ᐉ How to cook dried prunes at home

How to dry plums for the winter: all methods - preparing prunes at home

Dried plums, or, in other words, prunes, are a very healthy delicacy. But are you 100% sure that you are purchasing a quality product in the store that has not been treated with any chemicals to improve its appearance? I think that no one can answer this question unequivocally. Today we propose to consider ways to dry plums yourself at home. Such a product will certainly be of the highest standard, since the entire preparation process will be controlled by you personally.

Preparing plums for drying

You can dry any variety of plums, but fruits that are hard and dense to the touch will hold their shape best. In this case, the product must be completely ripe.

The preparatory stage consists of several steps:

Sorting. When sorting through fruits, you should immediately exclude specimens with rot and various damage. Only the best fruits should be dried.
Cleansing. Fruits are washed under running water and dried with paper towels.

Removing seeds. Cut the plum in half and remove the core. This completes the preparation of pitted plums for drying. You can proceed directly to dehydration. If you plan to dry prunes with pits, then skip this step and follow all the other steps.
Blanching. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of baking soda in a liter of boiling water, and place the plum in this solution for 20 seconds. The amount of liquid is calculated so that the fruit is completely immersed in water. If necessary, increase the portion several times. This procedure is necessary in order to remove the wax layer from the surface. The skin should crack from being in boiling water, which will facilitate better evaporation of the liquid.
After blanching, the plums are washed under running water.
Finally, the fruits are thoroughly dried with paper towels.

How to prepare fruit

Wash the fruits thoroughly and remove the stems and leaves. The pit can be removed - drying will then be much faster, but the whole dried plum will have a richer taste and retain more nutrients.

Read also: Varieties of white raspberries

In industrial conditions, fruits are blanched : dipped in a 0.1% solution of baking soda for several minutes. Due to this, cracks form on the skin, which accelerates the evaporation of moisture.

After blanching, rinse the plums with cold water and dry them with a paper towel or lay them out on a cloth.

All methods of drying plums

In the sun

The prepared plums are placed on racks or in well-ventilated boxes and placed in the sun. Every evening, containers with fruit are brought into the room and put back out only the next day, not before the dew has disappeared.

The total drying time is from 4 to 6 days. This depends on weather conditions and the size of the fruit.

After drying is completed, dried fruits need to be finally dried in the shade. This will take about 3-4 more days.

In the oven

To keep the baking sheet clean, cover it with baking paper. Drying can also be done on special racks. The prepared fruits are laid out in one layer. If the plum was cut in half, then it is laid skin side down.

Oven drying consists of several stages:

5 hours at a temperature of +50ºС;
6 hours at a temperature of +70ºС;
until the product is ready at a temperature of +75…+80ºС.

Between stages, remove the pan from the oven, turn the prunes over and allow them to cool completely. Afterwards, continue the process according to the instructions.

Watch the video from the channel “Men in the Kitchen!” — How to cook prunes at home

In an electric dryer

The plums are also laid out on special pallets in one layer. If you are drying fruit halves, they must be placed cut side up.

The temperature during the entire drying period will vary:

Stage 1: dry for 4 hours at a temperature of +50…+55ºС. We swap trays and turn the pieces over.
Stage 2: dry for 4 – 6 hours at a temperature of +60ºС. We change trays and turn the plums over.
Stage 3: until the product is ready, approximately 4 – 6 hours at a temperature of +75…+80ºС.

Watch the video from the channel “Ezidri Master” - Drying plums

In the microwave

To dry using the express method in the microwave, you need to use only hard fruits, otherwise the plum will turn into porridge.

So, remove the seeds from the fruit and place them in a flat bowl lined with a paper towel. The slices should be placed cut side up. Cover the top of the slices with a paper napkin.

Turn on the microwave oven at medium power for 3 minutes. At the end of this time, remove the napkin and place the food in the oven again for the same amount of time.

After the microwave beeps, set it to full power and dry the plums for another 1 minute. If this time is not enough, you can continue drying, checking readiness every 60 seconds.

How to dry plums at home

There are several ways: drying plums in the oven, in an electric dryer, in the sun and in the microwave. Each of them has its own limitations and advantages: availability, time, cost. Let's look at them in more detail.

Place the prepared fruits on a baking sheet (if you cut them, then skin side down to avoid juice dripping). Place the plums in the oven preheated to 45-50 °C and dry them there for 3-4 hours.

After this, let them cool to room temperature and put them in the oven again, this time preheated to a temperature of 65-70 ° C. Leave there for 4-5 hours and cool again. At the last stage, dry at a temperature of about 80 ° C until the dried fruit is ready.

In an electric dryer

Place the prepared plums evenly on the trays of the electric dryer (if they are cut, then skin side down). Place the trays in the dryer and carry out the process as described earlier: 3-4 hours at 45-50 ° C, let cool, 3-4 hours at 65-70 ° C, let cool again, and dry at a temperature of 75-80 until ready °C. To ensure uniform drying, periodically change the trays.

In the microwave

Without a doubt, this method takes the least amount of time to dry each individual batch, but it will not be possible to load a large number of plums at the same time.

So, place the prepared fruits in one row on a flat dish that can be used in the microwave. Set the power level to 300 W and microwave for 5 minutes. After this, checking the readiness of the product every 30 seconds, continue to dry the prunes until ready.

This is the longest, but also the cheapest way to prepare prunes for the winter. Place the halved plums, cut side up, on a paper-lined wooden or metal tray and place it in the sun.

To protect against flies and other insects, cover the top with gauze. Stir the fruit occasionally to dry it better. The process will take from 4 to 7 days. At night, remove the tray from the street so that dew does not fall on the drying prunes.

Preparation

Before you learn how to cook prunes at home, you should prepare the berries. To get an appetizing and healthy delicacy, you need to sort out the plums, taking only large ones. They should not be soft or overripe. If such fruits are found, juice will flow out of them. Such a product will not turn out to be of high quality.

For drying, berries of the same size are used. Then they are washed and the tails are removed. It is necessary to perform the blanching procedure. To do this, they should be placed in a colander for several minutes and in boiling water, to which a little soda is added in advance. This procedure is needed to remove wax deposits.

The recipe for this treatment is simple: add 1 spoon of soda to 1 liter of boiling water. The fruits should be kept in the solution for no more than 30 seconds, and then doused with cold water. Place the berries on a dry towel to dry. If everything is done correctly, there will be cracks in the drain through which moisture will be eliminated.

Preparing prunes for storage

To ensure that preserved prunes do not lose their taste, they should be properly prepared. First of all, choose the container in which the fruits will be stored. The ideal solution is glass and metal options, as well as paper bags and sacks of natural materials, such as cotton or linen.

In addition, you can use special plastic containers and bags designed for storing food. When using glass jars and metal containers, they must first be washed and disinfected with hot water.

Read also: How to pickle plums for the winter: 3 best recipes

The place where prunes will be stored should be dry, cool and dark. It is best to choose a place that will be ventilated from time to time.

Prunes should be chosen responsibly and carefully. Choose whole fruits, separating spoiled dried fruits with defects. If prunes are damp, they must be dried, otherwise the service life of the product will be significantly reduced.

Sun-dried prunes cannot be stored in ordinary plastic bags, as the fruits will quickly spoil or become sticky. The shelf life of prunes at home is no more than 12 months, provided that all storage rules have been followed. Dried prunes have the longest shelf life, so if you plan to keep them in this form, it is better to completely dry the fruits first.

Dried options should be purchased to be used immediately for cooking, and not stored for a long time. At home, these fruits can be dried in the oven at a minimum temperature.

It is rare to find completely dried prunes on sale today. The fact is that when dried, it loses its mass, so it is not profitable for sellers to sell it in dry form. Dried prunes can be stored in the refrigerator, strictly observing storage conditions, otherwise they will become unsuitable for further use.

Electric dryer

How to make prunes at home using an electric dryer? You can use fruits with or without pits. If it is large, then it is advisable to cut the plums in half and remove it. Then the berries will dry faster and therefore will not rot. The drying procedure includes several stages:

You need to sort out and wash the plums. This will allow you to use quality products.
After this, blanching is performed. The procedure is mandatory to obtain dried fruits.
It is necessary to separate the fruits: with and without seeds. After all, they dry a little differently.
Seedless berries should be laid out with the cut side up, which is necessary for proper drying.

Drying is carried out at a temperature of no more than 40 degrees. First, the berries are placed for 6 hours, and then they are cooled for the same amount of time. This is the first stage. Then you need to increase the temperature to 60 degrees, but drying and cooling must be done for 6 hours.

During the third stage, the temperature should be 80 degrees. The duration of drying and cooling is the same. You should check the readiness of the fruits. The prunes should be firm, elastic, and evenly dried. Juice should not leak from the berries.

Cooking prunes in an electric dryer

To obtain prunes in an electric dryer, after blanching, the plums are placed on a tray in one layer. If the fruits are divided in half, then they are laid cut side up. The drying process using this method also takes place in 3 stages at certain temperature conditions:

During the first 3–4 hours, fruits are dried at a temperature of 45–55 °C;
then the plums are dried at a temperature of 60 degrees for 6 hours;
the final stage - the fruits are dried for 6 hours at a temperature of 75–80 °C.

At all stages of preparing dried fruits, the trays are swapped every hour, so that the dried fruits turn out to be of better quality.

After completing each stage, the trays are removed from the dryer for several hours to cool the future prunes.

Drying plums in an electric dryer

Oven

This is one of the simplest preparation methods. How to make prunes at home in the oven? The rules and steps here are the same: you need to wash and sort the fruits, blanch and dry. When drying in the oven, you need to ensure that a specific temperature is set. It is important to control the time the berries remain in the oven and then how long they cool.

The duration of processing in the oven is no more than 4 hours, and it needs to cool for about 6-8 hours. As soon as this period is over, the berries are placed in the oven again, preheating it to 80 degrees. At this temperature it dries for 6 hours, and then it must be left to cool for 3 hours. Then the fruits are again placed in an oven heated to 100 degrees for half an hour. After this, the prunes are ready. The berries should be shiny; they just need to be placed in a container with a tight lid.

How to make dried fruits in the oven?

To prepare prunes in the oven, the plums are blanched, then washed with cold water and left to dry on a towel. If the fruit is cut into two parts, then the blanching procedure is not carried out. Drying fruits in the oven consists of three stages at different temperatures.

At the first stage, the oven is heated to 50 ° C, a baking sheet with fruit is placed in it for 5 hours. After this, the plums cool for the same period of time.
At the next stage, the plums are turned over and dried for 5 hours in an oven heated to 70 ° C.
At the last stage of drying, the temperature increases to 75 °C. Here the fruits are already brought to full readiness.

To achieve a glossy appearance, dried fruits do not need to be processed in any way. If a few minutes before the end of drying the fruit in the oven, the temperature is increased to 120 ° C, then the sugar released from the fruit will caramelize the prunes and add shine to their surface.

Cooking in the sun

Another way to make prunes at home? The recipe allows you to perform this procedure under the sun. If it is possible to spread the berries in nature, then you should choose this harvesting method. To do this, you need a cardboard sheet on which the fruits are laid out. The preparation steps are simple:

An important procedure is washing and sorting the berries.
The fruits should not be dried whole; it is better to cut them and remove the pit.
The berries are laid out in one layer in a sunny place.

It should be taken into account that the plum must be removed at night and in cool weather, since then the preparation will not work. Periodically, the fruits should be turned over to dry evenly. They should be kept in the sun for a week.

You can check readiness by pressing on the berries. If juice is released and the berry is elastic, this indicates that everything was done correctly. To prevent insects from interfering with drying, the fruits must be covered with gauze.

Microwave

How to dry prunes at home with your own hands if you have a microwave? This method is considered the fastest. The fruits are dried for a short time, while all their beneficial properties are preserved. This drying is carried out in several stages:

The plums must be clean; dry them on a towel.
Place on a microwaveable dish.
Set the timer to 30 seconds and the power to 250 W.
Dried fruits should be placed on paper and allowed to cool.

Air fryer

How to make prunes at home in an air fryer? With this device you can get a delicious, sweet dessert. The finished product will have some smoky flavor. The downside is that you get fewer berries than you originally had. For example, from 1 kg only 200 g are obtained.

Ready prunes have a pleasant appearance and appetizing aroma. Preparation is almost the same as in other methods. The plums are washed and sorted. In an air fryer you can dry small and large fruits, with or without seeds.

The procedure is carried out at 65 degrees for 40 minutes. Then you need to take a break for an hour to cool the berries. This procedure must be repeated again and left until the next day. On the second day, this process is repeated 3 times, the period between them is 60 minutes. You need to put the dried fruits on paper and leave until the next day. At this point, the preparation of prunes is completed; they are collected in bags or wooden boxes.

Drying pitted

How to make prunes at home without seeds? The procedure is performed in the following way:

An obligatory step is washing the fruit.
Then they are divided in half, eliminating the pit.
Pour water into the pan, adding citric acid.
The solution is brought to a boil.
Blanching takes 40 minutes.

With this treatment, the prunes will be soft and tender. These dried fruits are good for health. 5 pieces a day are enough to improve stomach function. The fruits are good for the heart.

Storage

How to store prunes at home? For this purpose, a container with an airtight lid is used. Then the shelf life can reach 6 months. The container should be washed, treated with boiling water, and dried. Then the fruits are placed in it, closed and placed in a cool place. Periodically you need to monitor the condition of the treat.

The product can be stored in linen bags, but they are used when there are no harmful insects at home. The bags should be soaked in saline solution, dried, place prunes in them and tie them. Paper bags are used for storage.

Prunes keep well in the refrigerator. This method is especially suitable if the room has high humidity. The fruits must be sorted and damaged berries removed. Then they should be packaged in small portions in a glass container with a closing lid. Containers and zip-lock bags are suitable. The product must be placed on a shelf intended for fruit. Moisture should be controlled: if there is any, the berries are dried.

Thus, prunes are a tasty and healthy treat. It will also be safe if you prepare it yourself. Each of these methods allows you to obtain high-quality dried fruits.

How to properly store at home

Store dried fruits in paper or linen bags in a dark, dry, cool place, out of direct sunlight, for example, in a pantry or refrigerator.

You can also store them in glass or plastic jars with a tight-fitting lid to protect them from kitchen moths and other insects. Properly prepared prunes, when properly stored, retain their taste and beneficial properties for up to 12 months .

Prunes prepared with your own hands will delight you until next summer in your small culinary masterpieces: in meat and poultry dishes, in cakes and pastries, in pies and cookies, in yoghurts and ice cream. And even just taking a handful of dried fruits for tea on a winter evening is a small warm memory of summer.

Dried plums - what do you eat with, where should you add them?

Homemade dried plums taste slightly different from store-bought ones. They are prepared in several ways, dried in different devices and seasoned with spices or soaked in sweet syrups before drying. Often housewives do not know what to do with the treasured jar of the original preparation, but in reality, everything happens intuitively.

Spicy aromatic dried plums are often added to main dishes. The taste of an ordinary treat will be greatly transformed if you fill it with the aroma of such a preparation.
Both sweet and savory slices are added to salads.
By chopping a couple of slices of sweet plum, you can add an unusual taste to a serving of ice cream or creamy dessert.
Sweet dried plums will become an excellent independent dessert if served in the company of an original cream with a sour taste.

Dried plums for the winter - recipes

Drying plums at home is not a difficult task, but it is not at all quick. The quality result depends on the method of drying the fruit slices and the chosen recipe.

Dried plums for the winter, cooked in the oven, are a common drying method. Dry the fruit at a temperature of 100-110 degrees with the door ajar. The process takes from 3 to 5 hours.
In an electric dryer, drying takes longer; it will take about 20 hours to make the snack. The advantage is constant temperature control.
Making dried plums at home for the winter in a microwave oven is troublesome, but it only takes one hour to make. You need to dry the slices, then let them cool and repeat until the desired result.
Dried plums in a slow cooker are prepared simply: the slices are dried on a wire rack (for steaming) in the “Baking” mode and with the valve open so that the steam escapes freely.

How to dry plums in the oven?

The most common way is to make dried plums in the oven. A set of spices and herbs is chosen intuitively, based on personal preferences. It is important to choose whole fruits, with dense pulp, without visible damage and without worms. If the fruits are large, they are cut into quarters or into 6 parts, so the drying process will go faster.

plums – 15 pcs.;
garlic – 3 cloves;
dry Provençal herbs – 1 tsp;
quality olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
salt and pepper.

Place the slices on a baking sheet with foil, cut side up.
Place a slice of garlic into each clove, sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper, and drizzle with oil.
Dry in the oven at 100 degrees for 3 hours, with the door slightly open.

How to dry plums in an electric dryer?

Dried plums in an electric dryer turn out tasty and well dried, without a juicy middle. The device maintains a constant temperature throughout the entire process of making snacks, so the result will be absolutely perfect, but after 15-20 hours. You can season the plums to your own taste; the garlic remains unchanged.

plums – 1.5 kg;
salt – 15 g;
hot pepper – 1 pod;
olive oil – 100 ml;
garlic – 2 heads;
dried basil and parsley - 1 tbsp. l.

Place the plums on a plate, cut side up, add salt.
Place a slice of garlic and finely chopped hot pepper into each slice.
Sprinkle with herbs.
Transfer the plums to a tray.
Dry the fruit at a medium heat level in the electric dryer for 20 hours.
Place the finished slices in a jar, fill them with oil and put them in the cold.

How to dry plums in the microwave?

Dried plums in the microwave are prepared quickly, in just an hour, taking into account the preparation of the products. You can try the savory appetizer right away or wait a few hours for it to marinate in oil. You can also use soft fruits, the main thing is that when removing the pit, you need to make sure that the edges are cut evenly.

plums – 10 pcs.;
salt and sugar - 1 tsp each;
garlic – 2 cloves;
olive oil – 1 tbsp. l.;
dry ginger, black and allspice, nutmeg, rosemary and thyme - only 1 tbsp. l.

Place the plum halves on a plate lined with paper towels.
Mix all the dry and ground spices with oil and pureed garlic.
Fill the plum halves with the spice mixture.
Dry for 2 minutes at 800 W, open the door, wait 5 minutes. Repeat again.
Place for the third time for 5 minutes, remove the plate and cool for 30 minutes.
Transfer to a clean plate, microwave for 4 minutes, cool for 10 minutes.
Place in a jar, add oil, and refrigerate.

Packing and suitable place

The material of the containers or containers does not matter at all. Prunes themselves are so aromatic that they are not afraid of foreign odors. But other products can become soaked. There is no doubt about it, the fragrant, juicy smell beckons. But bread or buckwheat with a prune aroma is not to everyone’s taste.

The only thing that will kill this magical smell is household chemicals. Therefore, even for a short time, do not leave the fruits in one place next to washing powder or dishwashing detergent.

Read also: Moonshine from apples at home

It is recommended to pack the treat airtight. For example, a glass jar with a tight lid, a metal container with a screw-on lid, or a ceramic pot with a silicone stopper.

plastic bag with zip closure
wooden or birch bark box
cardboard box
canvas or linen bag

More durable materials are subject to heat treatment. They are doused with boiling water and dried, naturally, after thoroughly washing them with hot water and baking soda.

Fragile materials are sprayed with a strong saline solution and dried thoroughly. Then you can apply the prunes and put them away for storage. Prepare the saline solution as follows:

Dissolve 500 g of rock salt in 1 liter of clean drinking water.
Iodized or extra are absolutely not suitable!
Thoroughly soak the inside surfaces of the boxes and drawers.
Fabric bags can be soaked entirely for 2 minutes, then dried thoroughly.

Large stocks of dried fruits can be stored in a specially designated pantry. Of course, if you have it. In this case, you don’t have to worry about packaging, but simply string the fruits on a strong thread. Then all that remains is to hang them like beads on a Christmas tree.

To avoid spoilage of the product, you need to quickly dip the strings with fruits in a weak solution of salt or soda, then dry them thoroughly. Before use, all you have to do is rinse the prunes thoroughly and you can eat.

You can prepare a solution using 2 tbsp per 1 liter of clean water. l. regular table salt or 1 tbsp. l. soda This treatment does not affect the taste of dried plums at all. But it protects well against all kinds of mold bacteria.

All this dancing with solutions and threads is not needed if you have a little dried fruit. But when you have dried three buckets of plums yourself, take this method into use. Because this amount of drying simply won’t fit in the refrigerator or on a shelf in a closet.

Advice. This method is suitable only for those who are sure that moths or ubiquitous bugs will not infest them, because salt will not stop these voracious comrades.