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GB
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Dry herbs carefully! Remove the stalk; to not cut herbs. Leaf herbs have to be turned
during drying to prevent sticking of leaves. If the created aroma is too strong, move the
mesh with herbs up. When herbs are dried for a long time, their flavour substances are
lost.
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Drying meshes should be filled with a thin layer of dried food. If necessary, put a clean
fine crepe paper on meshes so that small pieces of food do not fall through and stick to
the surface of the mesh.
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The time of drying is mostly dependent on the following facts: the type of fruit/
vegetables, food humidity, air humidity, sizes of cut pieces, distribution on the mesh.
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Before tasting food that is being dried, take out several pieces and let them cool down.
Hot pieces are softer and more humid than those that have cooled down. Dry food
for sufficient time so that their decay and microbiological production of bacteria is
prevented. Properly dried vegetables must be hard and crispy and prone to cracking.
Duly dried fruit should not be overdried, it must be leathery and smooth. For short-time
storage, dried fruit does not have to be dried so much as in a shop.
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In drying food, we recommend following the instructions in professional literature.
Enzymes in fruit and vegetables are responsible for change in flavour and colour. Then the
changes will continue in drying and storing if dried food is not treated in advance so that
activity of the enzymes is slowed down. In some kinds of vegetables or fruit we recommend
blanching or soaking before drying.
Blanching
Blanching (enzymes deactivation) is used to eliminate disturbance of look and taste by
cooking vegetables for a short time in water or in steam. Put the prepared food into a wire
basket or a mesh and sink it into a container with boiling water. Count the time necessary
for blanching from the time when water starts to boil again (see table). Then let water drip
off from the food, or dry it.
Soaking
Many kinds of light fruit (e.g.
apples, apricots, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums
) tend
to turn brown during drying and storing. To prevent this, soak the cut pieces of fruit into
a solution of pineapple or lemon juice (one tablespoon of juice/0.25 L of water, see the
table) and then let the water drip off the fruit, or dry it with clean kitchen crepe paper. Fruit
can also be soaked in honey, spices, orange juice. You can also try your own tasteful
solution for soaking. You can also use a salt solution or fruit syrup. Fruit like plums,
grapes, cherries, sour cherries can be soaked in water so that the skin cracks, which will
speed up dehumidification during drying.
Time of drying
The time changes according to the type of dried food, its contents of water, ripeness and
thickness. It also depends on the temperature and humidity of the air in the room where the
dryer is used (we recommend using the dryer at usual room temperature).
When herbs and similarly aromatic foodstuffs are dried for too long, a lot of aromatic
substances will leak. Fruit intended for snacks, or fruit to save place, does not have to be
soaked before drying and it should be dried until crispy, but chewable at the same time.
