1, shaking the green (shaking the plum, rubbing the skin) This is an important process of drying hibiscus plum. Its function is to remove the fruit powder and wax from the peel, and to scratch the peel, so as to facilitate the evaporation of water and promote drying. The appearance of the dried product can be shriveled and the salt can penetrate into the pulp. There are two methods of shaking green: hand-shaking tools are specially made long bamboo baskets, which are hung under tripods and filled with 40 -50 kilograms of green plums each time. Spray water to moisten the fruit surface, and then add 0.2 -0.3 kg of plant ash. Two sub-stations are located at both ends of the bamboo basket, and the bamboo basket is pushed up and down, so that the plums in the basket roll up and down, generally shaking for 400 times (about 20 minutes). Shake until the peel is slightly wrinkled, fine and even, yellow-brown, and can smell a special fragrance. If the shaking time is too short, the dried prunes will have thick lines, and "monk's head" will appear. On the contrary, if the shaking time is too long, the dried prunes will have "inverted lines".
2. Wash the fruit. Pour the shaken plum fruit into a wooden Wong filled with clear water or wash it in a stream to remove the bitter juice and plant ash.
3. Spread the washed plum fruit evenly on pebbles or beaches, slates and cement slabs along the river, and dry the fruit by using solar radiation heat and hot air. Because of the fast heat conduction and high temperature of stone and coarse sand, the fruit dries quickly. Generally, after 2-3 days of exposure, the free water and most of the colloidal bound water in the fruit evaporate, which reduces the weight and volume of the fruit and makes the fruit turn red and black. At this time, the products can be put away and salted.
4. The system of pickled dried plums can be divided into light alkali according to the amount of salt added. Dried prunes are sweet without salt, but they are susceptible to insects and are not resistant to storage. Plum brine is made use of the high osmotic pressure of salt, which can attach microbial activities, so that the product can be stored for a longer time. Usually, every 100 kg of fresh fruit is salted1-2.5 kg and pickled twice. In the first pickling, the products that have been spread and dried to reduce the volume by about one third, which is about half the weight of raw materials, are put away on the bamboo plaque in the evening, and the ground salt 1.2-1.5 kg is added according to the calculation of each 100 kg of fresh fruit, and then 3-4 people rub and mix for about 2-3 minutes to make the salt. If the plums are wet, they can also be packed into wooden barrels for layer-by-layer salt pickling without kneading. Add salt in the upper, middle and lower layers, with the proportions of 50%, 33% and 17%. Cover the top layer with a little salt, and the total salt content remains unchanged. After pickling for one night, the plums were taken out the next day and spread on a bamboo screen for further drying, and were taken back for secondary pickling that night.
For the second pickling, 0.8-1 kg (accounting for about 2/5 of the total salt consumption) of ground salt can be added to each 100 kg of fresh fruit, then the plum embryo is rubbed with salt, put into a wooden barrel for pickling for one night, then spread out and directly dried until it is18-20% of the weight of fresh fruit. The drying rate of hibiscus plum is generally 4.6-4.8:1. Naturally dried dried plums are ruddy in color and commonly known as red dried plums. The whole processing process can be completed in 5-6 days.
5. During the processing of baked plums, if it is rainy and the fruit is not dry, the fruit can be salted temporarily. If it rains continuously for 3-4 days, it needs artificial baking, which is called baked plums.
When the quantity of roasted plums is small, use bamboo baking cages, and use baking stoves when the quantity is large. The baking stove is built in the house, with a depth of 250 cm, a front height of 25 cm, a back height of 150 cm and a width of 240 cm. One baking150kg or so. The specific method is to pour the fresh fruit on a baking rack with a thickness of about 17 -20 cm, and bake it until all the plums are hot (about 24 hours). Then add salt to pickle, and the method is the same as the natural dry method. The second baking is about 12 hour, and then salt is added. Bake for the third time until the collection is dry. Turn it frequently when baking. In case of burning. Baked dried plums are black but not bright in color and poor in quality, commonly known as "black dried plums".
6. The dried prunes can be stored for a long time. Fruit farmers in Yongtai often put away the dried plums for 3-5 days after the second drying to a certain dryness, and then sun them again, so that more water in the stone oozes out of the pulp. After repeated drying, the moisture inside and outside the fruit is consistent, which is beneficial to long-term storage. Sun-dried dried dried plums can be put into clean wooden barrels and placed on dry floor houses. The barrels are covered with straw and sacks for sale at any time or further deep processing.