How to save decorative pumpkins. How to Dry and Harden Ornamental Pumpkins

To preserve the beneficial properties of pumpkin for a long time, make a blank out of it - dried powder. A step-by-step recipe with a photo will help you visualize the process. Video recipe.
Recipe content:

Dried pumpkin is not only tasty, but also a healthy product. Many recipes are prepared from it, but today we will focus on winter preparations. Of all their species, the entire vitamin and mineral composition is preserved as much as possible during drying. Moreover, you can prepare an orange vegetable in this way at home in the oven or in a special electric dryer. Then, in winter, dried pumpkin slices can be consumed as a sweet treat. Well, for those housewives whose household does not eat pumpkin at all in any form, you need to make powder from dried slices. Then it can be added to all kinds of dishes, marinades and sauces. For example, dried and mashed pumpkin powder is added to baked goods to improve the taste and give a beautiful look. It is also put in soups and salads, in meat casseroles, stews and other dishes. Some tips below will help you prepare the workpiece correctly.

• All varieties of pumpkin are suitable for drying, but it is better to take autumn ones with a thick peel, because. they dry faster.
• The orange fruit must be whole, ripe, without spots or spoilage.
• You can cut the peeled fruit from pulp, peel and seeds in different ways: thin slices, like chips, 5 mm thick strips for soups and salads, as well as small cubes.
• For the preparation of pumpkin flour, the cutting method is not important.
• You can blanch the pumpkin slices before drying (hold them in boiling water for 2 minutes). Then the dried pumpkin will retain its bright color as much as possible.
• More pieces of pumpkin can be treated with saline before drying. This workpiece is protected from pests and spoilage.

• Calorie content per 100 g - 41 kcal.
• Servings - 5 kg of fresh pumpkin yields 350 g of dried powder
• Cooking time - 15 minutes of preparatory work, plus time for drying and grinding

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - any quantity

Step-by-step preparation of dried pumpkin powder, recipe with photo:

1. Peel the pumpkin, remove all fibers and clean out the seeds. Wash it and dry it well.

2. Cut the pumpkin into any pieces if you will chop it later. If you do not plan to grind, then choose one of the cutting methods given above in the article.

3. Next, dry the pumpkin. This can be done on a baking sheet in an oven at a temperature of 80 degrees, in the sun or in a special dryer.

4. When the pumpkin becomes dry, all moisture will evaporate from it, and the pieces will be fragile, this indicates the readiness of the workpiece.

5. Dried pumpkin can be stored in sealed packaging in this form. But if you want to grind it, then use a grinder, mortar, food processor, meat grinder.

6. You can grind the pumpkin into large pieces or small pieces into dust. If the goal is to get very fine flour, then after grinding, sift the pumpkin through a fine sieve. Grind those slices that remain in the sieve again and sift again.

from the "solar berry" - pumpkins, yes, yes, berries, as many botanists believe.
For many years, this plant has been studied, it is truly unique, because it contains such a huge complex of vitamins and minerals, like no other. And pumpkin is rightfully considered a champion in terms of the content of nutrients.
Moreover, everything useful is very easily absorbed by the human body, both adults and children.

Moreover, the pumpkin is perfectly stored for a long time, retaining its beneficial properties, but many do not even know that you can cook wonderful things from it. preparations for the winter. A product that is quite affordable, from which you can cook healthy

If you are a big fan of pumpkin, then take a look at these recipes, maybe for a change, you will also want to cook them.

dried pumpkin

This harvesting method perfectly preserves the taste of pumpkin, eat instead of ordinary dried dried fruits, realizing that it is very useful.
Usually such a pumpkin does not lie down for a long time, it is eaten quickly. If you have children in the house, try to cook a pumpkin so that they eat less sweets and chips, but rather dried sweet pumpkin. I know the kids love it.

Dried Pumpkin Recipe. Ripe pumpkin, peel and seeds, cut into small pieces, cubes, slices, approximately 0.5 cm thick.
Cover a baking sheet with baking paper, preheat the oven to 50 - 60 degrees, put the pieces of pumpkin and put in the oven. Dry at this temperature for 6-7 hours. Then increase the temperature to 80 degrees and dry for another 2 hours (you can slightly open the oven).
Tip, if the pumpkin is not sweet enough for your taste, you can make a sweet syrup and dip (blanch) the pumpkin for 1 to 2 minutes, then put it on a wire rack, drain and dry (I recommend doing this).
And, another little tip, to keep the bright color of the pumpkin, you need to blanch it in slightly salted water for 1 - 2 minutes, then dry it slightly on a towel and then dry it.

Now there are drying cabinets on sale, in which it is very convenient to dry any fruits and vegetables, dry herbs, I use just that, very convenient!

Store dried pumpkin in cardboard boxes or cotton bags.

Candied pumpkin.

If you want to get delicious candied fruits, then buy a sweet variety of pumpkin, which has a bright color and smooth flesh.

Peel the pumpkin and remove the seeds, and cut the pulp into small cubes, first try cooking with 1 kg of pumpkin, you will need 1 more lemon, 500 g - 600 g of sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla or cinnamon if desired.
Cut the lemon in half, and then cut into thin slices.

Put the sliced ​​pumpkin into the pan in layers: slices of pumpkin, then slices of lemon, sugar. Get several layers.

Put the pan in a cool place for 12 hours, during which time juice will appear.
Then, put the pan on medium heat, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and boil for 5-6 minutes. Leave to cool for 3-4 hours. Then bring back to a boil and boil. If, after re-cooking, the pumpkin does not become transparent, that is, it is not saturated with syrup, after cooling, boil again.
After another cooling, drain the syrup.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the pumpkin in one row.
Preheat the oven to 120 degrees.
Put the baking sheet in the oven, slightly open the door and dry for 3.5 - 4 hours, from time to time checking the readiness of the pumpkin.

Of course, hot candied fruits are soft, but after cooling, they will be harder.

Put the slightly cooled candied fruits on a large flat plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and let cool completely.
It is better to store candied fruit in a tightly closed glass container.

pumpkin jam

And, of course, pumpkin jam - it's very tasty! It is believed that this is the most common way to harvest pumpkins, and various berries and fruits, such as rowan, apple, orange, are also added to it. When preparing pumpkin jam with the addition of various fruits, they try to maintain the proportion - for one kg of pumpkin - 200 - 250 g. Sugar is usually put on 1 kg of pumpkin - 900 - 1000 g + 1.5 cups of water.
The pumpkin pulp is cut into small pieces, then dipped in boiling water for 4 minutes, then chopped fruits, apples or pears, etc. are added. (at your request).
Syrup is boiled from the above calculation and prepared fruits are poured over it and left overnight.
Then in two stages it is cooked for half an hour, with an interval of 2 - 3 hours. Bring to a boil for the third time, add vanilla or cinnamon, orange zest, pour into jars and twist.

Pumpkin and orange jam

For its preparation it is necessary:

• pumpkin - 1 kg
• water - 1.5 cups
• oranges - 3 pcs
• walnuts - 1 cup
• sugar - 1 kg

Cooking

Squeeze the juice from the oranges and grate the zest. Boil the sugar syrup, dip the pieces of pumpkin into it and cook until half cooked. Add orange juice, zest, nuts and cook until the jam thickens. Arrange hot in prepared jars and close.

Recipe for jam with pumpkin and physalis. It is cooked in the same way, only 0.5 kg of physalis, 1.5 kg of sugar and 1-2 cloves are taken for 1 kg of pumpkin.

And here's the original recipe: Pumpkin and rowan jam
Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 1 kg
• ripe mountain ash - 100-200 g
• sugar - 0.5-1 kg
• water -1/2 cup
• citric acid - 1 tsp
• ginger or cinnamon, which do you like more - 0.5 tsp

Cooking

Dip the peeled and diced pumpkin into sugar syrup and bring to a boil. Boil for half an hour, then add the rowan and cook for another 15 minutes. Pour into jars, close and wrap.

Pumpkin marmalade is cooked in the same way as jam, with the only difference that all the ingredients are ground to a puree.

And, finally, two very interesting, unusual recipes that I learned about recently.

Food supplement- pumpkin powder! This is generally something. Unusual recipe. What is this powder for? To be added to food - to improve and strengthen the body. It is believed that the powder lowers cholesterol, improves bowel function (pure fiber), improves the condition of chronic kidney disease - and this is only a small part of the useful properties. In general, a recipe for those who especially care about their health.

Recipe for pumpkin powder: wash pumpkin, peel; cut into pieces and remove the seeds; cook for 10-20 minutes; grind through a fine sieve; dry at +135°C for only a few minutes. In general, this product is manufactured industrially, and you can buy it. After drying, a yellowish powder with a pleasant sweetish taste is obtained. If you dilute it in water, it will be the usual pumpkin puree.

And another very simple recipe, pumpkin flour, which is obtained by grinding into flour not only pumpkin seeds, but also the shell-peel. At first it seemed to me very “indecent”, and then I realized that this was exactly what was right, because a thin, swamp-colored layer that lines the shell and surrounds the grain itself has healing properties. Now I dry the seeds, and then grind them into flour in a coffee grinder, add them to cereals and salads. I keep it in a glass jar with a glass lid.

Choose your favorite recipe and be sure to include in your diet.
Attention! But people with problems of the stomach, intestines, who have diabetes, should be wary of pumpkin dishes.

Pumpkin has been known since ancient times, and every nation has legends associated with it. Perhaps, there are not so many legends about any fruit or vegetable as about a pumpkin. Many peoples consider it a receptacle of the sun and light. Cambodian legend says that several people were saved in a gourd from the coming Flood. And when it was over, they got out of the pumpkin and planted its seeds. But not plants grew from seeds, but new people who repopulated the Earth. Therefore, the Cambodians revere the pumpkin as an ancestor.

The ancient Slavs believed that the gods hide the sun in a pumpkin with the onset of autumn. That is why the pumpkin becomes so bright golden in autumn, and the sun appears less and less in the sky. In ancient China, it is also believed that the pumpkin helped to repopulate the Earth. During the Great Flood, a little boy and girl hid in a gourd and escaped. It was they who became the progenitors of the whole new humanity. Therefore, all newborns were bathed in ancient China in a font made from a large gourd. And until now, the Chinese consider the pumpkin a powerful talisman that absorbs evil energy. It is hung over the door as a talisman and rattles are made to scare away evil spirits by placing dry beans in them.

A Nigerian legend tells of a certain ruler who, due to his greed, decided to collect all the smart thoughts in a huge pumpkin and become the wisest and richest person in the world. But when he began to hide the pumpkin so that it would not be stolen, it fell and broke. All wisdom has scattered around the world.

Today it is rather difficult to say where the pumpkin originated. Some scientists believe that the pumpkin comes from China, others suggest that it was first cultivated by the Indians of North America. Many nations have preserved myths and legends associated with pumpkin. Unpretentious beautiful pumpkin, which gives large yields, relished in many countries. It is grown in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, India, Australia, Canada and Mexico and in a number of other countries, which indicates the popularity of pumpkin.

The benefits of pumpkin

Both fresh and dried pumpkin for the winter are highly valued for their beneficial qualities. Moreover, if the Isidri dryer is used to dry the pumpkin, then all the vitamins contained in the fresh product will be preserved in the dried one. There is a lot of carotene in the pumpkin. The more cold-resistant variety, the more this provitamin. There are vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, D, PP, E, as well as a very rare vitamin T, which has a serious effect on metabolic processes in the body. There are pectins, magnesium, potassium, copper, cobalt, calcium in the pumpkin. Science has long confirmed that pumpkin is just a pantry of vitamins and minerals necessary for a person.

There is a lot of phosphorus and copper in the pumpkin. And in terms of iron content, it is the leader among vegetables. These trace elements have a positive effect on hematopoietic processes, so pumpkin should be consumed in diseases of the heart muscle, kidneys, high blood pressure, cholelithiasis and obesity. Potassium strengthens the heart and blood vessels, removes swelling. Pumpkin is useful for patients with colitis and enterocolitis, chronic nephritis. Favorably affects vision, helps to preserve youth. Helps to improve the functioning of the nervous system.

Choosing the “right” pumpkin for drying

The drying process helps to concentrate the natural sugars in the pumpkin, making it sweeter and extending the shelf life. Experts advise choosing a pumpkin for drying only table varieties, with yellow flesh, not very large in size, such fruits have better taste, and fewer fibers. The skin of the pumpkin should be firm, smooth, free of blemishes and visible damage. The tail of the pumpkin should be dry, which is an indicator of ripeness.

How to properly dry a pumpkin in an electric dryer: our practical experience

. For drying, we took twenty kilograms of pumpkin.

Each pumpkin was cut into pieces, and then all the particles were carefully peeled, carefully cleaned of seeds and unnecessary fibers.

The pieces were cut into smaller pieces. After peeling the pumpkin, out of twenty kilograms of the product, 13.5 kilograms of peeled pumpkin remained, which accounted for 68% of the total mass. The share of waste accounted for 6.5 kilograms, that is, 32%.

For each tray of the electric dryer, we carefully and evenly distributed approximately 450 grams of grated pumpkin. All of our grated product fit on 30 trays of the electric dryer.

We turned on the device and set the temperature regime to +55 degrees. She helped us to dry the pumpkin qualitatively. In it, the pumpkin was dried for 24 hours at a set temperature. In the room where the device worked, the temperature was +18 degrees.

After the drying process was completed, we carefully removed the trays and shook the pumpkin shavings from the nets. The result was 1.3 kg of dried product.

We placed dried pumpkin in glass jars under vacuum lids.

Dried pumpkin in the Izidri electric dryer turns out to be much tastier than if it were dried on the street or in the oven, besides, it is much less troublesome.

Many housewives store dried pumpkin in paper bags or cloth bags, plastic containers. We recommend vacuum lids, because when using them, the shelf life is significantly increased, and the dried product will be reliably protected from mold.

Preparation of pumpkin powder

Delicious pumpkin can retain all its beneficial properties in powder form. In this case, the horizons of its culinary application are expanding. And also pumpkin powder is perfectly used in cosmetology for various masks.

Before grinding dried pumpkin into powder, it is recommended to dry it additionally. To do this, pour the dried pumpkin shavings from the cans and carefully distribute it among the trays.

The Ezidri vegetable dryer dried the pumpkin for an additional 4 hours at a temperature of +65 degrees.

We grind the dried chips using an electric meat grinder with a “mill” nozzle and sift through a sieve in order to prevent the formation of lumps and the ingress of unground large particles into the powder.

Screened particles that did not pass through the sieve. we again passed through an electric meat grinder and sifted.

The resulting powder was packed in hermetically sealed bags.

Using pumpkin and pumpkin powder in cooking

Dried pumpkin is used in soups, pumpkin "noodles" can be added as a decoration for salads and desserts. And if you grind pumpkin chips into powder, then it is used as a breading for various meat and cereal products, such as meatballs, zraz, meatballs, semolina cutlets, buckwheat or meat.

Pumpkin powder is a necessary product for the nutrition of people engaged in physical and mental labor. It contains a lot of zinc, choline, amino acids that increase brain activity, improve memory and eliminate overwork and nervous tension. And arginine, calcium and phosphorus affect the frequency of muscle contraction, which contributes to an increase in muscle mass growth. Therefore, athletes should include pumpkin powder in their diet.

It can be added to the dough, to fermented milk products to give a beautiful color and delicate aroma. Pumpkin powder is also used as a thickening flavoring additive for cereals, soups, cocktails, sauces, gravies. Baking with the addition of pumpkin powder is saturated with high-grade vegetable protein and at the same time does not get stale for a long time and does not undergo mold much longer. Due to the versatility of the use of the powder, you can create your own pumpkin recipes. And as a stimulation of fantasy, we present several options for dishes.

Appetizer with pumpkin

Boil dried pumpkin shavings in lightly salted water until soft. Then recline in a colander, cool and squeeze. Chop a little. Squeeze the garlic, crush the walnuts. Mix nuts, pumpkin, garlic, salt, add a little wine vinegar, cilantro and dill, capsicum. It makes a very tasty snack.

Interesting "sea" salad

Boil a little pumpkin chips in salted water so that it becomes a little soft, add dried kelp to it to your taste with a little vegetable oil (about half a teaspoon). You can add dried vegetables. Rub the mass with your hands. The salad is ready. It tastes sweet-salty, fishy, ​​and in appearance such a salad looks like dried squid.

In a preheated pan with broth, simmer the chopped leeks until soft. The broth can be taken vegetable, meat, chicken. Add finely chopped garlic clove, dried pumpkin, thyme, pepper, pour another liter of broth, bring everything to a boil. Cook until the pumpkin is soft. Add a few tablespoons of soy sauce, turn off the heat, let the soup brew, cool and beat with a blender until pureed. This soup is served with crackers or with finely chopped young garlic arrows.

Baked fish

Mackerel or cod is cut into fillets, cut into pieces, placed on the bottom of the pan, sprinkled with dry pumpkin shavings so that it completely covers the fish, then with onion rings, and pour dressing. It consists of a glass of kefir, three eggs and salt. The fish is placed in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for half an hour. Served hot.

Quick Salad

Soak pumpkin dried "noodles" for a few minutes to make it soft, then add grated apple, a spoonful of honey and sprinkle with lemon juice. Here is a salad for a quick hand.

Pumpkin is one of the best and most valuable gifts that the summer sunny period gives us. This is a huge storehouse of the most essential vitamins and minerals for our body. And if you are lucky enough to get a big crop of pumpkins, then you should definitely make preparations for the winter, and drying is an ideal option for high-quality preservation of such a solar product. And in winter, during the period of beriberi and colds, it will be enough just to get a jar of dried pumpkin, or a bag of pumpkin powder, prepare a vitamin dish or just add a sunny touch by sprinkling dessert with bright pumpkin powder.

Pumpkin is one of the most useful foods for humans.

An elegant orange vegetable is rich in vitamins C, E, PP, group B, minerals: potassium, calcium, magnesium, as well as fiber and carotene.

In autumn, a healthy vegetable is sold everywhere, but for the winter period it is better to prepare it. The easiest and most convenient harvesting option is to cook pumpkin drying.

An original treat can be served in the form of crispy sweet chips, used in salads, soups, casseroles, meat and fish dishes.

But there are several ways to dry a pumpkin at home: in an oven, an electric dryer, and even in an air grill.

How to prepare a vegetable for drying?

Before proceeding with the harvesting of dried pumpkin itself, you need to properly prepare the vegetable. After all, the taste and quality of the future dish depends on the preliminary preparation.

So, step by step, the process is as follows:

1. Wash the vegetable under running water, washing off the remnants of dust and dirt.
2. Cut the fruit in half.
3. Remove seeds from pumpkin.
4. Cut off the hard skin of the pumpkin.

Attention! It is better not to throw away the seeds, but to dry them, salt them and eat them at the rate of 50 grams per day. Seeds increase immunity, activate brain activity, improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal systems and reduce the risk of tumors.

1. Cut the pumpkin pulp into uniform pieces 3-3.5 cm thick. When dried, the pieces are significantly reduced in size.

After that, you need to process the pumpkin slices in two different ways:

1. Blanching. To maintain a rich color, pumpkin blanks are dipped in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Salt treatment. This method will help protect drying from pests and spoilage.

Prepared pumpkin slices are laid out on paper (cotton) towels and dried naturally, removing excess moisture.

Pumpkin drying in the oven

Before you dry the pumpkin in the oven, you need to provide yourself with free time, as the process lasts up to 8 hours. To get a tasty, beautiful and healthy pumpkin preparation, vegetable slices must be blanched beforehand.

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 1.5 kg
• Water - 2 l
• Salt - 1 tsp

The process of harvesting a healthy vegetable is as follows:

1. Prepared in the manner described above, blanch pumpkin pieces in boiling water with salt for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pumpkin slices from boiling water and put them in cold water with ice cubes for 2 minutes.
2. Transfer the pumpkin slices to a colander and pat dry.
3. Heat the oven to a temperature of 55-65 degrees.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
5. Arrange vegetable pieces in an even layer on a baking sheet at a small distance from each other.
6. Place the baking sheet with the blanks in the oven. Do not close the oven door tightly to allow the moisture to evaporate. Dry the pumpkin for 5 hours.
7. After the time has elapsed, change the temperature mode of cooking by setting the temperature to 80-85 degrees. Dry the vegetable slices for another 2-3 hours.

Attention! Ready dried pumpkin should not stick to your fingers.

1. Cool the fruit blank by removing the baking sheet from the oven.
2. Pour the dryer into cloth bags or glass containers. Put the workpiece in a cabinet for later storage.

Dried pumpkin pulp in the oven

From pumpkin pulp, you can prepare a nutritious and healthy product - dried flour, saturated with fiber and preserving all the minerals and vitamins of the vegetable.

Components:

1. Pumpkin pulp - 3 kg
2. Water - 3 liters.

The cooking algorithm is as follows:

1. Put the prepared pieces of pumpkin pulp into boiling water. Cook vegetable slices for 20 minutes over medium heat.
2. Cool boiled pumpkin and grind with a blender.

Attention! In the absence of a blender, you can rub the pumpkin slices through a sieve.

1. Preheat oven to 130 degrees. Wrap a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Spread pumpkin puree in a thin layer on parchment paper.
3. Place a sheet with pumpkin mass in the oven, detect for 15-20 minutes.
4. After the time has elapsed, remove the workpiece from the oven, cool and grind with your hands or again with a blender to the state of pumpkin powder or flour.
5. Pack the blank in paper bags, cloth bags or glass containers.

You can use the workpiece in soups, salads, fish or meat delicacies as a simple and convenient spice. Pumpkin flour can also be added to pastries, bread or pies.

How to dry a pumpkin in an electric dryer?

Using a special device for drying pumpkins - an electric dryer, you can greatly facilitate the harvesting process. In this case, human intervention in the process itself is minimal. Time and temperature conditions are selected depending on the model of the electric dryer, the thickness of the pumpkin sticks and even the variety of vegetable. Average temperatures are 50-85 degrees.

Ingredients:

• Vegetable - 3 kg
• Water - 3 l
• Salt - 17 g.

The process of preparing dried pumpkin in an electric dryer is as follows:

1. Prepare pumpkin slices for cooking, similarly to the previous recipe, washing, peeling and seeds.
2. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes of the same size.
3. Blanch pumpkin slices in boiling salted water. Cool the pumpkin slices in an ice-cold liquid, and dry them in a colander.
4. Lay the pumpkin cubes on the rack of the electric dryer so that they do not touch each other.
5. Set the drying temperature on the appliance. Dry vegetables until tender.

Attention! At a temperature of 90 degrees, drying takes 4-5 hours. If the temperature regime is set at 50-60 degrees, the drying process itself increases to 12 hours.

1. At the end of the program, cool the dried pumpkin prepared according to this recipe.
2. Pour dried pumpkin pieces into storage containers. Store blanks in a dry, cool and dark place.
   The product is elastic and crispy. In appearance, pumpkin cubes resemble candied fruits.

pumpkin chips

With the help of an electric dryer, you can cook another very tasty treat - pumpkin chips. Lightly salted dried pumpkin slices are a healthy and tasty alternative to store-bought chips. The main condition for cooking is to choose unsweetened pumpkin varieties.

Components:

• Pumpkin - 2 kg
• Salt - 1 tbsp.
• Water - 2 l
• Sesame - 1 tbsp.
• Paprika - 0.5 tsp
• Coriander - 0.5 tsp
• Cumin - 0.5 tsp
• Black pepper - 0.5 tsp

Algorithm for making pumpkin treats:

1. Cut the prepared pumpkin pulp into thin slices 2.5-3 mm thick.
2. Blanch pumpkin slices and cool in ice water.
3. Dry the vegetable slices on a towel.
4. Lay the pumpkin slices on the grate of the electric dryer in an even layer at a small distance from each other.
5. Mix spices and salt in a bowl.
6. Grind the pumpkin slices with spices and sesame seeds.
7. Turn on the dryer, setting the temperature to 60 degrees. Drying time will be 6 hours in this case.
8. After the time has elapsed, increase the drying temperature to 80 degrees. Dry the pumpkin slices at the indicated temperature for another 2 hours.
9. Cool pumpkin blanks, scattering on waffle towels.
10. Transfer the dryer to dry, clean jars. Close the container with lids and put away for storage.

Sweet chips can be prepared in the same way by sprinkling pumpkin preparations to taste with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, sprinkling with citrus juice.

Dried vegetables and fruits are an excellent help in preparing various dishes and enriching the winter diet with vitamins and minerals.

For example, dried pumpkin pulp is very useful, the main thing is to learn how to dry a pumpkin in the oven so that it lasts longer. It can even be crushed into powder, then added to the dough to give the pastry a pleasant ruddy hue, or dried whole - for crafts.

Before drying the pumpkin in the oven, we select the fruits of autumn varieties with thick skin: they dry out faster and turn out tastier. Pumpkins should be intact, not rotten and perfectly ripe. If the drying went well, at the output we get pieces that do not stick to hands and easily bend.

How to dry pumpkin slices in the oven: a recipe without salt

We select good fruits and proceed to their processing and drying:

• We wash the pumpkins.
• Cut off the skin and take out the pulp and seeds.
• Cut the fruits into small cubes or slices.
• We lower the cut into a pot of boiling water for five minutes, and recline it in a colander.
• Preheat the oven to 60°C.
• Arrange pumpkin slices on baking sheets lined with baking paper.
• We send the raw materials to the oven for 4 hours and dry with the door slightly ajar - to evaporate moisture.
• We set the 70-degree mode and continue drying the pumpkin in the oven for another couple of hours.

Cool dried pumpkin and transfer to glass jars. Close them with lids and store in a cool dry place.

Drying pumpkin with salt in the oven

To obtain salted dried pumpkin for use in cooking various dishes, follow this plan:

• We wash, clean and cut the pumpkin into slices: their thickness should not exceed 1 cm.

• Pour ice water into one pan, hot water into another, and boil it. Dissolve salt in boiling water at the rate of 1 tsp. per 2 kg of product.
• Put the cut in a pot of boiling water and blanch for a couple of minutes.
• We shift the pieces into a container with ice water for two minutes.
• Before drying the pumpkin in the oven, we recline it in a colander.
• Preheat the oven to 65 degrees.
• We cover the baking sheets with baking paper and lay out the pumpkin slices at a distance of 1 cm from each other.
• Dry them for 5 hours, opening the door.
• Increases the temperature regime to 80 degrees, and dry the cut for another couple of hours.

When the pumpkin has cooled, put it in glass jars or bags made of natural fabric and store it in a dry, dark place.

How to dry a pumpkin in the oven and make a powder

In cooking, not only pumpkin cubes and slices are used. Having learned how to dry pumpkin slices in the oven, we will find out how to prepare pumpkin powder, which will retain all the useful fiber and trace elements:

• Cut the peeled, seeds and pulp fruits into pieces.
• Cook the cut in boiling water for 20 minutes.
• We throw the boiled product into a colander, cool and grind in a blender to a puree state. If there is no blender, we wipe through a sieve.
• We line the baking sheets with baking paper and spread the puree on them in a thin layer.
• We heat the oven to 130 ° C and dry for 20-30 minutes: you should get a dry layer.

Grind the dry pumpkin mass, pour into jars or paper bags, and store in a dry place. Pumpkin powder adds a beautiful color to baked goods and is great in soups, side dishes, and desserts. If you mix it with warm water, you get a healthy pumpkin puree.

How to dry candied pumpkin in the oven

Excellent candied fruits are obtained from pumpkin pulp - an excellent substitute for harmful sweets. To get a natural pumpkin treat, follow the step-by-step instructions:

• We cut the peeled pumpkin into sticks, whose thickness should not exceed 3 cm.
• We put the sliced ​​\u200b\u200bin an enameled pan and cover it with sugar at the rate of 1 cup per 1 kg of pulp.
• We cover with a dish, put oppression, and keep the dish in the refrigerator for 8 hours.
• Drain the juice into a jar to make syrup from it later.
• Again, we fall asleep cutting with sugar and place under pressure in the refrigerator for 10 hours.
• We take out the pumpkin pieces, pour the juice from the jar into the pan and boil for 10 minutes, adding sugar to your taste.
• Add pumpkin bars and simmer for another 10 minutes, without letting the liquid boil.
• We discard future candied fruits in a colander, roll the delicious syrup into jars.

Next, lay out the pieces on baking sheets lined with paper and dry at 65 degrees in the same way as when drying pumpkins with salt. After we roll the candied fruit in powdered sugar, put it in jars and store it at room conditions or in the refrigerator.

Pumpkins are not only used to make delicious delicacies, but also interesting thematic or interior crafts. Having figured out how to dry candied pumpkin in the oven, we will learn how to dry a whole pumpkin for future crafts.

Not every fruit is suitable for this, but only small, decorative varieties with pronounced bulges, healthy and intact, with stalks and a very hard surface.

Preparing a Whole Pumpkin for Drying

• We wash the fruit to remove all impurities, and wipe it dry, eliminating unnecessary moisture.
• We keep it for an hour in a dry, darkened corner.
• Wipe again with a dry cloth.
• Again we send for an hour to a dry dark place.

As soon as the surface of the fruit is completely dry, you can start drying the pumpkin in the oven.

Drying pumpkin

Drying a whole pumpkin in the oven is not an easy task, but doable, the main thing is to follow the instructions clearly:

• Preheat the oven to 60 degrees.
• Lay out baking paper on a baking sheet.
• We put the prepared fruit on paper and send it to the oven.
• Turn the pumpkin regularly to dry all sides.

Whole pumpkins dry for about 8 hours, but they can dry out earlier: the larger the fruit, the longer the drying time. After we stopped drying the pumpkin in the oven for future crafts, we take it out and cool it at room conditions.

How to store dried pumpkin

Now it’s clear how to dry pumpkin in ovens in different ways for different purposes. And in order to keep the pumpkin slices longer, we put dry paper on the bottom of the storage containers and on top of the pumpkin slices: if moisture suddenly appears in the jars, the paper sheets will absorb it.

The optimum storage temperature for dry crops is 10-15 degrees, the humidity level is not more than 55%.