Ways to dry pumpkin
Dried pumpkin is a popular product. By harvesting a vegetable in this way, you can preserve the maximum of its nutrients and vitamins. The calorie content of the product is 28 kcal per 100 g. Pumpkin is recommended even for young children, it is rich in vitamins A, D, E, C, PP, K and T. This product contains more protein than eggs and 4 times more carotene than carrots.
Ways to dry pumpkin
Preparing pumpkin for drying
In the cold season, dried fruits are used in cooking or simply eaten as sweets. This drying is harvested for the winter, it can be used to create various salads, casseroles, soup, add it to fish and stewed vegetables, and the powder from it gives dishes a refined aroma and bright color. You can make wonderful dried pumpkin, marshmallow, candied fruit, or pumpkin chips.
There is maximum benefit and minimum harm in using dried pumpkin. In order for the dried fruits to be of high quality and tasty, you need to choose late varieties of this vegetable, which have a very hard peel.
Their pulp has much less juice, and it is faster and more convenient to dry them. The fruit must be fully ripe, free from damage and signs of rot. Then proceed according to the established scheme:
- wash the pumpkin thoroughly;
- divide it into pieces (best of all, in the same way as a watermelon), cutting, make sure that the pumpkin is not damaged inside;
- remove seeds and soft fibers to which they are attached;
- peel the pumpkin carefully;
- cut the peeled pieces for subsequent drying: the methods for this can be very diverse, it all depends on the purpose of use - if you want to cook pumpkin chips, it is best to cut the vegetable into thin slices; for further addition to soups, salads and other dishes, you need to cut it into strips 4-6 mm thick; to create candied fruits, the pumpkin is cut into small cubes (about 2 by 2 cm); to prepare the powder, dried pieces must be chopped in a blender or crushed in a special mortar;
- blanch the slices for 2 minutes. in boiling water - this method will preserve the bright orange color of the dried vegetable;
- so that the pumpkin does not spoil and does not attract insects, before drying, its pieces must be soaked in salt water (1 tsp. salt per 1 liter of water) for 3-5 minutes, and then rinsed under running water;
- dry the processed pieces.
Drying methods
The vegetable has a dense structure, and its pulp is quite hard, so you need to take care not to overdry the pumpkin (from this it loses its useful properties and can harm the body). It is also important to completely dry the fruit (if you do not, it will quickly deteriorate).
How long it takes to dry the fruit depends on how big they are and how they will be processed. The variety also matters - the juicier ones require a longer cooking time. The drying temperature ranges from 65 to 85 °, but not more, otherwise the useful qualities of the product are lost.
A properly dried pumpkin should be supple and sticky to your fingers.
There are 3 ways to dry a vegetable at home.
In an electric dryer
Cut the pumpkin into pieces before drying.
Surfaces for processing pumpkin in an electric dryer do not need to be covered. It is important to take into account that with a loss of moisture, the slices will shrink and can fly through the mesh, so they should be of the appropriate size and should not touch.
Set the temperature to medium (depending on the power of the dryer, about 85-90 °) and dry for about 5 hours until tender. If the temperature is about 60 °, the process will last up to 10-12 hours (depending on the size of the pieces and the variety).
In the oven
You can also use an electric oven. The process is lengthy: it will take about 6-8 hours. Before sending the cut slices to the oven, dry them thoroughly with a paper towel and cover the baking sheet with parchment. The slices should not touch each other, then they will dry evenly.
We place the baking sheet in an oven already preheated to 50 °, do not close the door completely so as not to impede the removal of moisture. Next, you need to dry the fruits at a temperature of about 60 ° for 5 hours.After that, you need to raise it to 80 ° and continue to dry the slices for another 3 hours.
Dry pumpkin must be cooled and placed in glass jars.
On air
If you want the pumpkin to become a little dried, this option is ideal. Preparation is carried out in the same way. Already cut slices should be rinsed in salted water, and then in running water, laid out on a flat surface (wide tray), covered with gauze or parchment so that they do not touch.
Then - put on the street, preferably not in direct sunlight, but in the shade. You need to choose a place where pets will not have access. You can cover the tray with gauze to keep insects out of the pumpkin.
At night, when the air temperature drops, you need to bring the vegetable pieces to a dry room. Turn the slices every day. Such pumpkin drying is time-consuming: it takes up to 5-7 days (depending on the weather).
It is better not to harvest candied fruits in this way, because they are thicker than chips and slices and may not dry out. When cutting the vegetable for drying, cut it into medium slices. This will give you a delicious product.
Drying the whole pumpkin
In addition to the fact that this vegetable can be used for food, it can be used for decoration: various vases, candlesticks, etc. are made from it. Whole pumpkins serve as decoration for Halloween. With the correct drying technology, decorative vegetables can be stored for several years, their peel becomes so tough that it is difficult to damage it.
If there are a lot of seeds in the pumpkin, there is very little pulp in it - such specimens are needed. Only decorative varieties (Alice, Red Velvet, etc.) are completely suitable for drying, they are harder, smaller, have large bulges and a dark color. The vegetable must not be damaged by mold or rot.
The vegetable can be dried whole
The main condition when choosing is that the vegetable must have a stalk (it must be whole). Since it will dry completely, removing it will leave a hole from which juice will flow, and the whole process will be ruined. In addition, the stalk must be fully ripe.
You need to wash the pumpkin with warm water and not under strong pressure and wipe it dry - best with paper towels or a soft cloth so as not to damage the surface. After that, the pumpkin is placed on parchment, a baking sheet and placed in the oven for 6-8 hours (depending on size) at a temperature of 60-70 °.
Periodically, the vegetable needs to be turned over so that it does not burn and dries evenly.
You can air dry the whole pumpkin. The vegetable is placed in the shade so that it does not fall on direct sunlight, the temperature should not be lower than 18 ° C. Air humidity should not exceed 40%. Periodically, the vegetable needs to be turned over and inspected, because the process will take about 3 months to dry the fruit to the desired consistency.
In a similar way, but much faster, you can dry the pumpkin in an electric dryer.
Such a vegetable is not recommended for use for food, because it is dry, very hard and devoid of vitamins.
Storage rules
In order for the dried pumpkin to be stored for a long time and not to lose vitamins and minerals, the storage conditions must be strictly observed:
- the room should be dark, with an air temperature of 12-15 ° C (basement or storage room);
- the humidity in the room should not exceed 60% - if it is more than the permissible norm, then the pumpkin gains excess moisture and deteriorates, in which case it can be dried;
- it is best to store such drying in glass jars with vacuum lids or in bags made of dense fabric;
- if jars are used for storage, a sheet of parchment should be put on their bottom and the vessels should be covered with it on top;
- dried pumpkin is not stored for very long, it must be eaten over the winter, earlier than dried.
Under the right conditions, dried pumpkins can be stored until early spring, all their beneficial qualities remain unchanged. If you prepare a product in a dryer, you can enjoy its incredible taste for a long time, enriching your body with useful microelements and pumpkin vitamins.