Artificial drying is dehydration and drying under artificially created conditions, mainly including dryers, drying rooms, solar drying rooms and other facilities.
Processing technology of dried fig: raw material selection → cleaning → pedicel removal → cutting → paving → drying → softening → grading packaging → dried fig.
Material selection and cutting
Select ripe figs, remove rotten fruits, residual fruits and other impurities, rinse with clear water, and cut off the fruit stalks. Small fruit varieties don't need to be cut, and large fruit varieties can be cut into two or cut into strips, which can increase the contact surface between materials and drying media, improve the air permeability and water permeability of materials, save drying time and reduce energy consumption.
Paving and drying
Natural drying and artificial drying, the paving of raw materials should be uniform and not too thick. Natural drying is used to spread the fruits on drying trays, curtains and mats for drying. When the climate is dry, they can be spread out day and night for drying. In threshing ground, where the ground is wet, the drying curtain should be padded with wooden sticks and stones, which can prevent moisture and improve the permeability, and should be turned frequently when drying. Manual drying should be adopted, and ventilation and exhaust should be paid attention to while heating, so as to facilitate water evaporation. The initial baking temperature should be higher, 80-85℃, and the later temperature should be lower, 50-55℃. The drying time is generally 6-12 hours. The water content of dried figs is generally about 20%.
Softening and packaging
The dried dried fig fruit is piled on the plastic film, covered with the plastic film, softened for 2-3 days, then put into plastic food bags, sealed, put into paper boxes, and put into storage to obtain the dried fig fruit.
quality requirements
The dried fig fruit is soft, fragrant, sweet and pleasant, with a water content of about 20%, no moth, no mold, no impurities and no sediment.
Dried fig is the primary form in the whole processing and utilization process, which not only achieves the purpose of easy storage, but also can be used as a raw material supply form for other processed products.
(1) Spreading and drying In fig producing areas with dry summer climate, this method is often used to dry mature fruits. The specific methods are as follows: on sunny days, after harvesting ripe fruits, they are laid one by one in flat baskets, sieves or other breathable containers according to varieties and grades, placed in the sun, naturally dried in the sun or placed in a ventilated place to dry in the shade; When drying, it should be turned, squashed and shaped frequently; When the water is lost and the sugar powder of the fruit is increased by about 50%, it can be bagged and stored.
(2) Slice drying For the immature green fruits in the late growth stage of fig, slice drying can be used. The method is as follows: firstly, the fruit slices are sliced manually, the thickness of which is about 0.3cm, and spread on reed mats, bamboo hugs or clean cement fields, dried and stored in plastic bags. The second is to slice with a slicer, dry with a dryer, or naturally dry with sunlight. Dried fruit slices can be used as raw materials for candied fruit and drinks.
(3) Dehydration and drying For some varieties with low sugar content and high water content, they can be harvested when the fruit is 80% to 90% mature and dehydrated and dried. Its technological process: fresh fruit → washing fruit → steam peeling (blanching) → vacuum drying (dehydration) → packaging → preservation. Dehydrated dried fruits can be used as edible products and raw materials for making cakes and soups.
(4) Drying Drying In summer, this method is often used to dry ripe fruits. The method is as follows: after 80-90% of figs are picked, they are dried according to the following process: washing fruits → peeling with steam (blanching) → serving → drying → shaping → packaging → preservation → products. Dried dried fruits can be used as raw materials for preserved fruits, beverages and cakes, and can also be directly used.