How to dry grapes at home

Raisins are not considered to be one of the most popular and useful dried fruits. It is often added to desserts, drinks, cereals and pastries. However, in industrial production, the raw material used to prepare this product is treated with sulfur dioxide. And this is not safe for our health. After reading today's article, you will learn how to dry grapes in an electric dryer, oven and just in the sun.

Tips for choosing and preparing raw materials

It should be noted that for these purposes it is better to buy grapes without pits. Some experienced housewives recommend giving preference to sultana. This grade is good because it has an increased sugar content. In addition, it is sufficiently fine, which allows to shorten the drying time. It is important that all the fruits are ripe and have no visible damage. It should be noted that from green varieties, brown raisins are obtained, and from dark varieties - black raisins.

Before drying the grapes at home, it must be prepared. To begin with, you need to sort it out by getting rid of all the corrupted berries. You do not need to tear them from the cuttings. In the process of cooking, they will disappear themselves. And this will happen when the fruits are sufficiently dried. Before preparing raisins, the raw materials should be washed in cold water and dipped for a couple of seconds in a boiling soda solution, prepared from the calculation of a half-spoonful of a substance per liter of liquid.

Existing methodologies

To date, there are several different ways to get home raisins. The easiest is drying with an electric dryer. This device for the present day can be purchased at any store that specializes in the sale of household appliances.

Those who for some reason can not afford such a purchase, you can recommend preparing raisins in a conventional oven. True, here you need to be extremely careful not to spoil the product.

Those who are interested in how to dry grapes without using any kind of household appliances, you can advise doing it in the sun. However, this method has one significant drawback. The whole process takes quite a long time.

In the attic

Previously handled and treated with calcareous water, the berries are laid on baking trays, in advance lined with paper. Then they are taken out to the attic and left until the raisins are ready.

During the first five days, a regular change of paper is made and the spoiled fruit is removed. After twenty-two days, the finished product is transferred to clean containers and sent for further storage.

Under direct sunlight

This most primitive method was successfully used by our distant ancestors. However, they can only be used if the weather is dry outside. Raisins prepared in this way will have a matte surface with a wax coating.

Before drying the grapes, put it on a thin layer of paper and put it under the sun's rays. A month later he will make raisins. Since at any time on the street it can rain, it is very important to provide for the possibility to hide the berries under a canopy so that moisture does not get on them.

Accelerated technology

To shorten the time of preparation of raisins, it is enough to know just one small secret. Before drying the grapes, they lower it into a boiling soda solution. Thanks to this little trick, you will not only significantly reduce the time of finding berries under the sun's rays, but will also attenuate the wax attack.

In addition, during this treatment, microscopic cracks form on the surface of the grapes through which air passes and excess moisture evaporates. Berries that have been in a soda solution, washed in running cold water, spread on paper and sent under the sun.

Can I dry the grapes in an electric dryer?

It is this question that interests many modern housewives, who are forced to combine the conduct of the household with the construction of a career. Of course you can! And even necessary. This method saves a lot of time and effort.

From pre-washed bunches, carefully selected whole berries are carefully selected, on which rot and other visible damage are absent. Vines are densely laid on the trays and placed them in the appliance. Then activate the "Drying of fruits and berries" and set the timer for four hours.

After this time, turn off the equipment and give the berries a little to stand. After a couple of hours, you can repeat the procedure. Those who want to understand how to dry grapes in an electric dryer, remember that this is done in several approaches. After a four-hour stay in the appliance on, the berries are left for 120 minutes.

It should be noted that the duration of the process largely depends on the grade, size and consistency of the raw materials used. On average, it is about a day. In the finished product there is no moisture at all. It takes the form of raisins and becomes sticky to the touch.

How to dry the grapes in the oven?

For these purposes, ripe, pitted berries are ideal. They are carefully removed from the brushes, trying not to damage. Then the grapes are dipped into a soda solution for five seconds and laid out in one layer on a metal sieve or baking sheet. After that, they are sent to the oven and held there for ten hours at 90 degrees.

After this time, the temperature is lowered to 70 ° C and continue the process, slightly opening the door.

Having figured out how to dry grapes properly, it should be noted that this will take about twenty hours. Prepared in this way, raisins are sent for three weeks in a cool place or stacked in hermetically sealed wooden boxes.

Alkaline method

To prepare raisins using this technology, you must first make a solution consisting of:

• Twenty grams of potash.
• One liter of water.
• Ten grams of lime.

Then it is poured into a saucepan and sent to the stove. Before drying the grapes, they dip it for ten seconds into a boiling alkaline solution and rinse under cold running water.

If possible, the berries are fumigated with sulfur. And it is desirable to do this where drying will take place. For every four kilograms of grapes, one gram of sulfur is needed. Grapes are hung in the attic or in another shaded and well ventilated room. Under them place trays in which the ready raisins will fall.

Alternative option

In this case, the selected ripe and whole berries are preliminarily alkalized. To prepare the solution, you will need ten liters of water and forty grams of crystalline caustic soda. These ingredients are mixed in one pan and sent to a plate.

Selected grape for a few seconds immersed in boiling liquid, then quickly removed and thoroughly washed in running cold water. After this, the berries are laid out on paper and left to dry. Every three or four days the grape is turned over.

How do the inhabitants of Central Asia?

The indigenous population of the East most often uses the so-called shadow method. Before drying the grapes for raisins, it can not stand in any solutions. The selected berry clusters are hung in special clay buildings, in the walls of which there are frequent holes, which provide good ventilation.

Thanks to this, the fruits are not dampened and constantly blown with fresh air. The dried grapes retain their natural color. It is this technology of drying berries is considered the most correct. Its use allows you to conserve the maximum amount of useful substances contained in them. In some cases grapes are fumigated with sulfur wicks. This makes it possible to extend the shelf life of the raisins.