How to make prunes at home
Prunes are a very useful dried fruit, whichis made from plums of different varieties. It is not only available for everyone on sale, it is very easy to cook at home. This will require a lot of fresh plums and knowledge of the features of the cooking process.
Some facts from the history of prunes
About how to make prunes, humanity has learnedlong. The recipe comes from Asian countries. In the old days, the tradition of drying fruit was very common, because to store them, for example, there was no frozen opportunity.
For the first time, plum trees are mentioned in letters,which date back to the 6th century BC. There is an opinion that a plum tree is the result of crossing a wild turn and cherry plum. Varieties that are suitable for drying are unpretentious, therefore grow throughout the territory of our continent. In Europe, the plum appeared only in the 17th century.
Useful properties of prunes
What is useful is this dried fruit and why is it so widely used in cooking?
Plum, as well as prunes, is rich in special substances - phytonutrients, namely neocolloric and chlorogenic acids. They have antioxidant properties.
Prunes contain fiber, so inblood sugar level is normalized. This product is useful for the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. Also dried fruit helps to reduce appetite. In many diets it is included in small amounts, so it is useful to know how to make prunes.
The dried fruit reduces the level of cholesterol, and also protects the intestines, supporting its healthy microflora. Reduces the risks of such serious diseases as colon cancer and hemorrhoids.
Prunes are rich in potassium, a complex of vitamins,which are able to stabilize the water-salt balance and the work of the kidneys, normalize the metabolism in the body; has diuretic and choleretic properties, is used to treat anemia and beriberi. Its antibacterial function is not inferior to some medical products.
How to choose a variety of plums for drying correctly
Before you start to harvest the plum in a driedkind, it is necessary to learn the peculiarities of how to make prunes at home properly and what sorts of plums for this will suit. After all, not all fruits are suitable for harvesting of this type.
A variety of fruits should be given great attention. To do this, you need the fruits of such varieties that ripen last. Such a plum will be fleshy and sweet.
If you understand the varieties or there arethe opportunity to ask those who understand, then choose Hungarian (Italian, Ordinary, Azhansky, Violet), Renclod, Izyum-Erik, Stanley, Cromany and Burton.
Hungarian fits best, because its fruits are large, have dense skin, and the flesh is elastic. The stone is easily separated from the pulp, there is little acid in it, and there are a lot of sweets.
How to prepare a plum for drying
Now the plum needs to be prepared for the drying process, let's consider how to make prunes at home.
It is important that the process of storing the fruit is not delayed for more than 3 days, as ripe plums begin to deteriorate and wander.
The plum should be thoroughly washed. Rinse until the water becomes clear.
The fruits must be sorted according to the size, since this determines the time of their preparation. You also need to remove the bones.
Also, before making prunes in the homeconditions, it is necessary to blanch plums in 1% soda solution. In other words, pour them with hot water and soda for 25-30 seconds. This is to ensure that the draining tissues are softer, and the cells are larger, and that the fruits lose excess air. Then drain again thoroughly to rinse.
At the last stage, the fruits will needto cool. After you have done all these processes, you will see small cracks on the skin. This is correct, since they will promote the release of water during drying, the juice will remain inside.
How to make a prune in an electric dryer
Before you make a prune in an electric dryer, it is necessary to arrange the fruits on the bowls in such a way that they do not touch or overlap each other.
Depending on the type of equipment on the tray, thecan be placed up to 600 grams of plum, and the dryer can be designed for different volumes, for example, 14 kg. In total, the electric dryer must be turned on for 41 hours before the prunes are completely cooked. The processing temperature will be 55 degrees Celsius.
After cooking, the finished product is easily separated from the trays, they are well dried and ready for use. From 16 kilograms of plums you can get about 2.5 kilograms of prunes.
How to make prunes in the oven
The more popular method of making prunes is in the oven. This does not require special equipment. And the process itself is different from how to make prunes in the dryer.
It is necessary to spread the plums on a baking sheet in one layer. The temperature regime for this is also chosen in the range of 50-55 degrees at the initial stage. The plum should be dried for 3-4 hours.
After the first interval, it is necessary to get a baking tray, turn all the fruits by the other side and allow them to cool down (for 4-5 hours, in order for the product to turn out to be of good quality).
The next stage will also take 3-4 hours, but the drying temperature will now be higher - 60-70 degrees. After the set time, the prunes must be removed again, mixed and left to cool.
The last stage will take at least 5 hours. Prunes need to be dried at a temperature of 90 degrees. To obtain a shiny surface at the end of drying, you can raise the temperature to 100-120 degrees.
Thus, the question of how to make prunes is solved. The procedure is simple and does not require special knowledge, but only the availability of time and a little patience.
