How to dry raisins yourself

Raisins contain very little water, but the sugar content can reach 60%, which is very sweet. They are a favorite food in our daily life. Most raisins are air-dried, some are dried in the sun or in the shade. Shade-dried raisins are of the best quality. Raisins can not only be eaten directly, but also put in pastries or add some when cooking porridge. They are delicious and healthy. Raisins dried in the sun tend to turn sour, and the best quality ones are those dried in the shade. The raisins made from seedless grapes in Turpan, Xinjiang, China are the most famous. Turpan has a hot and dry climate. There are many holes on the four walls of the brick-built shade drying room. In the middle is a bracket made of wooden sticks. Ripe seedless grapes are placed on it and blown by hot wind to quickly produce high-quality raisins.

How to make raisins:

1. Raw material selection: The grapes for drying should be of thin skin, plump and soft flesh, beautiful appearance and high sugar content. Generally, the raw materials are "seedless white", "seedless dew" and seeded "rose fragrance" and "milk". The fruit should be fully ripe, but not too ripe.

2. Cut the bunches: After harvesting, cut off the small and damaged fruits. If the fruit bunches are too large, cut them into several small bunches and spread them in a layer on the drying tray.

3. Alkali treatment: In order to accelerate drying and shorten the evaporation time of water, alkaline liquid treatment can be used. Soak in 1.5-4% sodium hydroxide solution for 1-5 minutes. Thin-skinned species can also be treated with 0.5% sodium carbonate or a mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide for 3-6 seconds. After the raw materials are treated with alkali, they should be rinsed in clean water immediately. The drying time of fruits treated with alkali can be shortened by 8 to 10 days. When drying white raisins, sulfur fumigation is required for 3 to 5 hours.

4. Sun exposure: Put the grapes into drying trays and expose them to the sun for about 10 days. When part of the surface is dry, turn them over and place the wetter ones on the surface to continue drying until two-thirds of the fruit are dry. When no grape juice oozes out when you pinch the fruit with your hands, you can stack the drying trays and dry them in the shade for a week. In clear weather, the total drying time is about 20 to 25 days.

5. Softening: Stack the fruit bunches for 15 to 20 days to allow them to dry evenly, and remove the fruit stems to prepare the finished product.

6. Packaging: There are two types of raisin packaging: cloth bag packaging and wooden box packaging. The cloth bag is available in 50 kg or 25 kg sizes, and the wooden box generally holds 25 kg.

Quality Standards

1. The best quality ones are those with large, firm grains and soft and glutinous taste.

2. The dryness is determined by the fact that when you squeeze the dough and then release it, the particles quickly disperse.

3. The surface of white raisins should be slightly less frosted, and the color should be crystal green and transparent after licking off the frosting. The surface of red raisins should also be slightly frosted, and when the frosting is licked off, it will appear purple-red and translucent.

4. The taste is sweet and mellow, not sour or astringent.