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Peaches are a favorite delicacy of many. Their pleasant aroma and sweet taste leaves no one indifferent. But like all fruits, these fruits are seasonal. Of course, you can find fresh peaches on store shelves in the winter season, but their taste will not be so rich. There is another way to enjoy your favorite fruits in winter - to wither them. After all, dried peaches are quite tasty and healthy dried fruits.
The benefits and harms of dried peaches
Peach fruits, preserved for the winter by drying, contain many useful substances:
- organic acids;
- essential oils;
- mono- and polysaccharides;
- various useful elements (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, sodium);
- vitamins of group B, as well as vitamins A, C, E and PP.
This composition makes the fruit a good antioxidant. Due to this, dried fruits are often recommended for use in food for the prevention of cancer. Doctors also claim that they are useful for people with cardiovascular diseases, as they help improve blood composition and increase hemoglobin.
As with all natural products, dried peaches also have negative properties. Due to the high sugar content in the composition, they are contraindicated for people with diabetes. In addition, such a large number of different microelements makes them allergens when consumed in excess.
How are dried peaches made
Dried peaches at home can be cooked in an electric dryer or in an oven.
But the safety of all useful trace elements in this product depends not only on the method and process of preparation, but also on the choice of raw materials.
Overripe and damaged fruits are not recommended to be used, as during preparation for drying (in preliminary infusion in sugar) they can ferment or start to deteriorate.
There are no special requirements for the variety and appearance of peaches. For the preparation of such a delicacy, any varieties are suitable, even those in which the bone is poorly separated.
By size, you can take both small fruits and larger peaches. Only in this case it is worth considering that their cutting will be different. Small fruits can be divided only into halves, medium - into 4 parts, and larger ones - into 8 parts. The drying time will depend on the thickness of the slices.
The recipe for making dried peaches is quite simple and includes 3 main stages: juicing, boiling and drying.
How to dry peaches at home in the oven
Ingredients:
- peaches - 1 kg;
- sugar - 700 g;
- water - 350 ml.
Drying method:
- Wash and dry peach fruits thoroughly.
- Cut them in half and remove the bone (larger fruits are cut into 4 or 8 pieces).
- Arrange the sliced fruits in layers in a saucepan, sprinkle each layer with sugar. Sugar for filling chopped peaches is required at the rate of 400 g per 1 kg of fruit. Leave them in this form for 24-30 hours at room temperature to extract juice.
- When the peaches have stood in sugar for a certain time, they should be poured into a colander to drain the secreted juice.
- While the juice is draining, sugar syrup is prepared.Pour the remaining 300 g of sugar into a saucepan and pour 350 ml of water, put it on fire, bring the contents to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Place the slices in boiling sugar syrup. You do not need to interfere with them. Boil the fruits for about 5-10 minutes and remove the pan from heat. Allow to cool.
- The cooled boiled peaches must be transferred back to a colander to drain the syrup. Do this so as not to damage them.
- Put the peach slices in one layer on a baking sheet and put in the oven, preheated to 70 degrees for 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 35 degrees and add them.
Finished dried dried fruits should not be wet and sticky. A good indicator of the readiness of dried fruit is the lack of stickiness.
How to dry peaches in an electric dryer
Ingredients:
- peaches - 1 kg;
- 400 g of sugar.
How to prepare dried peaches in a dryer:
- Rinse and dry the fruit. Cut in half and remove the seeds.
- Pierce each half of the peach with a toothpick from the side of the peel in several places.
- Arrange the halves in the first layer in a deep container, cover with a little sugar. Then spread another layer on top and also cover with sugar.
- All peaches covered with sugar must be left in a warm place for 30 hours to release the juice.
- After insisting in sugar, they are transferred to a sieve (put on a saucepan) to drain the juice. If the juice remains in the container, it should also be drained into the saucepan.
- The drained juice in a saucepan is put on gas and brought to a boil. Boil the syrup for no more than 2-5 minutes. After boiling, reduce the heat so that the syrup does not boil.
- In hot syrup, using a small slotted spoon, it is required to lower the halves of the peaches in 1-2 pieces. They should be removed as soon as their flesh becomes translucent. The procedure takes about 10 minutes. As a result, you should get soaked in hot syrup on top, and raw peach halves inside.
- After this procedure, the cut fruits must be laid out on a sieve and allowed to stand to allow the syrup to stack.
- Then the halves in one layer must be laid out on the drier tray. Set the temperature to 60 degrees and leave them for 10-13 hours. During this time, it is required to turn off the drying 2 times and let the fruit cool down. So they are better saturated with their own juice.
Finished dried peaches should be left to cool completely in the dryer without removing them.
How to store dried peaches
When stored properly, dried peaches can retain their beneficial properties for up to two years. Store them in a dry place out of direct sunlight. It is better to keep them in a cloth, canvas or paper bag.
Conclusion
Dried peaches are a tasty and healthy preparation for the winter. They are useful, fragrant and retain their original taste for a long time, so they can easily become a favorite delicacy not only in the winter season, but all year round.
