Page 25 - August 2022
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What to dry and how?                                   “Banana method”
        The method of drying is very simple,                   Banana chips are crunchy and have a

        but there are several tips to keep in                  mild flavor that many people love. Fresh
        mind. Some foods such as apples,                       bananas are a great fruit to enjoy but they

        pears, peaches, and apricots dry better                go bad quickly.  We can make our own
        when pretreated. Pretreatment reduces                  banana chips by drying them in oven.
        oxidation, giving a better color, reducing

        vitamin loss, and lengthening shelf                    Set your oven to the lowest temperature
        life. Place cut fruits in a solution of 3¾             – this will allow to dry the fruit and not

        teaspoons of powdered ascorbic acid                    bake it.
        (or crush 20 500-milligram vitamin
        C tablets) or ½ teaspoon of powdered                   Peel and chop bananas and place on your

        citric acid in 2 cups of water for 10                  baking sheet. You can add additional
        minutes before placing on trays to dry.                flavor to the fruit by adding sea salt,

        Equal parts of bottled lemon juice and                 cinnamon, or any other spices depending
        water can be substituted for the above                 how adventurous you want to be.
        pretreatment.

                                                               Dry the bananas for 1 hour or so and
        Some fruits such as blueberries and                    then flip them. It may take up to 3 hours

        cranberries need to be dipped into                     to completely dry thin rounds. After that,
        boiling water to crack the skins. Be                   cool and store.
        careful not to leave the fruit in the

        boiling water for too long or the fruit will  “Banana method” can be applied for
        turn to mush. Chill quickly after cracking  apples, pears, oranges, and blueberries.

        skins and blot dry.                                    Drying cherries, cranberry, grapes, figs,
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