How to cook dried melon at home

Melon is a fragrant and tasty treat. However, ripe fruit is stored in the refrigerator for about 5 days, and cut into pieces - up to 3 days. To delight yourself with your favorite taste for a longer time, a sweet vegetable is frozen, dried, jams, preserves and compotes are made from it.

For maximum preservation of beneficial properties, melon is dried at home. Read about how to do it right in our article.

The benefits and harms of dried melon

Dried fruit retains all the nutrients contained in fresh. It is rich in vitamins (A, B1, B2, E, P, PP, C), folic acid, carotene, and minerals. The product contains iron, fiber, proteins and carbohydrates.

Melon has hematopoietic, choleretic and diuretic properties. It has a calming, tonic and anti-inflammatory effect. The dried product is useful for gout. It strengthens the immune system and improves mood.

When consuming dried melon, remember that trace elements and vitamins stored in it in greater concentration and an excessive amount of eaten treats can lead to upset stomach.

100 g of dried product contains 341 kcal, of which 329 are fast-digesting sugar. Therefore, people with diabetes, as well as dieters, are not recommended to consume melon. It is worth refraining from it also with liver diseases and gastrointestinal tract.

You should not give dried melon to children under one year old, as their digestive system is still developing. In order not to provoke an allergic reaction in a child, it is better to exclude the vegetable from the diet. during breastfeeding.

Like fresh melon, dried slices are not washed down with alcohol or milk, they do not jam with honey, so as not to provoke disorders of the digestive system.

Which melon is right

Not all varieties are suitable for preparing a dried product. They should be sweet, aromatic, with firm and juicy flesh.

Most suitable varieties:

• Collective farmer;
• Walking around;
• Torpedo;
• Pineapple;
• Persian;
• Koibashi;
• Wintering.

For harvesting, ripe fruits of medium size are chosen, not damaged by animals, birds and insects, without signs of decay.

Melon preparation

The selected fruits are pre-dried. To do this, they are laid out for 2-3 days in the open air, so that the pulp loses excessive fragility and fragility. After that, the damaged fruits are discarded, and the remaining ones are thoroughly washed under running water and allowed to dry. Then they are cut in two and the seeds are removed with a spoon.

The halves are cut into longitudinal strips 2-3 cm wide. The peel is peeled from them with the green pulp adjacent to it. Depending on the choice of the way in which the melons will be dried, the pieces are laid out on pallets, baking sheets or sheets. For drying on special hangers, the slices are cut to length, without cutting 3-4 cm to the end.

How to dry melon at home

There are several ways to wilt a melon at home:

• in the oven;
• in an electric dryer;
• on air.

Let's consider the features, pros and cons of each option.

In the oven

Drying in the oven does not require much effort, but it takes a lot of time.

The temperature should not be more than +75 ° С. The process is carried out in 2 stages. Place the cut slices on a baking sheet and put in the oven. At 5 o'clock the temperature is set to +60 ° С. Then the oven is turned off and the door is opened slightly.

So the melon is left for a day.At the second stage, the temperature is increased by 15 ° C and a break is taken every couple of hours.

In an electric dryer

It is more convenient to dry the fruit in an electric dryer. To make the process go faster, it is better to use no more than 3 grates. The pieces are laid out on pallets so that they do not come into contact with each other. The temperature is set to +60 ° C. Drying time is 10-12 hours. So the slices dry evenly, without sticking and interference from the outside.

On air

At home, dried melons are cooked in the open air. The cut strips are laid out on pallets, covered with gauze on top so that wasps do not damage them. The containers are placed in the sun. It is best to store them in a dry and warm place at night. The strips are inverted every 2 days to remove moisture evenly.

If the slices are suspended to dry, then they are placed in pairs on a wire or rope in a ventilated area. The blanks are also covered with gauze to protect them from insects.

The drying process lasts 8-12 days.

How to check readiness

The finished melon is light brown or light yellow in color. It is elastic, does not break when bent, slightly sticky. The weight of the dried product is about 10 times less than the original. This fruit tastes good.

Storage

During storage, make sure that the finished product does not get wet. The ingress of moisture causes the melon to rot and deteriorate.

Dried slices are woven into braids: this promotes better storage. The resulting bundles are best wrapped in a white cotton cloth and folded into boxes, the bottom of which is lined with parchment.

The sweet strips are stored in glass jars. They are placed vertically and sealed with tin lids.

Suitable for storage are cloth bags, perforated zip bags, paper bags.

Application

Dried melon is consumed as an independent product or used to prepare various dishes. Sprinkle the pieces with icing sugar, poppy seeds or sesame seeds, roll them into rolls with nut filling and serve with tea.

Delicious and healthy compotes are obtained from the dried fruit. To add a zesty flavor to your tea, you can add a few pieces directly to the teapot.

Melon is used as a filling in casseroles, pies. To do this, the strips are cut into small cubes and poured with water, boiled to remove excess liquid and until completely softened.

After a double boiler, the dried product takes on a fresh look and can be used in fruit salads, cocktails and other desserts.

Conclusion

Dried melon retains the beneficial properties of a fresh product. It saturates the body with vitamins, supports immunity, and improves mood. Do not forget that trace elements and substances are stored in it in greater concentration. Therefore, people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, diabetes or obesity, it is better to refrain from eating such a fruit. An excessive amount of food eaten can lead to indigestion in a healthy person.

Making such a melon is easy. The fruit is dried in the oven, electric dryer or outdoors. The use of delicacies is universal: it is added to compotes, jam, pastries, salads and other desserts.