Appendix III - Recipe guidelines; dried fruit and vegetables

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RECIPE GUIDELINES * - FRUIT PPESERVES WITHOUT SUCROSE

1. Strawberry jam with RSunett and Sorbitol

Ingredients:

Strawberries 500 g

Sunett 0.75 g

Sorbitol (powder) 250 g

Gelling agent

Method: Prepare the fruit as usual. Add the Sorbitol powder and the gelling agent and bring to the boil while stirring continuously. Dissolve the Sunett in some water and add it to the other ingredients. Add the additional ingredients which are usually added in producing jams. Let the ingredients boil for approximately 1 minute while stirring constantly. Fill into the prepared jars.

Calorific value: cat 480 kJ/100 g (ca. 115 kcal/100 g)

2. Berry jam with RSunett, cyclamate and sorbitol

Ingredients:

Red currant 100 g

Black currant 100 g

Blackberry 100 g

Sorbitol 150 g

Jelling agent to suit

Sunett 0.45 g

Cyclamate 0.45 g

Method: Prepare the jam in the usual way

Calonfic value: cat 480 kJ/100 g (ca. 115 kcal/100 g)

3. Red currant jam with RSunett and Sorbitol

Ingredients:

Red currants 450 g

Sunett 0.9 g

Sorbitol 450 g

Gelling agent

Method: Prepare the fruit as usual. Add the sorbitol and the gelling agent and bring to the boil while stirring continuously. Dissolve the Sunett in some water and add it to the other ingredients. Add the additional ingredients which are usually added in producing jams. Let the ingredients boil for between 2 and 4 minutes while stirring constantly. Fill into the prepared jars.

Calorific value: cat 897 kJ/100 g (ca. 215 kcal/100 g)

 

DRIED PLUM (PRUNE) PURÉE

I. Ingredients Weight/measures

Soft pitted prunes 3 lbs.

Sugar 1/2 cup

Light corn syrup 1 cup

Boiling water 2 1/2 cups

II. Method

This purée may be made in any commercial-size processor with a 1-gallon capacity work bowl. Lacking a large processor, follow the instructions in the NOTE at the end of the recipe. Purée keeps well, refrigerated, for 6 to 8 weeks. Use directly from the refrigerator. Freeze for longer storage, thaw before using.

Place first three ingredients in work bowl fitted with the metal blade. Start motor and pour boiling water through feed tube. Process about 2 minute, until mixture is completely smooth. Stop motor occasionally to scrape side of work bowl. Cool completely; cover and refrigerate.

NOTE: To make purée without a processor, combine all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to boil, cover pan, and stew prunes slowly until fruit is very tender. Mash well with large wooden spatula, pressing prunes along side of saucepan. Alternatively, grinding this mixture through the finest blade of a meat grinder. You may multiply this recipe any number of times.

RECIPES

Apricot fruit preserves

1. 1 kg apricot halves (without stones) 0.6 kg sugar 5 g citric acid

Add 420 g sugar to prepared fruits and bring to boil; boil gently during 15 min

Add the remaining 180 g sugar and 5 g citric acid

Continue boiling gently up to required refractometric extract

2. 1 kg apricot halves prepared as above 1.5 kg sugar For all sugar to the fruit; mix gently with a spoon Leave the mix overnight

3. Dip apricot halves for 7 min in a solution containing:

2% sodium metabisulphite and 0.5% citric acid

Obtain fruit pulp by available means/equipment: a) through a sieve in traditional preparation; b) with a simple juice/pulp extractor in small scale operation; c) with a pulper in other cases).

Basic recipe is 1 kg fruit pulp + 0.6 kg sugar.

Methods for drying some vegetables and fruits

1. Garlic. - The cloves are separated and the outer skins removed by hand. The skins of individual cloves are not removed. The cloves are cut into pieces not more than 5 mm cube. No blanching nor other treatment are applied.

The product is spread evenly on drying trays. Dry until brittle. The final moisture content should be about 5%. The yield is about 5:1. After completing drying, separate dry skin by

winnowing.

The dry product may be ground into powder which should then be protected against moisture pick-up as it is very hydroscopic.

2. Beetroot. - After washing, peeling and trimming the material is cut into slices about 2-3 mm thick. Only steam blanching could be used as water blanching will wash out the colour. The slices are immersed in a solution containing 8000 ppm SO2 for I minute.

The prepared material is placed on drying trays and dried to a moisture content of about 6%. Shade drying might also be tried. Overall shrinkage ratio is about 12:1.

3. Turnip. - The material is peeled after cutting off tops and roots then cut into slices 2 to 5 mm thick. The slices are submerged for 4 to 6 minutes in boiling water. Slices are dipped for I minute in a solution of metabisulphite containing 8000 ppm sulphur dioxide..

After treatments, material is spread thinly and evenly on standard trays and dried to a moisture content of 6%. Shrinkage ratio is 28:1.

Turnips are white fleshed, and Swede Turnip yellow or orange fleshed. The latter will produce a dried product of better quality.

4. Sweet pepper

The raw material is washed thoroughly and broken up. Cores and interlocular partitions are removed by hand. Defective parts are cut out with knives. The prepared flesh is held under water or a weak solution of sodium metabisulphite (2000 ppm SO2) before being hand cut into strips about 5 mm wide.

The cut pieces are dipped for 1 minute in a solution of 2000 ppm So2 (3 g sodium metabisulphite per litre).

The material is spread in a thin layer on trays and shade dried until crisp or to a moisture content of about 7%. Average shrinkage ratio is about 25:1; drying ratio is about 13:1.

For finishing, pick out any burnt or discoloured pieces; put the material on a sieve of suitable mesh to remove small pieces and "fines". Both green and red peppers may be used for drying.

5. Banana

Both fully ripe and unripe fruits can be dried, but since they are used for different purposes they must not be mixed together.

The fruit is washed, peeled and diced into transverse slices 10 mm thick or lengthwise.

Unripe fruits are blanched in boiling water for a few minutes and then peeled. The ripe fruits are not blanched.

The prepared material is dipped for 1 minute in a solution containing 2000 ppm sulphur dioxide.

The slices are dried on standard trays which have been coated with a very thin glycerin layer to avoid sticking. The final moisture content should be around 12%.

The dried slices prepared from unripe banana may be converted into flour which can be used alone or in combination with other flours.

Dried bananas produced from ripe fruit are usually consumed in the dry state, like dates.

Glossary

Shrinkage ratio: the ratio of unprepared raw material to dry finished product.

Drying ratio: the ratio of prepared raw material to dry product. ppm:parts per million

Carrot dehydration

As an alternative to described method, a double blanch processing was found to give significant increases in firmness.

Lots (6 kg) of whole carrots are blanched by immersion in a large excess of water at 60° C in a steam jacketed kettle for 45 mini then blanched again for 6 min at 100° C in boiling water. The high temperature blanch was designed to inactivate enzymes that have the potential to generate off-flavours during storage in the dry conditions.

The carrots are then immediately peeled by immersion in 10% sodium hydroxide at 90° C for 1 min. passed through a rubber stud roller peeler to remove loose skin, sprayed with cold water and trimmed by hand. They are diced into 9.5 mm cubes in an Urschel dicer and passed over a vibrating screen to remove small pieces.

The product may be spread on wire mash aluminium trays and conventionally air died in a cabinet dryer with cross-flow air for 1.5 hr at 82° C and then at 66° C for 3.5 hr to obtain a final moisture content of about 6-7%.

 

TECHNOLOGICAL FLOW-SHEET FOR DRIED/DEHYDRATED MULBERRIES

Technological flow-sheet for dried/dehydrated mulberries

- Treatment before drying is as follows:

** Dipping fruits for 5 minutes in a solution containing

0.5% Potassium metabisulphite and

0.2% Citric acid

- Technological steps and treatment are the same for white and for black mulberries.

 

PROCESSING OF DRIED GREEN BEANS

Processing of dried green beans

Only stringless varieties should be dried. Suitable varieties are "Contender", "Tendergreen", "Tenderlong". Harvest the pods whilst the seeds are still small.

After washing, snip off the ends of the pods. The material is then cut into pieces 3 cm in length using a diagonal cut.

For preservation purposes and in order to keep the colour of the vegetable, blanching and sulphiting are carried out.

For blanching, the product is dipped in boiling water containing 50 g salt per litre of water, during 3-4 min.

After cooling, sulphiting is carried out by dipping in solution containing 3 g potassium metabisulphite per litre of water, during 3 min.

Then drain and spread the product on the trays of a dryer. The beans are dried when raw material/dry product ratio is about 18:1 (moisture content about 6%).

Storage life: about 12 months.

 

PROCESSING OF DRIED OKRA

Processing of dried okra

Young tender pods are preferred.

* The pods may be dried whole, in the form of slices (about 6 mm thick) or in halves cut lengthwise.

The pods are washed thoroughly to remove dirt. Both end are trimmed and any discoloured or damaged tissue is removed.

For preservation purposes and in order to keep the green colour, blanching is carried out: the product is dipped for 3 minutes in boiling water containing 50 g salt per litre of water. The blanched okras can then be washed with cold water to remove the slimy material produced by boiling.

The product is then sulphited by dipping for 3 minutes in a solution containing 3 g potassium metabisulphite per litre of water.

The product is then drained and finally placed on the trays of a dryer. The okras are dry when the prepared raw material/dry product ratio is about 12:1 (moisture content 4-5%).

Cooling, packaging, labelling and storage are carried out as recommended for the other finished products.

Storage life: 12 months

 

PROCESSING OF DRIED CABBAGES

Processing of dried cabbages

After removing the outer leaves, the vegetable is washed and cut into quarters. Cores are removed and cabbages are cut into 5 mm strips. It is then washed to eliminate dust, soil and insects.

To keep the colour of the vegetable and for preservation purposes, blanching and sulphiting are carried out.

Blanching is performed by dipping for 3 minutes in boiling water containing 50 g salt per litre of water. After cooling, sulphiting is carried out by dipping in a solution containing 3 g potassium metabisulphite per litre of water, during 3 minutes.

The product is drained and then evenly spread on the trays of a dryer. The cabbages are dry when the prepared raw material / dry product ratio is around 12:1 (moisture content 5%).

Cooling, packing, labelling and storage are carried a out as recommended for other products.


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