(1) Selection of raw materials The raw materials for processing cantaloupe are required to be 70-80% mature, with reticulate skin, green skin, orange flesh or orange, thick and dense red heart crisp, battery red and other varieties; Fleshy green varieties cannot be used, because green varieties are easy to brown during processing and storage; White varieties also affect the appearance quality. Broken but not bad ones can be processed, while rotten ones cannot be processed. (2) After the raw materials are prepared to clean the soil on the surface of the cantaloupe, use a stainless steel or aluminum alloy knife to peel off the skin (keep the green meat layer), cut into two halves to remove seeds and pulp, and finally cut the cantaloupe into 4-5cm thick strips. (3) Soaking and drying in the sun (drying) with sulfur can soak the melon strips in 2% sodium bisulfite (Na2S2O5) solution for 10 minute because of the high temperature, long sunshine time and concentrated harvest season in Xinjiang. Or fumigate with sulfur for half an hour, use sulfur powder100 ~150g for every 50g of melon strips, and put them in a closed room to ignite and fumigate (put sulfur powder on a porcelain bowl or iron plate to ignite, and if it is difficult to ignite, add appropriate amount of potassium nitrate), and fumigate until water drops appear on the surface of melon strips and the color turns pale. People can enter the smoking room only after the smoke is released. If you need to enter immediately, you can bring a wet mask.

After soaking or fumigation, the melon strips are dried in the sun (baked), and when the water content is lower than 18%, they are stored in bamboo or wooden utensils (iron and steel products are forbidden) for further processing. (4) Cut, harden and color-protect the dried and stored melon strips. Before processing the preserved melon, they should be soaked for 4 hours and restored to fresh melon strips, then cut into small melon strips of 2-3 cm, and soaked in 0.2%-0.3% calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution for 3-4 hours.

Fresh melon strips without dry storage can be soaked in the mixed solution of 0.2% ~ 0.3% calcium chloride (CaCl2) and 0.05% ~ 0.1%sodium bisulfite for 4 hours for hardening and color protection. (5) Sugar boiling for 1 time. Pick up the hardened melon strips, drain the water, boil them in16% ~18% sugar water for 3 ~ 5 minutes, and then soak them together with the sugar solution for12 ~ 24 hours. If you want to process the preserved fruit, you can take out the candied melon strips and soak them in 20% ~ 25% cold sugar solution immediately12 ~ 24 hours. (6) drying (baking)

Take out the soaked melon strips, drain the water, and put them on a drying tray (drying tray) or reed mat or bamboo grate for drying (baking) at a baking temperature of 65 ~ 70℃. Sun-dried (baked) until the surface of melon strips shrinks and the texture is soft. (7) Second sugar boiling: Soak the dried (baked) melon strips in 25% ~ 35% boiling sugar solution for 15 minutes, and sprinkle dry white sugar into the pot every 5 minutes. It should be noted that dry white sugar must be sprinkled in the waves of boiling sugar solution and evenly sprinkled. Boil for half an hour. When the sugar solution in the pot reaches 50% ~ 60%, and the melon strips are translucent, it means that they are cooked. After taking out the pot, soak them together with the sugar solution12 ~ 24 hours. Processed preserved melon can be soaked in 24% cold sugar solution12 ~ 24 hours. (8) drying (baking)

Soaked melon strips are sun-dried or dried according to the operation procedure of (6) until they don't touch hands. Turn it every 3-4 hours in the baking process, * * * baking 12 hours, and the water content is about 10%. (9) Take the preserved melon off the drying (baking) tray while the packaging is hot, and then cool it and package it. (10) Quality requirements are brownish red in color and translucent in shape; Moisture ≤10%; The total sugar content is 65% ~ 70%; Reducing sugar accounts for 50% ~ 60% of the total sugar, and preserved melon only accounts for18% ~ 20%.