LEMON DRYING
Lemon is rich in vitamin C and easy to oxidize, so lemon slices placed for a period of time will oxidize and blacken. The traditional drying of lemon slices is mainly done by burning wood or charcoal. The temperature is not easy to control, and the drying temperature is high. Because the lemon itself contains sugar, the dried lemon is easily blackened after cooking, which affects the appearance and quality of the dried lemon.
Therefore, the way to solve the blackening of dried lemon is to minimize its contact time with air and the oxygen content in the drying room. Our company's drying equipment removes moisture through the dehumidifier. Fresh air is not required in the drying process, so the air in contact with the materials in the whole drying process is in the drying room, and the oxygen content is basically fixed, so oxidation will be reduced. of the lemon slices.
Description of the lemon drying process:
1. Lemon should be cleaned before drying, including salt water cleaning method, soda water cleaning method or ultrasonic cleaning method. The main objective is to clean and remove residues of pesticides or wax. After removing the wax, you can speed up the drying process of the lemon slices and shorten the drying time to reduce the oxidation of the lemon slices.
2. Cut the lemon into 4mm slices by hand or with a lemon cutter. Pay attention to the uniform thickness, and the error should not exceed ±1mm. Arrange the lemon slices neatly on a ventilated tray and avoid stacking them.
3. Arrange the lemon slices on the tray. The drying temperature is generally about 50 ℃, and the temperature should not be too high, because the lemon itself contains sugar. If the temperature is too high, the sugar will cook and blacken.
4. The temperatures of the three stages are set to 45℃, 50℃ and 53℃ respectively. The moisture in the lemon slices is slowly evaporated and discharged during low-temperature drying, and the whole drying process takes about 22 hours, which will be determined by the ripeness of the lemon, the thickness of the slices, and the drying season.
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