Gallet Saint Tropez, Instruction Manual

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Advice for drying
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Place the dryer in such a way that you do not have to move it during drying. Do not forget
that there will be smell of dried food in the room and some people may find it oppressive.
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You will achieve the best results with fresh and ripe fruit (not overripe) that is not spoilt,
and remove possible spoilt places on the food.
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Clean the food thoroughly before drying. Keep your hands and workplace clean.
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The process of drying will be even when you cut food to slices of the same length. Slices
that are too thin are dried more quickly, but do not forget that their size will be significantly
smaller as a result of drying. The amount of food for one drying should not exceed 3/4 of
the mesh area and thickness of the slices should be between 0.5 cm to not more than 1
cm . The meshes should not be too full so that air can flow freely through them.
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Before removing pits and cores, first dry the fruit to 50%; this you will prevent excessive
dripping of juices from dried fruit. Put unpeeled fruit with the skin down on the mesh and
with the cut surface up. Also, put uneven shapes with the edge with the skin on the mesh,
not on the flat surface. Vegetables should only be put in one layer and distributed evenly.
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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.
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