If the peach harvest is richer, you can process it in many ways. You can also dry them to increase their shelf life.
Fruit can be preserved in various ways. One of them is dehydration. In the days of our grandparents, it was still taken for granted that fruit was dried so that it could be enjoyed during the cold season. For example, apple rings were threaded onto a thin thread and dried until they wrinkled. Fruits were also laid out on cotton cloths to preserve them by drying them.
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For a long time, this type of preservation was almost forgotten. But he althy and natural nutrition is becoming more important to many people again, so that drying fruit is finding more and more supporters again. Just try it yourself and convince yourself of the delicious taste of dried peaches, for example.
Requirements for drying peaches
There are several ways you can dehydrate fruit. Of course, the easiest way is with a special dehydrator, but it is only worth buying if you want to carry out this form of preservation permanently. But you don't necessarily need such a device. Peaches can also be air dried and dried in the oven. It's quicker in the oven, but the slower the fruit dries, the more valuable vitamins it contains. So there is an advantage to air drying as well.
In order for dehydration to be successful, however, it is very important that you meet a few requirements. For example, only flawless and ripe fruits are suitable for drying. The peaches must not have bruises and you should certainly not use fallen fruit for them. Only ripe peaches have the full aroma and are really sweet. If the fruit is not fully ripe, it may taste bland after drying.
Blanch peaches before drying
Peaches usually lose their beautiful color as a result of drying, and the taste and vitamin C content also suffer as a result. For this reason shouldBlanch the fruit in syrup before drying. To do this, you need to mix water, sugar and beet syrup in a ratio of 6:3:2 and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.
After bringing the liquid to a boil, add the peaches and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Then rinse the peaches, peel, remove the stone and cut into slices about one centimeter thick. You then have two options for drying peaches.
2 Ways to Dehydrate Peaches
Option 1 - Air dry peaches:
A simple and energy-saving method is to dry the fruit in the sun. But for this, the temperature must be constantly between 25 and 30 degrees. In addition, it must be sunny and dry. So you need a high in the summer that lasts a few days and doesn't involve high humidity. Sheltered spots on the terrace or balcony are then best for drying, for example.
Place the peach slices on a wire rack. The individual panes must not touch each other. Then place this grating outdoors in an airy spot. Best in semi-shade, because the sun could have a negative effect on the aroma. During the drying process you should cover the fruit with a fly screen and turn it over from time to time.
Option 2 - Dry peaches in the oven:
When drying in the oven, you are completely independent of the weather. Place the slices on several wire racks and set the oven to a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. It is best to leave the oven door wide open so that any moisture that forms can escape unhindered. To ensure that the peaches dry evenly, you should rearrange the grids every two hours and turn the fruit slices at the same time.