agent. Among other things, it improves metabolism and is a good tonic. But in order to preserve all these qualities, one must know how prunes are dried.
We keep all vitamins
Any fruits are suitable for drying. You can take even overripe or damaged. They must be washed and the stalks removed. Then we put a large pan on the fire, pour water into it and add citric acid (5 grams per liter). We need her to boil. After that, put the prunes in a colander and lower it into boiling water for 20 seconds. Then immediately transfer it to cold water. If there are many fruits, then we perform this operation several times, dividing them into parts. Then the prunes must be dried. Now we proceed to the main process.
Before drying prunes, you need to decide how to do it. There are several options here. The first is drying naturally in the sun. It is a long process and laborious. You can dry it in the oven, but there are subtleties. It is necessary to ensure uniform drying at low temperatures. It is also necessary that there is adequate ventilation and evaporation of moisture. It is very difficult to ensure when drying in the oven. In addition, this product can not be overdried.
So how to dry prunes quickly and efficiently? In a special dryer. We lay the fruits in it and dry for 5 days, setting the temperature to 40 degrees. During this time, his skin should wrinkle. Then we take out the fruits and leave them to air in the air. Now they should gain moisture. Five hours later, he was again sent to the dryer for the same time, but with a temperature of 75 degrees. After 5 hours we take it out to cool. Then we put it back in the dryer for 5 hours. The temperature is 70 degrees. It is brought to readiness at a temperature of 60 degrees. This is how prunes are dried. The result is a quality product. Dried prunes should be moderately hard and not too soft. If it is squeezed, then cracks should not appear. Well-dried prunes do not emit juice when squeezed.
How to store
You need to know not only how prunes are dried, but also how they are stored. To preserve it for a long time, it is necessary immediately after drying to lower it in syrup (a liter of water and a kilogram of sugar). After 5 minutes of cooking, the fire is turned off and the prunes are left in syrup. The next day, boil again, washed and dried. Then the prunes are placed in jars and sterilized.