All the features of birds that distinguish them from reptiles are predominantly...
It is very popular in cooking and is good for health. However, when buying dried fruits, you cannot be sure that there are no preservatives, pesticides and other chemicals, and they are not cheap. During the season, the price of fresh ones is not so high, so we will figure out how to choose the right one, how to dry it correctly and how to properly store prunes at home.
How to choose plums for drying
Not everyone makes good dried fruit. The fruits should be sweet, with firm flesh and not watery. That's why the best varieties for preparing prunes - this is either Renklod.
Important! Select only whole ripe fruits without damage, bruises or wormholes.
It is advisable to divide them into several batches by size: larger ones will take longer to dry, while smaller ones will dry to a crisp during this time.
How to prepare fruit
Wash the fruits thoroughly and remove the stems and leaves. The pit can be removed - then it will go away much faster, but the whole dried plum will have a richer taste and retain more nutrients.
In industrial conditions, fruits before drying blanch: immerse for several minutes in a 0.1% solution of baking soda. Due to this, cracks form on the skin, which accelerates the evaporation of moisture.
After blanching, rinse the plums with cold water and dry them with a paper towel or lay them out on a cloth.
Did you know? If you plan to use prunes for confectionery purposes, then pour sugar syrup over the plums (450 g of sugar per 1 kg of fruit) and bring to a boil.
How to dry plums at home
There are several ways: drying plums in the oven, in an electric dryer, in the sun and in the microwave. Each of them has its own limitations and advantages: availability, time, cost. Let's look at them in more detail. 
In the oven
Place the prepared fruits on a baking sheet (if you cut them, then skin side down to avoid juice dripping). Place in the oven preheated to 45-50 °C and dry them there for 3-4 hours.
After this, let them cool to room temperature and put them in the oven again, this time preheated to a temperature of 65-70 ° C. Leave there for 4-5 hours and cool again. At the last stage, dry at a temperature of about 80 ° C until ready.
Did you know? If you want the prunes to be black and shiny, raise the temperature to 100 - 105 for the last 15 minutes of drying° C, then the fruit sugars on the surface of the plum will caramelize, and it will acquire a characteristic shine and a light caramel flavor.
In an electric dryer
Place the prepared plums evenly on the trays of the electric dryer (if they are cut, then skin side down). Place the trays in the dryer and carry out the process as described earlier: 3-4 hours at 45-50 ° C, let cool, 3-4 hours at 65-70 ° C, let cool again, and dry at a temperature of 75-80 until ready °C. To ensure uniform drying, periodically change the trays.
In the microwave
Without a doubt, this method takes the least amount of time to dry each individual batch, but it will not be possible to load a large number of plums at the same time.
So, place the prepared fruits in one row on a flat dish that can be used in the microwave. Set the power level to 300 W and turn on the microwave for 5 minutes. After this, checking the readiness of the product every 30 seconds, continue to dry the prunes until ready.
Important! When cooking prunes in the microwave, it is very easy to dry them out to charcoal. The process must be constantly monitored!
In the sun
This is the longest, but also the most cheap way preparations of prunes for the winter. Place the halved plums, cut side up, on a paper-lined wooden or metal tray and place it in the sun.
To protect against flies and others, cover the top with gauze. Stir the fruit occasionally to dry it better. The process will take from 4 to 7 days. At night, remove the tray from the street so that dew does not fall on the drying prunes. 
How to determine the readiness of dried fruits
Ready prunes elastic, elastic, does not stick to your hands, and the skin should not crack when bent. It should be soft, but not wet. Since it is difficult to achieve uniform drying of the fruits, to equalize the humidity in the finished product, you can put it in glass jars and seal them tightly with plastic lids for several days.
In this case, moisture from slightly underdried plums will be absorbed by overdried ones. The jars must be shaken periodically. If drops of condensation form on the walls, it means that the prunes are not ready and need to be dried.
How to properly store at home
Store dried fruits in paper or linen bags in a dark, dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight, for example, in a pantry or refrigerator.
You can also store them in
Dried plums contain a lot of useful substances; they effectively help boost immunity during the cold season and replenish the lack of vitamins during the winter. The structure of plums is quite fleshy, therefore, when drying, a number of conditions must be observed in order to obtain a high-quality product that will be stored for a long time.
Plums gain sugar content as they ripen, so the most ripe, but not overripe, fruits are suitable for drying. You can also collect those fruits that have just fallen; there is no need to take carrion from soft barrels, it is left for making wine.
The following plum varieties are suitable for drying: Aneta, Kirk, Ekaterina, Chirkusha, Izyum-erik and others. Both purple and yellow varieties of plums are good for drying, the main condition is that they must be ripe and sweet.
It is important to start drying plums immediately after harvesting them. Ripe fruits begin to deteriorate instantly, especially those lying at the bottom of the container.
How to dry plums quickly and efficiently
Immediately after harvesting, the plums are washed; it is more convenient for me to do this in small portions using a sieve.
On a table or tray, I lay out a cloth or several layers of paper towel and place the fruit on it to dry.
Then I sort, if the fruits are of different sizes, I set aside large fruits separately from small plums.
If you do not sort the plums, the drying will turn out to be of poor quality, and large fruits will not dry out and will begin to rot, as a result of which all the dried plums will spoil.
If desired, the plums can be cut into two halves and the pit removed.
After sorting, I put an enamel pan of water on the fire and add soda ash at the rate of 25 grams per four liters of water, bring it to a boil and put the plums in it. It is more convenient to lower the plums in a net or in a colander; the water should reach 90 degrees. I immerse the plums in water for just half a minute so that a barely noticeable web of cracks appears on the skin.
First you need to prepare a bucket of cold water; you need to put the plums in it immediately after scalding in the pan.
After five minutes, I remove the plums from the cold water and lay them out again on a towel to dry, after which I transfer them in a single layer to a tray and place them in the sun.
This method, when the plums are pre-blanched, allows you to remove the waxy coating from the plum skin and get more tender and juicy dried fruits.
If there is no sun, I place the plums for drying in the oven or in a special electric dryer.
A simple recipe for drying plums
If you need to dry a large amount of plums or there is a time limit, then you can do it a little simpler.
The collected plums should be thoroughly washed and dried on a towel. Separating the seeds or not is a matter of individual preference.
If plum fruits are cut, then during drying, no matter where they are placed, they are always placed with the pulp down and the skin up. This applies to oven drying, electric drying or sun drying.
The easiest way to dry plums is in the oven; to do this, they are laid out on a tray and placed in the oven at a temperature of 55 degrees for three hours. Then the plums are taken out and turned over, the temperature in the oven is set 10 degrees higher. After a couple of hours, turn off the oven and leave the plums in it for a day.
A day later, the plums are dried at a temperature of 70 degrees. Such sequential drying of plum fruits makes it possible to obtain dried dried fruits. If you immediately set the temperature to high and dry the plums in the oven in one go, there is a risk of getting cracked crackers that will not be very suitable for eating, except perhaps for making compotes.
You can read about how to make physalis jam
With the onset of autumn, we have a lot of worries about harvesting and its preservation. This also applies to plums, from which housewives usually prepare compotes and jams. Many people love prunes, which are not only tasty, but also good for health. The advantage of dried plums is that they can be stored for a long time, but only if properly dried. We will talk about what conditions should be met in order to obtain a quality product in this article.
Selection of plums for drying and preparation of fruits
Not every variety of plum is suitable for preparing dried fruits. Experience shows that “Hungarian” and “Renklod” are best suited for this: they have fairly strong pulp without wateriness and the necessary sweetness.
Proper selection and preparation of fruits are important.
By the way, some housewives recommend removing the pit from plums: this way the pulp dries faster due to the evaporation of moisture. But it seems to me that whole dried fruits are much tastier and sweeter, and they retain more benefits. Children also really enjoy gnawing the pulp of prunes from the pits.
Here's some advice for those who plan to use prunes for making confectionery. Pour sugar syrup over the prepared fruits at the rate of 450 g of sugar per 1 kg of fruit, put on medium heat, bring to a boil, cool, wait until the excess liquid has drained, and then dry. The prunes will become even sweeter and richer. However, this recipe is not suitable if you like sourness in desserts.
Methods for drying plums yourself
Plums are dried in several ways:
- in the oven;
- in a special electric dryer;
- in the sun;
- in the microwave.
Each of them has its own characteristics, pros and cons.
There are several simple ways to prepare prunes
In the oven
Take a clean, dry baking sheet and spread the plums evenly on it. If they are cut in half, then place them with the flesh up and the skin down: this way the juice will not drain. Place the baking tray with plums in an oven preheated to 45–50 °C and leave for 3–4 hours.
And before drying in the oven, plums can be sprinkled with sugar for added sweetness or with spicy aromatic herbs
Remove the plums from the oven, and after they have cooled, put them back. This time the temperature should be 65–70 °C, time 4–5 hours. Cool again and bring the plums to readiness at 80°C.
One of my friends told me how to give prunes shine and a deep, beautiful color. To do this, you need to raise the temperature in the oven to 100–105 °C, when there are 15 minutes left before the end of drying. Fruit sugars concentrated on the surface of the fruit caramelize, imparting a characteristic shine and taste.
Using an electric dryer
Processing plums in a convenient kitchen appliance - an electric dryer - is very similar to the oven drying process. Place the fruits in an even layer on the trays, with the cut plums lying with the flesh facing up.
To dry in an electric dryer, plums need to be cut
To ensure that the plums are dried evenly, you can change the trays from time to time.
Video: prunes from an electric dryer
In the microwave
On the one hand, this method will take you less time to dry each batch of plums than the others. But there is also a minus: you will not be able to load a large number of fruits at one time.
Prepare the plums and place them on a flat microwave-safe dish in a single row. Place the dish in the device, selecting a power of 300 W and a time of 5 minutes. Dry them until completely cooked.
In the microwave, each batch of plums will dry for no longer than 5 minutes.
Please note that the process must be constantly monitored, otherwise the microwave may dry out the finished product. Check the prunes every 30 seconds, turn off the device if necessary and stir the plums.
In the sun
To prepare prunes for winter, you can use an old proven method - dry them in the sun. True, this will take a lot of time, but this method is free. It is enough to place the plum fruits cut in half on a tray made of metal or wood, covered with clean paper, preferably parchment, and place it in a place with access to sunlight and fresh air. This could be a balcony, a window sill on the south side in a well-ventilated room, or a street if you live in a private house.
Don't forget to stir the plums from time to time to help them dry better.
The fruit will need to be stirred every hour or so to help it dry out. In addition, they need to be protected from various insects. To do this, cover the top of the plums with gauze so that the fabric completely covers the baking sheet. In the evening, bring the pallet with plums into the house so that the fruits do not get wet from dew. The entire drying process will take you from 4 days to a week.
How to tell if dried fruit is ready
To find out if prunes are ready, pay attention to their appearance and condition. The main indicators that the fruits have dried properly:
It happens that plums dry unevenly. Don't worry, there is a way to fix this. Place the prunes in liter glass jars, close tightly with plastic lids and leave for several days. From time to time, shake the contents of the jars and watch for the formation of condensation on the walls: as long as there is condensation, you should continue drying the prunes. During this time, overdried fruits will absorb excess moisture from those that have not dried.
Rules for storing prunes at home
It is important not only to prepare prunes correctly, but also to comply with their storage conditions. This is how it will remain tasty and healthy.
Paper bags or bags made of clean linen work well for storage. Place the prunes in them, close tightly and place in a dry and dark place with a low temperature, such as a refrigerator or pantry, where there will be no direct sunlight.
It is convenient to store prunes in fabric bags
If there is a danger of insects, such as kitchen moths, it is better to store prunes in plastic or glass jars under tightly closing lids.
To protect prunes from insects, store them in tightly closed jars.
The most reliable way to store under-dried prunes is to store them in the freezer.
Video: how to cook homemade prunes
On long winter evenings, with a cup of hot tea, be sure to eat a handful of prunes: it’s tasty and healthy. In addition, prunes will add additional flavor notes to familiar meat dishes and desserts. And preparing dried plums will cost you less than compotes and jams, which require sugar, containers and a lot of time. We hope our recommendations will help you in preparing prunes for the winter. Bon appetit!
Dried plums are a popular snack that many consumers fell in love with not very long ago, but the recipe has already acquired many variations. Many housewives use different household appliances and experiment with spices and syrups to achieve a unique taste.
Dried plums - what to eat with, where to add?
Homemade dried plums taste slightly different from store-bought ones. They are prepared in several ways, dried in different devices and seasoned with spices or soaked in before drying. Often housewives do not know what to do with the treasured jar of the original preparation, but in reality, everything happens intuitively.
- Spicy aromatic dried plums are often added to main dishes. The taste of an ordinary treat will be greatly transformed if you fill it with the aroma of such a preparation.
- Both sweet and savory slices are added to salads.
- By chopping a couple of slices of sweet plum, you can add an unusual taste to a serving of ice cream or.
- Sweet dried plums will become an excellent independent dessert if served in the company of an original cream with a sour taste.
Dried plums for the winter - recipes
Drying plums at home is not a difficult task, but it is not at all quick. The quality result depends on the method of drying the fruit slices and the chosen recipe.
- Dried plums for the winter, cooked in the oven, are a common drying method. Dry the fruit at a temperature of 100-110 degrees with the door ajar. The process takes from 3 to 5 hours.
- In an electric dryer, drying takes longer; it will take about 20 hours to make the snack. The advantage is constant temperature control.
- Making dried plums at home for the winter in a microwave oven is troublesome, but it only takes one hour to make. You need to dry the slices, then let them cool and repeat until the desired result.
- Dried plums in a slow cooker are prepared simply: the slices are dried on a wire rack (for steaming) in the “Baking” mode and with the valve open so that the steam escapes freely.
The most common way is to make dried plums in the oven. A set of spices and herbs is chosen intuitively, based on personal preferences. It is important to choose whole fruits, with dense pulp, without visible damage and without worms. If the fruits are large, they are cut into quarters or into 6 parts, so the drying process will go faster.
Ingredients:
- plums – 15 pcs.;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- dry Provençal herbs – 1 tsp;
- quality olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
- salt and pepper.
Preparation
- Place the slices on a baking sheet with foil, cut side up.
- Place a slice of garlic into each clove, sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil.
- Dry in the oven at 100 degrees for 3 hours, with the door slightly open.
Dried plums in an electric dryer turn out tasty and well dried, without a juicy middle. The device maintains a constant temperature throughout the entire process of making snacks, so the result will be absolutely perfect, but after 15-20 hours. You can season the plums to your own taste; the garlic remains unchanged.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1.5 kg;
- salt – 15 g;
- hot pepper – 1 pod;
- olive oil – 100 ml;
- garlic – 2 heads;
- dried basil and parsley - 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation
- Place the plums on a plate, cut side up, add salt.
- Place a slice of garlic and finely chopped hot pepper into each slice.
- Sprinkle with herbs.
- Transfer the plums to a tray.
- Dry the fruit at a medium heat level in the electric dryer for 20 hours.
- Place the finished slices in a jar, fill them with oil and put them in the cold.
Dried plums in the microwave are prepared quickly, in just an hour, taking into account the preparation of the products. You can try the savory appetizer right away or wait a few hours for it to marinate in oil. You can also use soft fruits, the main thing is that when removing the pit, you need to make sure that the edges are cut evenly.
Ingredients:
- plums – 10 pcs.;
- salt and sugar - 1 tsp each;
- garlic – 2 cloves;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
- dry ginger, black and allspice, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme - only 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation
- Place the plum halves on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Mix all the dry and ground spices with oil and pureed garlic.
- Fill the plum halves with the spice mixture.
- Dry for 2 minutes at 800 W, open the door, wait 5 minutes. Repeat again.
- Place for the third time for 5 minutes, remove the plate and cool for 30 minutes.
- Transfer to a clean plate, microwave for 4 minutes, cool for 10 minutes.
- Place in a jar, add oil, and refrigerate.
Making dried plums in a slow cooker is very simple. To create the appetizer, use a steaming rack. Season to taste with spices, the set of which can be universal: garlic, basil, parsley and dill. Considering the small volume of the device, it will not be possible to prepare a lot of plums at once.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- sea salt – 1 tsp;
- olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
- dry herbs – 1 tsp.
Preparation
- Line a bowl with parchment, lay out half of the plum slices, add salt, sprinkle with herbs, and drizzle with oil.
- Place a wire rack, lay out the second batch of wedges, add salt, season, and add oil.
- Open the valve, close the lid, set “Baking” for 1 hour. If necessary, extend by 15 minutes.
Dried plums for the winter - Italian recipe
In Mediterranean countries, dried plums in oil are especially popular. In order for the result to be perfect, you need to consistently perform all the steps; the drying process itself takes place in the oven. The preparation is stored all winter in the refrigerator. You can use ready-made mixtures of dried Italian herbs.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- olive oil – 80 ml;
- sunflower oil – 50 ml;
- sea salt;
- mixture of dried herbs - 2 tsp;
- dry basil – 1 tsp;
- fresh rosemary – 2 sprigs;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- basil leaves – 6-8 pcs.;
- liquid honey – 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation
- Separately mix sunflower oil with a mixture of dry herbs and honey.
- Pour the marinade over the plums, add salt and sprinkle with basil.
- Dry at 110 degrees for 4 hours.
- Place the herb-dried plums in jars in layers with chopped garlic and fresh rosemary and basil.
- Pour in olive oil and close with a lid.
Dried plums with garlic, herbs and salt
Dried plums with garlic and thyme are an unusually savory appetizer. You can supplement the composition of spices with rosemary, oregano and basil, and you can dry it using available equipment. The plums will be baked on their own with a minimum set of spices, but during storage they will take all the piquancy from the aromatic marinade.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- fresh rosemary, thyme, basil - 2 sprigs each;
- oregano – 1 tsp;
- sea salt;
- garlic – 5 cloves;
- olive oil.
Preparation
- Place the plum slices on a lined baking sheet.
- Season with salt, sprinkle with oregano, drizzle with oil.
- Dry in the oven at 110 degrees for 3-5 hours or until desired dryness.
- Finely chop the garlic, chop the rosemary, thyme and basil.
- Layer plums, garlic and herbs into a jar, add hot oil and screw on the lid.
- Put the dried plums with herbs in the refrigerator for the winter.
Dried sweet plums in the oven
Sweet dried plums in syrup are prepared in several stages. First, the slices are soaked in sugar until the juice is separated, then they are kept in syrup and only then dried. Store the workpiece in a sealed glass container, away from sunlight. These fruits are given to children instead of sweets.
Ingredients:
- plum slices – 1 kg;
- sugar – 400 g.
Syrup:
- water – 250 ml;
- sugar – 300 g.
Preparation
- Cover the plum halves with sugar and leave for a day.
- Drain the juice.
- Boil syrup from sugar and water, pour it over the plums. Leave for 10 minutes.
- Strain the liquid from the fruit and place the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Dry at 100 degrees for one hour, each time completely cooling the workpiece.
- Repeat the drying and cooling process until the desired degree of drying.
Which is described below, a very unusual version of the workpiece. The plums are dried in a convenient way and filled with honey, which, in addition to all its advantages, will serve as an excellent preservative. During storage, the slices become saturated with honey aroma and come out very sweet.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- cinnamon – 1 tsp;
- cloves – 1 tsp;
- honey – 300 ml.
Preparation
- Place the fruit slices in a bowl, sprinkle with cinnamon and cloves, stir, and place on a baking sheet cut side up.
- Dry in the oven for 2-3 hours at 110 degrees.
- Place the dried plums in a jar, pour in liquid honey, and cover with a lid.
Dried plums with spices
Dried ones, which involve the addition of a large amount of spices, turn out to be very piquant and slightly spicy. They perfectly complement the main dish of meat, and the aromatic oil in which the slices are marinated can be used to make salad dressing.
Ingredients:
- plums – 1 kg;
- salt;
- olive oil;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- mixture of ground peppers - ½ tsp;
- dried rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil - 1 tbsp. l.
Preparation
- Place the plum halves on a baking sheet, sprinkle with oil, salt, and sprinkle with half the spices.
- Dry in the oven for 4 hours at 100 degrees.
- Grind the garlic with salt and the remaining herbs and pepper in a mortar.
- Heat milk to a boil and mix with spices.
- Place plums in a sterilized jar, pour hot aromatic oil, screw on the lid.
How to store dried plums?
After drying the fruit slices and putting in a lot of effort, housewives still have doubts about how to preserve the dried plums so that the treasured preparation does not spoil.
- Dried spiced plums are marinated with olive oil, which acts as a good preservative. This preparation will not deteriorate within a year.
- Dried plums can be stored in a dry, airtight container, making sure no moisture gets in and away from direct sunlight.
- Sweet preparations can be stored in an airtight container, having previously sprinkled the slices with sugar, powder or starch.
» Plums
Dried plums are called prunes. Properly prepared prunes have excellent taste and are able to retain a huge amount of useful substances.
Not every variety of plum is suitable for preparing our favorite dried fruit. Hungarian plums are often used to make prunes.
The best variety is Hungarian Italian. The fruits of this variety are large in size, oval in shape, blue in color with a bluish tint. This plum is perfect for drying because it has a thick skin and elastic pulp. Besides This variety is characterized by a low acid content and a sufficient amount of sugar.
In addition to Italian Hungarian, Hungarian Azhan and Hungarian violet are used to make prunes. Varieties such as Ugorka, Burton and Izyum-erik are also excellent for drying.
To prepare prunes, only ripe or overripe fruits are chosen, since they have the highest sugar content and little acid in them.
Plums for drying are collected from the ground, but in no case are they picked from tree branches. If the fruit falls off, it means it has reached ripeness. Before picking the fruits, the tree should be lightly shaken so that damaged fruits, as well as rotten ones and those with wormholes, fall out. The next day you can already pick up ripe plums.
Having decided on the choice of variety for preparing dried plums, you can begin the preparatory processing of fresh fruit.
Cooking prunes is not an easy process, as it may initially seem. If you simply dry plums, they will not make prunes. The fruit will lose its juice, become too hard and the surface of the fruit will turn brown instead of black. To obtain a tasty and healthy dried fruit, plums should be carefully prepared for drying.
- Before the drying process begins, the fruits are stored in a covered area in baskets. The volume of fruit in one basket does not exceed 16 kg. The fruits are stored for three days. This is necessary to ensure softness of the plum, which will later become a property of prunes. If this period is extended, fermentation processes will begin to occur in the collected fruits. Naturally, before drying the plums, they are washed well. This is done several times in a row. When the water becomes clear after washing the fruit, this procedure can be completed.
- Then the plums are sorted, that is, large plums are separated from small ones.. After this, the plums are checked for the presence of spoiled fruits, which cannot be used to prepare prunes. At the end of the research procedure, the fruits are thoroughly washed again. But the preparation of plums for drying is not yet completed.
- Next, the blanching procedure is carried out. That is, the fruits are subjected to heat treatment: they are placed in hot water. This process helps soften the tissues of the fruit, as well as displace air from the plum and increase the size of the cells. In addition, when the fruit is placed in water, oxidative enzymes are broken down. During blanching, only a small amount of ascorbic acid is lost from the important elements. The number of remaining significant substances remains almost unchanged. But treatment with water alone is not enough.
- To get rid of the waxy part from the surface of the fruit, alkaline treatment is used. A boiling 1% solution of cautic soda is suitable for this procedure. The plums lie in it for 15 - 20 seconds. But here you need to know that at home, plums may not be completely washed after processing. In this regard, potash should be used instead of caustic soda. After treatment with alkali, the fruit is cooled.
How to make dried fruits in the oven?
To prepare prunes in the oven, the plums are blanched, then washed with cold water and left to dry on a towel. If the fruit is cut into two parts, then the blanching procedure is not carried out. Drying fruits in the oven consists of three stages at different temperatures.
- At the first stage, the oven is heated to 50 ° C, a baking sheet with fruit is placed in it for 5 hours. After this, the plums cool for the same period of time.
- At the next stage, the plums are turned over and dried for 5 hours in an oven heated to 70 °C.
- At the last stage of drying, the temperature increases to 75 °C. Here the fruits are already brought to full readiness.
To achieve a glossy appearance, dried fruits do not need to be processed in any way. If a few minutes before the end of drying the fruit in the oven, the temperature is increased to 120 ° C, then the sugar released from the fruit will caramelize the prunes and add shine to their surface.
Cooking prunes in an electric dryer
To obtain prunes in an electric dryer, after blanching, the plums are placed on a tray in one layer. If the fruits are divided in half, then they are laid cut side up. The drying process using this method also takes place in 3 stages at certain temperature conditions:
- During the first 3–4 hours, fruits are dried at a temperature of 45–55 °C;
- then the plums are dried at a temperature of 60 degrees for 6 hours;
- the final stage - the fruits are dried for 6 hours at a temperature of 75–80 °C.
At all stages of preparing dried fruits, the trays are swapped every hour, so that the dried fruits turn out to be of better quality.
After completing each stage, the trays are removed from the dryer for several hours to cool the future prunes.
Drying plums in the sun
Naturally, the fruits are dried on sheets of wood. The fruit halves, separated from the seeds, are laid out on a sheet not very close to each other, cut side up, so that during drying they do not lose their juice. Depending on the size, plums should lie in the sun for 4 to 5 days.
Care should be taken to ensure that insects do not land on the fruit. Otherwise, dried fruits may contain harmful microorganisms.
At night, the plums are brought into the house, and in the morning they are taken out into the fresh air after dew has fallen, so that mold does not form on them. When drying, turn the plums over from time to time so that they dry evenly on each side. After drying under the rays of sunlight is completed, the fruits are dried in a shaded place for another 3–4 days.
The readiness of prunes is checked according to certain criteria:
- when you press on the fruit, there are no tears on it and no juice leaks out;
- the fruits are elastic and hard, but do not crumble if you press on them;
- prunes do not stick to your fingers.
Methods for storing prunes at home
It is absolutely not difficult to preserve prunes at home. To do this, you just need to follow some simple recommendations. To store this dried fruit, use linen bags and paper bags, wooden boxes with good ventilation, tightly closed containers or glass, metal and plastic containers with an airtight lid.
Before storing fruits, you should make sure that they are intact, without damage, stains or plaque on the surface.
Store at room temperature in a container with an airtight lid
Prunes can be stored in glass and ceramic jars with a tight-fitting lid for up to six months.
- First of all, the container is prepared. It is washed thoroughly, doused with boiling water and dried.
- Then dried fruits are placed in it, closed tightly with a lid and placed in a cool place.
- If the prunes are wet, they should be dried.
- It is necessary to periodically monitor the condition of dried plums.
Placing dried fruits in hermetically sealed containers, tins or glass jars is recognized as the best storage method.
Storing dried plums in linen bags and paper bags
Some people store dried fruits in linen bags. But only if there are no harmful insects in the house, such as ants or cockroaches.
Thick fabric bags are soaked in a strong saline solution. Next, they are dried well, prunes are placed in them and tied.
Paper bags are filled and closed in the same way. Thanks to fabric and paper, dried plums can breathe, and they also become moldy and retain all their beneficial qualities.
The only disadvantage of this storage method is the impossibility of placing prunes near very smelling products: coffee, spices, tobacco.
Storing prunes in the refrigerator
If high humidity prevails in the room, then dried fruits are stored in the refrigerator. For this:
- Carefully sort out the prunes and separate the damaged fruits.
- Packaged in small portions in glass containers with a tight-fitting lid, containers or zip-lock bags.
- Place on a shelf, refrigerator door or in the fruit drawer
- Once a week you need to check the moisture in the container. If it appears, the fruits are dried.
Proper storage of dried plums will preserve all its important properties.
Naturally, you can protect yourself from unnecessary hassle and buy prunes at the market or in a store. But when it is possible to cook prunes at home, you should not expose yourself and your family to possible negative consequences.
