Sunday, January 11, 2015 00:50 + to quote book

Well, these are not such secrets! However, many have no idea that pumpkin can be stored not only in its whole form, but consumed as needed. Pumpkin can be canned. Moreover, there are many ways to preserve and increase its taste. To be honest, we do not practice canning pumpkin. But I have repeatedly tried preparations from friends and acquaintances. It's really very tasty. So, recipes to the studio! But first...

Of course, first of all, housewives prepare products that, for some reason, cannot be stored for a long time. For example, fruits with skin damaged by impact or a “tail” broken off at the root. It is important that the pumpkin is ripe, otherwise the taste of the preparation will be unimportant. In general, there are no other mandatory conditions for selection.

Pros of the recipe: the taste is preserved. You can eat it instead of regular dried fruits, knowing for sure that the product contains only one benefit. It is usually eaten very quickly; It is especially good to use as a light snack while traveling. I know a woman who dries a lot of pumpkins and takes them to the city for her little grandson. So that he doesn’t eat chips and candy, but sweet dried pumpkin.

Dried pumpkin recipe... one of:

• Remove skin and seeds from well-ripened table pumpkin;
• cut into small slices (about half a centimeter thick);
• to improve color, you can blanch for 1-2 minutes in boiling, lightly salted water, then quickly cool in cold water and dry in a sieve;
• then put it on a baking sheet and put it in the oven, where the pumpkin will dry at a temperature of +55...+60°C for 5-7 hours!
• and then dry for another 2 hours at a temperature of +70...+80°C;
• Store the finished product in closed boxes or other containers.

Not bad, right?.. 5-7 hours of preparation... But tasty. I ate it!)) True, dried not in the oven, but in a Russian oven. And the recipe there was slightly different: the pumpkin was first steamed a little and then dried. It turns out very tasty. The texture is dense, a kind of hard chewing gum... You chew it, chew it, it gradually melts... A tasty thing. In general, there are many similar recipes, here’s another one:

• cut pumpkin of any dessert variety into cubes 3 by 3 cm;
• keep it in the air a little, then in the sun - the pieces will become limp;
• preheat the oven to +60 degrees;
• Place the pieces on a tray and dry (with the door open!)
• try;
• when ready, sprinkle with powdered sugar;
• store in paper bags.

Nutritional supplement - pumpkin powder!

This is actually something. I'll tell you an unusual recipe. What is this powder for? To add to food - to heal and strengthen the body. It is believed that the powder lowers cholesterol levels, improves intestinal function (fiber in its pure form), improves the condition of chronic kidney diseases - and this is only a small part of the beneficial properties)). In general, a recipe for those who are especially concerned about their health.

Recipe for making pumpkin powder:

• wash the pumpkin, remove the skin;
• cut into pieces and remove seeds;
• cook for 10-20 minutes;
• grind through a fine sieve;
• dry at +135°C for just a few minutes.

In general, this product is manufactured industrially and can be purchased. After drying, a yellowish powder with a pleasant sweetish taste is obtained. If you dilute it in water, it will be regular pumpkin puree.

This is closer to the usual recipes. So:

• wash the pumpkin, remove the skin and remove the seeds;
• cut the pulp into cubes;
• prepare sugar syrup: 1200 g sugar, vanillin and 1 lemon (3 g citric acid) per 200 g water;
• pour the pumpkin with syrup and cook for 5 minutes;
• then keep the pumpkin in syrup for another 6-8 hours;
• bring to a boil again, cook for 3-5 minutes;
• insist again, this time until 12 o’clock;
• Place on a sieve, dry and sprinkle with granulated sugar, or better yet, with powder.

This delicacy should be stored in closed glass jars.

You can make puree with apples or plums. The recipe consists of several steps:

• Peel and seed pumpkins and apples;
• pass them through a meat grinder;
• add sugar at the rate of 4 tablespoons of sugar per 1 kg of pumpkin and 0.5 kg of apples;
• cook over low heat for 2 hours;
• at the very end of cooking, add 1 teaspoon of citric acid to the puree (at the same proportions);
• When hot, place into jars and close.

If you make puree with plums, the recipe is slightly different. We take pumpkin and plum in equal proportions, peel and cut them, boil them in a small amount of water until soft, then grind them through a sieve or grind them in a blender. Then the puree needs to be brought to a boil and poured into jars.

There are a lot of recipes for pickling pumpkin. One of them requires the following ingredients:

• water - 1l;
• vinegar 9% - 80 ml;
• salt - 30 g;
• sugar - 20 g;
• bay leaf, black pepper, cinnamon and cloves;
• and, of course, pumpkin.

Peel the pumpkin and cut into cubes, then scald and cool. Place pumpkin, spices in prepared jars and fill with marinade. In general, like ordinary cucumbers. Who tried it? I'm interested in your opinion. We have a lot of pumpkins, so I thought maybe I could do this for a change? Otherwise it’s all cucumbers and cucumbers...

And I was also interested in this one pickled pumpkin recipe.

It requires:

• water - 5 l;
• crushed (here you go again)) - 20 g;
• celery leaves - 25 g;
• dill greens - 50 g;
• bay leaf - 2-3 pieces;
• hot pepper pod - 1 pc.;
• vinegar - 200 g;
• salt - 250 g;
• pumpkin - 3-4 large pieces.

Preparation: cut the peeled pumpkin into cubes and blanch in boiling water for 5 minutes, then cool and place in sterilized jars. Pour in the marinade and sterilize in jars at a water temperature of +85ºС for about half an hour (for a 3-liter jar). All.

Which recipe did you like best?

Delicious appetizer of pumpkin and green beans

My mouth is already watering... This salad requires the following ingredients:

• pumpkin - 2 kg;
• green beans - 1 kg;
• tomatoes - 1 kg;
• sweet pepper - 0.5 kg;
• vegetable oil - 300 g;
• garlic - 150 g;
• sugar - 200 g;
• salt - 50 g;
• dill greens;
• vinegar - 100 g.

Preparation: cut the beans into sticks, the pepper into half rings, and the pumpkin into cubes. Tomatoes and garlic need to be passed through a meat grinder or, which is easier, chopped with a blender. Add sugar, salt, oil and vinegar to the mixture. Dip all the chopped vegetables, as well as dill, into it and put on fire. Cook, stirring, for 40-50 minutes. Place into sterilized jars.

It must be quite a tasty thing. What does she need? Write down:

• pumpkin, green beans, tomatoes, apples and sweet peppers - all 1 kg;
• onion - 0.5 kg;
• sugar - 0.3 kg;
• salt - 50 g;
• vinegar - 50 g.

Preparation: peel all vegetables and pass them through a meat grinder separately, chop the onion. Then take a basin, pour oil into it and sauté the onion for 10 minutes. Add pumpkin and tomatoes, salt and sugar and bring to a boil. Then put all the other vegetables there. Cook everything together for 1 hour over medium heat. Add spices to taste and cook for another 10 minutes. Place in jars and seal.

Exactly from one pumpkin! But with seasonings. Ingredients:

• pumpkin - 1 piece, medium size;
• onion - 2 pcs;
• vinegar - 600 g;
• water - 300g;
• sugar - 100 g;
• salt - 30 g;
• black and allspice peas - 5 and 3 pcs;
• mustard seeds - 1 tsp;
• bay leaf - 2 pcs;
• cloves - 2 pcs.

Preparation: Peel and cut the pumpkin, sprinkle with salt and leave for a day. Prepare the marinade: mix all other ingredients and heat until sugar and salt dissolve, cool. The next day, put the pumpkin in jars and fill it with marinade. Cold! Sterilize jars for 1 hour in boiling water. And we roll up.

You need: medium-sized pumpkin, 1 liter of juice and 200 g of sugar.

Preparation: peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes, pour boiling juice and sugar over it. If desired, you can add a little ginger or cardamom. Let the pumpkin soak in the juice until it cools completely. Then put it on the fire and cook for 20 minutes, after which we put it in sterilized jars and roll it up. For this recipe, you can use some other juice, the main thing is not too sour.

This is the simplest recipe. For jam you need the following ingredients:

• pumpkin - 1 kg;
• sugar - 1 kg;
• water - 400 ml;
• vanillin - to taste, you can do without it at all.

Preparation: Cut the peeled pumpkin into cubes and blanch for 5 minutes. The size of the cubes is up to 3 cm. Pour boiling syrup and leave overnight. In the morning, cook for 20-30 minutes and remove from heat again for 2 hours. And finally, cook until done. How to determine readiness? The pumpkin pieces become transparent. At the very end, add vanillin (optional). And all that remains is to put it into jars.

It must be delicious. I ate zucchini jam, but I didn’t get anything from pumpkin. By the way, you can add pears or apples to this jam. The cooking process is similar.

I was also interested in this recipe:

To prepare it you need:

• pumpkin - 1 kg;
• water - 1 l;
• oranges - 3 pcs;
• walnuts - 1 cup.

Preparation: Squeeze the juice from the oranges and grate the zest. Boil sugar syrup, dip pumpkin pieces into it and cook until half cooked. Add orange juice, zest, nuts and cook until the jam thickens. Place while hot into prepared jars and close. I think it's delicious. I’ll try to cook it in a small amount, then I’ll share my impressions. And it’s not difficult, which is a plus.

By the way, somewhere I even saw a recipe for jam with pumpkin and physalis. It is cooked in the same way, only for 1 kg of pumpkin you take 0.5 kg of physalis, 1.5 kg of sugar and 1-2 cloves. Here's another original recipe:

Ingredients:

• pumpkin - 1 kg;
• ripe rowan - 100-200 g;
• sugar - 0.5-1 kg;
• water - half a glass;
• citric acid - 1 tsp;
• ginger or cinnamon, whichever you prefer - 0.5 tsp.

Preparation: Place peeled and diced pumpkin in sugar syrup and bring to a boil. Cook for half an hour, then add rowan and cook for another 15 minutes. Pour into jars, close and wrap =)

It is cooked in the same way as jam, the only difference being that all the ingredients are crushed to a puree.

These are the delicious and fairly simple recipes with which you can prepare pumpkin for the winter.

Additions from (Vera)

I have a juicer. I put peeled, cut into pieces pumpkin in it, sprinkle granulated sugar on top with a spoon and put it on the fire for about forty minutes. The juice will separate and drain. I either use it straight into soup or roll it into small jars, so it’s immediately sterile. The juice is light yellow transparent.

I immediately put what was steamed in the juicer into jars and roll it up. I don't add sugar. In winter, pumpkin will be very sweet even without it.

I have a vegetable dehydrator . You can dry both beets and carrots in it. And I also came up with a pumpkin. But not just any variety of fruit can be blanched for softness. You need dense pumpkins that require a long cooking time, but I usually grow Russian pumpkins. That’s why I just scald it with boiling water right in the sink. But I don’t regret boiling water; I heat a bucket of water for 3 kilograms of pumpkin until it boils. By the time it all comes out of the wash, the pieces will become a little softer. Then immediately into the centrifuge for drying and you can cut.

I cut it into thin and long noodles. I dry it at 60 degrees. I can’t tell you the time, I didn’t notice, but no longer than it takes carrots or beets to dry. In winter it makes an interesting sauce for sweet dishes. I add it to any jam for pies.

But I like it better dried pumpkin . The processing is usual: washing, drying, peeling, cutting into strips of approximately this size: 5x2.5x2.5 cm.

But then you need to remove the juice from it. To do this, I simply sprinkle it with a small amount of sugar and leave it for almost a day, then sprinkle it with sugar again and again for 12-15 hours. Only about 200-300 grams of sugar are needed per kilogram of pumpkin. I have pumpkin dishes in my pantry.

The juice can be turned into syrup and rolled into a jar. But the pumpkin itself must now be soaked in sugar syrup. The proportion is approximately this: you need 250 grams of sugar, about 300 milliliters of water per kilogram of pumpkin.

The pumpkin is heated in this syrup for no more than 10 minutes, but not brought to a boil; I think the temperature is about eighty degrees.

Then remove the syrup, easily spin the pumpkin through a centrifuge so as not to mix it into the puree, and into the dryer. First, at the maximum temperature the dryer is capable of, for about half an hour, and then dry it, lowering the temperature slightly. But you need to dry it with a short break so that the slices have time to cool, again for half an hour. And the final process at a temperature of 30 degrees takes 5, maybe 6 hours. You need to look at the moisture content of the strips.

It cannot be sealed immediately. It is necessary for the pumpkin to stand in the basin for a few more days.

The syrup can be used to warm the pumpkin several times, it turns out very fragrant. It can also be sealed in jars.

And another very simple recipe that I came up with when a friend from Kaluga sent me pumpkin flour. A manufacturer from Veliky Novgorod decided not to bother with shelling the seeds and ground not only the seed, but also the shell into flour.
At first this seemed very “indecent” to me, but then I realized that this is exactly what is correct, because the 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 mill. I simply store it in a glass jar under a glass lid.candied fruits

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from the “sunny berry” - pumpkin, yes, yes, exactly berries, many botanists think so.
For many years now they have been studying this plant, which 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 its content of nutrients.
Moreover, everything useful is very easily absorbed by the human body, both adults and children.

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

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

Dried pumpkin

This method of preparation perfectly preserves the taste of pumpkin; eat it instead of regular dried fruits, realizing that it is very healthy.
Typically, such a pumpkin does not sit around for a long time and is eaten quickly. If you have children in the house, try preparing pumpkin so that they eat less candy and chips, but rather dried sweet pumpkin. I know that children really like it.

Dried pumpkin recipe. Peel the ripened pumpkin from the skin and seeds, cut into small pieces, cubes, slices, approximately 0.5 cm thick.
Cover a baking tray with baking paper, preheat the oven to 50 - 60 degrees, lay out the pumpkin pieces and place 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 open the oven slightly).
Tip, if the pumpkin is not sweet enough for your taste, you can prepare a sweet syrup and dip (blanch) the pumpkin for 1 - 2 minutes, then place it on a wire rack, drain and then dry (I recommend doing just that).
And, another little tip, to preserve the bright color of the pumpkin, you need to blanch it in slightly salted water for 1 - 2 minutes, then lightly dry it 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 exactly this one, it is very convenient!

Dried pumpkin should be stored in cardboard boxes or cotton bags.

Candied pumpkin.

If you want delicious candied fruits, then buy a sweet variety of pumpkin that 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 as desired.
Cut the lemon in half and then cut into thin slices.

Place the chopped pumpkin in a saucepan in layers: pumpkin pieces, then lemon slices, sugar. You will get several layers.

Place the pan in a cool place for 12 hours, during which time the juice will appear.
Then, place the pan over medium heat, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Leave to cool for 3 – 4 hours. Then bring to a boil again and cook. If, after repeated cooking, the pumpkin does not become transparent, that is, it is not saturated with syrup, after cooling, boil it again.
After cooling again, drain the syrup.
Line a baking tray with baking paper and place the pumpkin in one row.
Preheat the oven to 120 degrees.
Place the baking sheet in the oven, open the door slightly and dry for 3.5 - 4 hours, checking the pumpkin for doneness from time to time.

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

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

Pumpkin jam

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

Pumpkin and orange jam

To prepare it you need:

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

Preparation

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

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

Here's another original recipe: Pumpkin and rowan jam
Ingredients:

• Pumpkin - 1 kg
• ripe rowan - 100-200 g
• sugar - 0.5-1 kg
• water -1/2 cup
• citric acid - 1 tsp.
• ginger or cinnamon, whichever you prefer - 0.5 tsp

Preparation

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

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

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

Food supplement- pumpkin powder! This is actually something. Unusual recipe. What is this powder for? To add to food - to heal and strengthen the body. It is believed that the powder lowers cholesterol levels, improves intestinal function (fiber in its pure form), improves the condition of chronic kidney diseases - and this is only a small part of the beneficial properties. In general, a recipe for those who are especially concerned about their health.

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

And one more very simple recipe, pumpkin flour, which is obtained by grinding not only pumpkin seeds into flour, but also the shell-peel. At first this seemed very “indecent” to me, but then I realized that this is exactly what is correct, because the 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 and add them to porridges and salads. I simply store it in a glass jar under a glass lid.

Choose the recipe you like and be sure to include it in your diet.
Attention! But people with stomach and intestinal problems, and those with diabetes, need to be careful about pumpkin dishes.

Preparing vegetables for the winter is an integral culinary stage in the life of every housewife; Those who are especially experienced know that there are different types of preparations - both canned and dried. The topic of our article will be the preparation of dried fruits, and to be more precise, we will talk about all the intricacies of how to dry pumpkin in an electric dryer.

This autumn vegetable, containing a large amount of useful substances, is a frequent guest in the usual menu of the citizens of our country. This is understandable, because you can use it to make a lot of delicious dishes that will only benefit our health.

Why do you need to dry pumpkin?

This is a completely natural and logical question, because you can store the pumpkin whole and nothing will happen to it. All this is true, but drying is not a useless exercise. Two facts can be cited as weighty arguments in its favor:

1. Dried pumpkin contains much more natural sugar than regular pumpkin. This makes the fruit much sweeter.
2. Drying also extends the shelf life, since we all know that drying can last for more than a year, but fresh pumpkin is unlikely to be able to withstand that long without spoiling, even if you keep it in ideal conditions for preservation.

How to choose the right pumpkin fruit for drying

This issue is quite simple. If you listen to our practical advice and purchase exactly the vegetable we recommend, then consider that your drying is 90% successful.

So, what should a pumpkin be like for drying:

• Vegetables should definitely be taken only of the table variety.
• The fruit should not be very large in size.

• The pulp should have a beautiful yellow color, and the peel should be firm and smooth without any damage or stains.
• And, of course, the pumpkin should have a dry tail - this is a clear and main sign of the ripeness of the fruit.

How to dry pumpkin in an electric dryer the classic way

Having talked about the need for drying and choosing a product for it, you can get straight to the point. If you have never dried a pumpkin fruit before or done it using other household appliances other than a dryer, then let’s say that there is nothing complicated about it.

This process is a little protracted, but not as much as it happens when drying in the open air. So the advantages are obvious, all that remains is to proceed step by step.

How to dry pumpkin in an electric dryer step by step at home

• First of all, wash the pumpkin thoroughly, then wipe it dry or allow time to dry naturally.
• Now the washed dry pumpkin needs to be peeled from the stalk and skin with a sharpened strong knife.

If the peel is too hard, then you need to first cut the vegetable in half, and then divide it into several smaller slices. This will make cleaning them much easier.

• We remove all seeds from the fruit. If desired, you can dry them in the oven, and then click them while watching your favorite movie.
• Cut the completely peeled pumpkin into equal length slices. Their thickness should be no more than 1 cm.
• Boil water in a saucepan, add salt to taste, then add our pumpkin pieces to the boiling water. We boil them for 1-2 minutes, after which we remove them from the hot water with a slotted spoon and transfer them to ice water for the same amount of time as the cooking took - 1-2 minutes. Prepare a bowl of chilling water in advance, while the pumpkin is still blanching in boiling water.
• Transfer the pumpkin pieces from cold water to a towel made of natural material and give them time to get rid of excess moisture.
• Now that the pieces have dried, place them on mesh trays designed for drying vegetables, at a minimum distance from each other. But you shouldn’t put the pieces very close.

• We set the electric dryer to a moderate mode and dry the natural product for 3-4 hours with the lid slightly raised. Drying occurs until complete readiness. From time to time the pieces need to be stirred so that they do not stick to the tray.

The total drying time may differ for each of you - a lot depends on the size of the pieces and on the household appliances themselves. But if the pieces have become 1.5-2 times smaller, this is a sure sign that they are completely ready.

How to deliciously dry pumpkin with sugar syrup in an electric dryer

This recipe is absolutely suitable for lovers of candied fruits, because the pumpkin will be sweet after drying. And all because we will cook it in sugar syrup before drying.

You can easily use this drying in desserts and baked goods. Believe me, with such a sweet addition, your pies and fruit and berry desserts will, without a doubt, be eaten by even the most capricious gourmets.

Ingredients

• Water – 1 l;
• Sugar – 3-4 tbsp. l.;
• Pumpkin - quantity at your discretion.

Drying sweet pumpkin in an electric dryer according to a simple recipe

1. Wash fresh ripe vegetables in water, remove peel and seeds.
2. Cut the pumpkin pulp into not very large cubes, preferably medium size.
3. Mix sugar with water, bring the mixture to a boil, then throw the pumpkin pieces into boiling water and blanch them for about 4 minutes.
4. After the specified time, place the vegetable on a sieve and leave for a while to allow the remaining syrup to drain.
5. Place the blanched pumpkin parts on a tray and turn on the maximum temperature setting in the dryer. As soon as you see that the pumpkin has begun to dry out, immediately lower the temperature to 65° Celsius. Next, dry until ready.

How to tell if the pumpkin is ready (dry enough)

The most important thing in this matter is not to overdo it with the degree of drying. Therefore, when you read “dry until done,” this means that you need to achieve the level of drying when the pieces are still a little soft and flexible, but no longer stick to your fingers.

If you chew a piece for a long time, you should feel like the pumpkin is melting in your mouth. Its taste will definitely be sweet.

If the pumpkin cubes are sticky and wet, it means they are not completely dry. Leave them for a certain time until they reach the desired condition.

In general, you can dry pumpkin not only in a vegetable and fruit dryer, but also in an oven, convection oven, and even in a regular oven. Preparing vegetables and the drying process itself in different culinary devices is no different, only the time can be different. The ideal temperature for drying is +50-85 °C.

How to store dried pumpkin

There are several options for storing dried pumpkin, but the best are:

1. Storage in vacuum plastic containers.
2. Self-sealing bags with Velcro at the top.

You can also use bags made from natural fabric or paper bags, but this is not as reliable as the 2 methods described above.

Now you know how to dry pumpkin in an electric dryer. This is very simple and accessible to each of you, if, of course, you have such household appliances. But even if not, you can always find a worthy replacement for it, fortunately, there are plenty of alternative options.

Use any of our methods - each of them can be easily implemented at home. You can do everything, and the result will definitely not disappoint, because the “sunny beauty” (pumpkin) was literally created to bring benefit and joy to people.

From our article you will learn about several ways to dry pumpkin in the oven, while preserving its benefits and enriching its taste. With this cooking option, fragrant, tender, melt-in-your-mouth slices are obtained much faster than if we decided to dry them in the open air.

Let’s not dwell now on why you need to prepare pumpkin for the winter - its effect on the body is so complex and positive that it can only be compared with regularly taking multivitamins.

And skillfully prepared candied fruits can replace useless chewing marmalade and harmful candies.

Let's make a delicious do-it-yourself vitamin for children and adults!

Preparing pumpkin for drying in the oven

Variety selection

In order to dry melons for the winter, mid- and late-ripening varieties are suitable. Hard-bark pumpkins have the most delicious pulp, which is not so susceptible to rotting and will be stored much longer than forage varieties.

Muscat and table ones are also suitable - they are easier to clean and cut. It will be easier to cut them into slices, and their taste is not inferior to their winter “colleagues”.

Slicing

Wash the pumpkin well; if it is very dirty, use a brush or sponge. Then use a large sharp knife to divide it into halves, remove the stem and scrape out the seeds. They can also be dried - they are tasty and healthy even without adding salt, spices or sugar.

Cut into smaller pieces and peel, leaving the pulp.

For drying in the oven, it is better to cut slices of approximately 6 by 2 cm, since the pumpkin contains a lot of moisture, and during drying it decreases significantly in size.

How to dry pumpkin slices in the oven step by step

So, in front of us in a deep plate lies a whole mountain of sunny orange slices, which need to be kept as bright as after drying. This can be done through blanching. This process also further increases the shelf life of the slices and prevents mold.

Step 1: Blanching

• While the oven is heating up to 70°C, pour boiling water into a deep saucepan so that part of the prepared pulp fits there.
• We put it on the fire and, as soon as the water boils again, put the chopped pumpkin in it.
• We time it for exactly two minutes, after the time has elapsed, we catch the slices with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer them to another pan with ice water. This procedure will help to quickly cool the pieces and prevent them from cooking.

When all the pumpkin is blanched, move on to the next step.

Step 2. Oven drying stage one

On a large baking sheet or two - it all depends on the amount of pulp, spread baking paper and lay out the slices in one layer. We try to leave a distance between them, otherwise the edges will stick together during drying.

Place full baking sheets on the middle and/or lower level and leave for two to two and a half hours. If the process is taking place in an electric oven with airflow and ventilation, it is not necessary to open the door slightly, but if it is a regular oven in a gas stove, leave a crack to allow the moisture to evaporate, this will speed up drying.

Step 3. Oven drying stage two

After two hours, stir the slices and set the temperature to 90°C. Now we check in every 30 minutes. It will take about a couple more hours.

Checking readiness; the slices are sticky, so we keep them for another 40 minutes, they are pliable, but not hard - hurray! - you can get it.

Let the finished dried pumpkin cool in the fresh air; to do this, simply leave it at room temperature.

We store the slices in plastic or paper bags or containers with loose lids. Do not seal them tightly, as this will interfere with ventilation and may cause the appearance of first a musty smell and then mold.

This is how a regular pumpkin is prepared, but candied fruits are made in a slightly different way.

How to properly dry candied pumpkin in the oven

Slicing

Wash the pumpkin, cut it and remove the seeds, as in the previous method, but we cut it differently. We need cubes of the same size, 3 by 3 cm, as much as possible.

We won’t blanch them, so we’ll immediately pour them into a deep saucepan.

Sugaring

• Add granulated sugar to the slices at the rate of 200g/kg pumpkin.
• Stir, press with pressure - another pan filled with water will do - place it on a plate. And we leave the structure for 15 hours. For example, we’ll do it late in the evening of one day and in the morning of the next we can start on another stage.
• We pour the resulting juice into a separate container and save it, pour in another portion of sugar, stir and leave again under the same pressure for a slightly shorter time - 12 hours. Done in the evening - ready in the morning!
• Drain the liquid a second time and, while the pumpkin is resting and the oven is already warming up to 70°C, cook syrup from both portions of juice in a saucepan, after adding another 100g of sugar.
• Immerse the slices in portions in syrup, keep at high temperature, but without bringing to a boil for 10-15 minutes (each portion) and place in a colander.

Now that the candied pumpkin is ready, dry them in the same way as described above. Lay out in an even layer on lined baking sheets at 70°C for 2 hours, and then at 90°C for the same time or a little longer.

But what if we need a pumpkin not for food, but for handicrafts? Then she needs to be treated completely differently!

How to dry pumpkin for crafts in the oven

Depending on the form in which the melon is needed - pieces or whole, we will cut it or not, but for now we will get down to preparation.

Choosing pumpkins for crafts

In this case, we will focus not on the taste of the pulp, but on the exterior and size. Since we don’t have to make a carriage out of it, at least not life-size, we select the smallest pumpkins. They will dry faster than their larger counterparts, and the likelihood of mold and mildew appearing in them will be minimized.

In addition, there must be a stalk - this will prevent cracking during the drying process.

But from large-sized pumpkins you can cut slices of peel - they are also used for crafts.

Pre-washing and drying pumpkin

When we have decided on a suitable melon, we carefully wash the fruit and then wipe it. We leave it to dry for half an hour to forty minutes at a natural temperature, and then wipe it again with a dry cloth to make sure that there is no moisture left at all.

Drying in the oven

Place the pumpkin in a cold (!) oven, cover the rack with baking paper, and set the temperature to 80°C. Every half hour, after the stove has warmed up, we begin to turn the fruit from one side to the other for a more even distribution of heat.

We keep the pumpkin, depending on its size and the thickness of the peel, from 3 to 6 hours. Let the finished product cool completely under normal conditions. When tapping, the sound should be ringing - the resulting emptiness should be felt inside.

But if we need to dry the pumpkin in slices, we do it as follows.

How to dry pumpkin in slices in the oven

We wash the melons, wipe them, and then cut them into pieces. We cut off the seeds, and if the pulp is thin, leave it on the peel. If the layer is very thick, cut it to a thickness of 3 cm.

Wash, pat dry with a paper towel and place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Place in a cold oven, including preheating to 75°C. We check readiness every hour. We keep the pumpkin for at least 4-5 hours so that the peels dry completely.

We cool the finished slices and use them to make all kinds of crafts and decorative elements.

Now you know how to dry pumpkin in the oven for a variety of purposes. Try making delicious candied fruits from it, wither it without sugar or dry it for crafts - the result will please you in any case.

Dried pumpkin is a unique and incredibly healthy preparation. Its peculiarity is that the vegetable retains all minerals and vitamins during processing. You can dry it in different ways, most often an oven or a special dryer is used for this. Based on drying, you can prepare all kinds of dishes: desserts, first courses, meat, salads. And pumpkin powder gives baked goods an attractive appearance and original taste.

Dried or dried pumpkin is good because it can be eaten instead of store-bought dried fruits; it is perfect as a light snack on the road or for a child at school.

You can dry pumpkins regardless of the variety, but it is better to choose autumn vegetables with thick skins. They will turn out tastier and will be ready to eat faster.

Pumpkins for drying should be selected that are ripe, without stains and unspoiled, in their entirety. It should first be washed and cut, remove the entrails and seeds. The peel is cut off and the vegetable is cut as follows:

• small cubes (for example, for candied fruits);
• plates (for chips);
• narrow strips (as an ingredient for salads, soups and other dishes).

The pieces still need to be processed before drying begins. For example, through blanching. Place them in boiling water for two minutes. This will preserve the bright color of the vegetable when dried. And in order to protect them from damage and pests, it is recommended to treat them in a saline solution.

You can dry pumpkin naturally. The following devices are also used for this purpose:

• electric or gas oven;
• air fryer;
• special drying.

The temperature and processing time depend on the type of vegetable, the thickness of the pieces and the type of device. On average, the drying temperature ranges from 50 to 85 degrees. When finished, the pieces should retain their elasticity, but not stick to your hands.

Natural drying

In this case, the pumpkin pieces should be laid out on a wire rack or tray in a single layer and placed in the sun. This can be done on a balcony, veranda or even on the roof of a country house.

In direct sunlight, the pumpkin can dry out within a week or a little longer, but only if the weather is dry and warm. To protect it from insects and dust, you can cover it with gauze.

You can dry the pumpkin pieces by hand and over a gas stove. The cut is threaded with a needle onto a fishing line or nylon thread and suspended over the stove and wait until the liquid has completely evaporated from the product.

Cooking in the oven

Before placing the pumpkin in the oven to dry, it is blanched. Drying time is about 6 hours. For 1.5 - 2 kilograms of product, take two liters of water and a little salt.

You need to prepare drying like this:

• wash the pumpkins and dry them on a paper towel;
• cut off the peel and remove the entrails;
• cut the pumpkin into even, identical strips about a centimeter thick;
• prepare a container with ice water;
• Blanch the slices in salted boiling water for two minutes, then place them in a colander and drain;
• preheat the oven to a temperature of 55−65 degrees;
• Place the slices on a baking sheet in one layer so that they do not touch each other;
• put it in the oven for 5 hours, leave the door slightly open so that the moisture can escape during evaporation;
• After 5 hours, increase the temperature to 80 degrees and dry for another 2-3 hours.

Cool the finished dried pumpkin. Place it in glass jars and store in a dry place.

Using an electric food dryer

There are special devices for drying different products. In this case, it is best to cut the vegetable into small pieces so that they are better processed.

For 2-3 kilograms of pumpkin, take 3 liters of water and a large spoon of salt. The preparation looks like this:

• wash the vegetable, cut it, remove the entrails and peel it;
• First cut the pieces into thin slices, then into small cubes of the same size, but be careful that after drying they do not fall into the holes of the grate;
• then they are blanched as described above. Then cool in cold water and dry;
• Place the pumpkin pieces on the grid so that they do not touch each other;
• Depending on the power of the device, set the temperature to medium and simmer until done. If it is about 90 degrees, then the procedure will take 4-5 hours, if less than 50 degrees, then 12 hours, respectively.

Dried pumpkin will shrink by about half after cooking. When cooked in a special dryer, it will come out incredibly tasty and aromatic.

Dried pumpkin in cooking

Dried pumpkin after cooking is completely ready to eat in its pure form. But it can be used as an ingredient for various dishes, and pumpkin can also be dried according to one recipe or another to make healthy chips or powder and other dishes. Ready-made dried pieces can be added to puree soups after boiling them in salted water.

For lovers of savory snacks, you will love this recipe for making pumpkin chips. You can cook them in the oven or in the same dryer.

First, the vegetable is cut into large pieces, the insides are removed and baked in the oven at a temperature of 170 degrees, right with the peel. Depending on the size of the pieces, baking time is about half an hour.

When the vegetable is cooked, cool it and remove the pulp with a spoon to the skin. One pumpkin weighing about 2 kilograms will yield 2 cups of pulp. It is laid out on a tray in a thin layer, about a glass comes out on one baking sheet. Drying time is 16 hours and temperature is 55 degrees. The end result will be thin sheets of orange color, they are very fragile and break easily. Chips can be stored for a long time in a glass container.

Such leaves can be consumed in pure form or made into a powder based on them. To do this, they are ground in a meat grinder or coffee grinder. When you combine it with water, you get a very tasty pumpkin puree, and various products are also added to it to generally strengthen the body, lower cholesterol levels and stabilize the functioning of the intestines and kidneys. For this purpose, it is soaked in water in the proportion of a quarter of the powder per glass of water, then added to meat or soup. The powder can be used to bread meat or fish or add it to flour when preparing flour products.

How to make candied fruits

Candied pumpkin can be prepared in an electric dehydrator. To give them an original taste, you can add spices in the form of ginger or cinnamon, as well as oranges or lemons. For 500 g of pumpkin, take a glass of sugar and the peel of one orange, spices to taste.

The preparation is as follows:

• cut the pumpkin into pieces, add sugar and let sit for several hours until it releases juice;
• add spices and chopped orange peel;
• transfer the contents to a saucepan, put on fire and cook for five minutes;
• remove from heat and leave for 6 hours;
• boil the contents again for five minutes and leave for three hours;
• place the pieces on a tray lined with parchment;
• place in the dryer for 6 hours.

You can also prepare candied fruits with lemon. They take a long time to prepare, but they turn out to be very original and tasty. For 2 kg of pumpkin take 600 grams of sugar, half a glass of powdered sugar, two lemons and water.

The preparation is as follows:

• cut the pumpkin pulp into small 2 cm cubes;
• cover it with sugar and adjust overnight. When the pumpkin releases juice, it needs to be poured into a separate container;
• Peel the lemons, remove the seeds and grate them. Pour the mixture into pumpkin juice and mix everything and put on fire;
• Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes;
• strain the liquid, add to the pumpkin and put everything on the fire. Cook for about an hour and a half until thickened;
• drain the remaining liquid and strain the contents;
• place on wax paper;
• dry in a dryer at 50 degrees in convection mode for 12 hours;
• let the vegetables cool;
• Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and place them in a glass container for storage.

Candied fruits can be given to children instead of store-bought sweets. They are not only very tasty, but contain a large number of healthy ingredients.

Pumpkin candies and chocolate

Another option for making sweets based on dried pumpkin is banana-flavored candies. For them you need to take half a kilogram of pumpkin pulp, baked in the oven. Then add banana, sugar and beat everything using a blender. The puree is placed on a tray with a spoon and processed in the dryer for 12 hours. The pumpkin pieces will end up being plastic and soft; they will need to be rolled into a tube and cut into portions.

And to make regular dark chocolate healthier, you can supplement it with candied pumpkin, dried seeds, as well as raisins and dried apricots.

Raisins and dried apricots in an amount of 50 grams are soaked in warm water for several minutes, then dried on a paper towel. Pumpkin seeds are dried in the oven for half an hour at a temperature of 160 degrees with constant stirring.

200 grams of chocolate are melted in a water bath, poured onto prepared parchment, sprinkled with dried apricots, raisins, candied fruits and pumpkin seeds. Cool it for two hours, then cut it into pieces and put it in the refrigerator.

Dried pumpkin has an unusual taste, so when drying sweet varieties of vegetables there is no need to add sugar, so it will be as healthy as possible. You can take chips or sweet pieces with you to work or school as a snack, and you can cook them at home, even in a regular oven.