The Different Ways and Methods to Make Dried Fruits

1. The Different Ways and Methods to Make Dried Fruits

2. Eating dried fruits straight out of the pack is fun, but making it and preparing it for your consumption is another story to tell. These kinds of fruit variations are extremely popular since these are easy to eat, easy to munch on and can be some sort of training or stepping stones for eating actual fruits.

3. Today, with the technologies that we have in terms of food production and food processing, there are a lot of methods today that allow us to enjoy our favorite fruits in its dehydrated forms.

5. A dried fruit is any fruit that has gone through a process called dehydration, which essentially means that the water content in the fruit has been “emptied” out. Fruits and even vegetables naturally contain water, and for some of us who want to enjoy these healthy food options without its moisture content, a dehydrated counterpart is the next best choice to consume. When you buy a pack of dried fruits, its manufacturers would normally tell you that the contents of the pack you are holding went through a process called dehydration with the use of an equipment called a dehydrator machine.

6. Dehydrator machines are usually shaped like an oven with several trays that are stacked on top each other. Water extraction is done slowly inside the machine with heat as its driving force, thus resulting to evenly dried pieces of fruits. Of course, dehydrator machines are best used in commercial productions wherein packs of dried fruit snacks need to be made on a per quota basis.

7. If you want to make your own batch of dried fruits, you can do so at home with a few techniques you can pull off easily like a pro. Of course, making your own batch at home starts with the selection of your fruit. If you are fond of eating mangoes, apples, kiwis, plums, apricots, cherries, pears, citrus peels, oranges or pineapples, make sure to have enough pieces of it for your tiny kitchen experiment. Make sure to cut them in slices or dices or in any shape that you want it to be. It is important that the slices or the pieces are not too thick or too thin.

8. You would want a rubbery texture in the end so if you cut your slices too thin, it might turn out crispy and not rubbery. It is also essential that you do some pre-treatment of sorts to your slices or dices of fruit so that the vitamins will not be lost along with the water content that is being extracted out of the fruit pieces.

9. Dipping your fruit slices in a solution made of ascorbic acid and water for 5 minutes can ensure that most of the vitamins stay on the fruit while it is being dried. You might also want to steam your fruit slices for 5 minutes then take them out of the steamer then immediately immerse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. After that, you can either dry your fruit pieces under the sun, inside an oven or through electric hydration using a small version of a commercial dehydrator.

11. Doing some of your favorite fruit snacks at home can be rewarding especially if you have slowly perfected it after several attempts and practices. Enjoying dried fruit at home can be a rewarding snack especially if you can enjoy it with your family members who helped you make it. Visit http://www.ginginanddry.com.au/ for more information.