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Peaches are a favorite delicacy for many. Their pleasant aroma and sweet taste leave no one indifferent. But like all fruits, these fruits are seasonal. Of course, you can find fresh peaches on store shelves in the winter, but their taste will not be as 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);
- B vitamins, 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 to be eaten to prevent cancer. Doctors also claim that they are useful for people with cardiovascular diseases, as they help improve blood composition and increase hemoglobin.
Like 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 if consumed in excess.
How to make dried peaches
Dried peaches can be prepared at home in an electric dryer or in the oven.
But the safety of all useful microelements in this product depends not only on the method and process of preparation, but also on the choice of raw materials.
It is not recommended to use overripe and damaged fruits, since during preparation for drying (pre-infusion in sugar) they can ferment or begin to deteriorate.
There are no special requirements regarding the variety and appearance of peaches. Any variety is suitable for preparing such a delicacy, even those in which the bone is difficult to separate.
In terms of 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 only be divided into halves, medium ones - 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 steps: separating the juice, 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 the peach fruits thoroughly.
- Cut them in half and remove the pit (larger fruits are cut into 4 or 8 pieces).
- Place the sliced fruits in layers in a saucepan, sprinkle each layer with sugar. Sugar for filling cut 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 release the juice.
- When the peaches have stood in sugar for a certain time, they should be poured into a colander to drain the juice.
- While the juice is draining, prepare sugar syrup. Pour the remaining 300 g of sugar into the pan and add 350 ml of water, put it on the fire, bring the contents to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Carefully place the slices into boiling sugar syrup. There is no need to mix them. Boil the fruits for about 5-10 minutes and remove the pan from the heat. Let cool.
- The cooled boiled peaches need to be transferred back to the colander to drain the syrup. Do this in such a way as not to damage them.
- Place the peach slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the oven preheated to 70 degrees for 30 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 35 degrees and dry them.
Ready dried dried fruits should not be wet or sticky. A good indicator of the doneness of dried fruit is the absence of stickiness.
How to dry peaches in an electric dryer
Ingredients:
- peaches – 1 kg;
- 400 g sugar.
Method for preparing dried peaches in a dryer:
- Wash and dry the fruits. Cut in half and remove the seeds.
- Pierce each peach half with a toothpick on the skin side in several places.
- Place the halves in the first layer in a deep container, cover with a small amount of 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 infusion in sugar, they are transferred to a sieve (it is placed on a pan) to drain the juice. If the juice remains in the container, it should also be poured into the pan.
- The drained juice in the pan 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.
- Using a small slotted spoon, place 1-2 peach halves into the hot syrup. They should be removed as soon as their flesh becomes translucent. The procedure takes about 10 minutes. The end result should be peach halves soaked in hot syrup on top and raw peach halves inside.
- After this procedure, the cut fruits should be placed on a sieve and allowed to stand so that the syrup drains.
- Then the halves should be laid out in a single layer on the dryer tray. Set the temperature to 60 degrees and leave them for 10-13 hours. During this time, you need to turn off the drying twice and let the fruit cool. This way they will be better saturated with their own juice.
Ready dried peaches should be left in the dryer until completely cooled without removing them.
How to store dried peaches
When properly stored, dried peaches can retain their beneficial properties for up to two years. They should be stored in a dry place out of direct sunlight. It is better to keep them in a fabric, canvas or paper bag.
Conclusion
Dried peaches are a tasty and healthy preparation for the winter. They are healthy, aromatic and retain their original taste properties for a long time, so they can easily become a favorite treat not only in the winter season, but all year round.
