How to Dehydrate Cucumbers

Cucumber is a common vegetable in our lives, and it contains a lot of water, so many people like to eat it. Eating cucumbers regularly can also help lose weight, especially some women who choose to eat cucumbers at night when losing weight. In addition, cucumbers can also be made into dehydrated cucumbers. Dehydrated cucumbers are dried vegetables and are not fresh. So how to make dehydrated cucumbers?

Dehydrated vegetables are a kind of dried vegetables that are made by artificially heating to remove most of the water in the vegetables. When eaten, it is not only delicious and colorful, but also maintains its original nutritional value. In addition, it is smaller and lighter than fresh vegetables, will recover when put into water, and is easy to transport and eat, which makes it very popular among people.

1. Material selection: Fresh and plump vegetables with thick flesh, dense tissue and low crude fiber, such as beans, cucumbers, celery, green peppers, garlic sprouts, radishes, ginger, green beans, potatoes, carrots, onions, bamboo shoots, day lilies, edible fungi, etc., can be used to process dehydrated vegetables.

2. Trimming: Before dehydration, except for melons, remove the seeds and pulp. Other vegetables must be rinsed with clean water, and the stems, dry leaves and sticks must be removed, and placed in a place without direct sunlight to dry. Then use a sharp knife to cut roots such as radishes, potatoes, and onions into slices, dices, or strips, and classify the rest and bundle them into bundles so that they are neat and uniform for easy boiling. Potatoes and carrots also need to have their skin removed by treating them with 1% - 2% sodium hydroxide at room temperature or in boiling water for 5 - 10 minutes.

3. Boiling: The blanching time varies according to the type of raw materials, and should be continued until the leaves become translucent or the raw materials become slightly soft. Over-boiling will result in significant nutrient loss and reduced rehydration capacity. During the blanching process, the water in the pot should always be kept boiling, and the vegetables should be constantly turned over after being put into the pot to ensure that they are fully and evenly heated.

4. Water cooling: After the boiled vegetables are out of the pot, they should be immediately immersed in cold water to dissipate heat, and new cold water should be continuously added. When the water temperature in the basin is basically the same as the temperature of the poured water, take out the vegetables, drain the water and then put them into the room for baking.

5. Drying: When drying, spread the boiled and dried vegetables evenly on the baking tray, and then place them on the pre-set baking rack. Control the temperature at 32℃-42℃ and let them dry. Enter the drying room to check the temperature every 30 minutes. At the same time, constantly turn over the vegetables in the baking tray to speed up the drying speed. Generally, after 11-16 hours, when the moisture content of the vegetables drops to about 20%, spray 0.1% sorbic acid or sodium bicarbonate, sodium benzoate and other preservatives evenly on the surface of the vegetables, and then seal them.

6. Sealing: Place the dried vegetables in a large wooden cabinet (box) with a tight structure and seal them for about 10 hours to keep the moisture content of the dried vegetables uniform.

7. Packaging: After the dried vegetables are dried out of the oven, they should be packed into plastic bags, sealed and put on the market for sale after cooling.