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health food |
When
it comes to eating healthy, nothing is better for you than fruits and
vegetables. For most people, nothing tastes better than ripe produce. In the
grocery store, however, not all produce is ripe - nor does it taste ripe. If you
really want good tasting produce, think locally. If you can't grow it yourself,
consider purchasing your produce at your local farmers market. Even if you have
to take a road trip, locally grown produce will not only cost less, it always
tastes better. Produce that is shipped is often picked before its ripe, thus
sacrificing flavor and nutrients. Locally grown produce, however, is picked ripe
- and is generally grown without the heavy use of pesticides used by the
agriculture industry. Like we always say, organic produce tastes better and is
better.
If you want
to enjoy your locally grown produce throughout the year, you should consider
buying large amounts and properly storing them for later use. Whether by cool
storage, freezing, drying or pickling or canning, you can be eating your
favorite fruits and vegetables no matter the time of year. Dried fruits and
vegetables make for great snacks, not to mention the fact that they taste great
and retain all of their healthy properties. While you can use a dehydrator to
prepare dried fruits and vegetables, you can also use natural sunlight or your
oven.
Natural sun
drying is done by placing slices of produce on trays and covering with
cheesecloth or fine netting. While sitting in the sun on a day with at least 90
degree temperatures and less than 60% humidity, keep a fan blowing on the tray
to promote air circulation and turn the produce slices over at least once during
the drying process. Depending on the type of fruit or vegetable, drying times
will vary. Apples generally take one-and-a-half to two days in the sun, apricots
take from one to two days, figs take from two to four days, seedless grapes
and peaches take from one-and-a-half to three days, and pears take at least
three days. Fruits are done drying when all moisture is gone and they turn
chewy. Vegetables are done when they become brittle. Oven drying times at 140
degrees with the oven door slightly cracked a fan blowing air across the door,
are generally two to four times shorter than sun drying.
Apricots are an
exception, which have to be blanched first in hot water (for both sun and oven
drying) and take about the same amount of time to dry for both methods.
Remember
that drying times are always kept to a minimum when slicing the produce. In
addition to the texture of the produce, a good way to tell if it is fully dried
is by cutting into the produce. If no moisture is present, the dehydration
process is complete.
Author: Ry
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