Ways to dry carrots at home
The problem of storing carrots is acute in winter. Wanting to preserve all the nutrients in the vegetable, housewives resort to various methods: they immerse it in a cellar, freeze it, preserve it, and also use the drying method. There are several ways to dry your carrots at home.
Ways to dry carrots at home
Why dry carrots
Drying preserves the maximum of useful microelements in carrots, which are lost during deep freezing and conservation. Such a fruit is immediately ready for consumption.
Dried carrots are a dietary product, there are only 221 kcal per 100 g of product. Under the right conditions, such a blank can be stored throughout the winter.
Natural drying
To dry the root vegetable really in the sun. This is done in hot sunny weather. A veranda of a summer cottage or a summer cottage is suitable as a drying place. It is important to protect the vegetable from dust, dirt, insects and rain under a canopy.
How to dry at home:
- Cut the root vegetable into slices, cubes, grate (to increase the area of evaporation of moisture from the product).
- Spread the flooring and cover it with cling film.
- Expose raw materials to the sun.
- Stir the chips from time to time, if necessary, blot out the liquid.
This method is suitable for those who have time to procure raw materials. The method has its advantages:
- does not require the cost of additional devices, tools;
- simplicity in execution.
The method also has its drawbacks:
- danger of damage to the workpiece: dust, dirt, strong wind;
- long cooking period: from several days in good sun to 2 weeks.
After the carrots have dried, they are placed in wooden or tin containers, and cotton bags are also suitable. The workpiece is stored away from sunlight in a cool place with low humidity.
Using special electrical appliances
Drying carrots in an electric dryer is much easier than air drying. To do this, you need to prepare a root crop:
- peel, wash;
- cut into cubes or slices no thicker than 12 mm or grate on any convenient grater; the beams of the device penetrate 6-12 mm deep;
- dry for several hours at 60 ° C-70 ° C.
Among the advantages of this device, a short process time (about 6-8 hours) at a low temperature is noted, which allows you to preserve the necessary supply of vitamins and microelements in the root crop. The device uses infrared rays to dry carrots.
Electrical appliances make drying easier
The disadvantages of this method are as follows:
- energy costs (if you need to dry a lot of vegetables);
- the cost of an electric dryer.
This appliance can dry parsley and carrot dust.
These ingredients are suitable for making homemade seasonings for soups and other dishes. It is easy to cook carrot chips, candied fruits or root vegetable shavings in an electric dryer.
Other drying methods
At home, a microwave and oven are used as a desiccant. A blank from the fruit in such conditions is quickly cooked. Dry carrots in the microwave as follows:
- Peel and slice (grate) the fruit.
- Dry it dry and place it between two paper towels.
- Place a container of liquid in the microwave.
- Cook for 3 minutes. Then check readiness every 30 s.
- A glass of water (if it has boiled away), replace it with a new one.
This method of drying the fruit is simple, but there is a chance that the carrots will turn out to be overdried. In this case, you will have to select the required mode and cooking time for some time.
The same risks accompany the product if it is dried in the oven. They carry out the following actions:
- Cut the fruit not too thickly.
- Cover the baking sheet with baking paper so that the product does not stick or burn. It is not recommended to lubricate it with oil.
- Dry the workpiece from 6 to 8 hours at a temperature of 65 ° C-80 ° C, stirring occasionally.
The most convenient of all these methods is processing in an electric dryer. It requires a minimum investment of time and effort.
It is budgetary, but time consuming to carry out the procedure in the sun. Drying the fruit in the microwave and oven is faster, but there is a risk of cooking a low-quality product.
Conclusion
It is possible to prepare a vegetable for the winter using various methods. Drying carrots is the best way to preserve healthy vitamins. Harvesting at home is done using an electric dryer. It is easy to cook in it different forms of carrots for the winter: grated, diced, chips and even candied fruits.