Make dried pineapple snacks at home
PRESERVATION of food is regarded in most homes as a field for manufacturers. However, you can also preserve fruit in the comfort of your home for your family to enjoy. One such procedure is pineapple drying.
By Agnes Kyotalengerire
PRESERVATION of food is regarded in most homes as a field for manufacturers. However, you can also preserve fruit in the comfort of your home for your family to enjoy. One such procedure is pineapple drying.
Patrick Kivumbi, the managing director Envalert Uganda, processors of dried organic fruits and vegetables in Kungu, Matuga says: “pineapple drying is one way of providing dry natural fruit snacks for your family at the same time preserving the fruits for the time of scarcity (off season).â€
Kivumbi explains that though dry, the pineapple snack is a good substitute for the fresh one and is healthy for consumption since the process is natural without the addition of artificial preservatives. Secondly, the snack contains Vitamin C and natural sugars.
Now that the pineapple season is on, you do not have to throw them away when in plenty, you can sun dry them to make dried pineapple snack.
Procedure
To get one kilogram of the dried snack, Kivumbi explains that you require eight ripe medium size pineapples. A medium size (1.5-2kg) pineapple costs between sh600 to sh1,000 in most markets.
-Wash the pineapples in clean water
-Peel and slice them into very thin slices.
-Spread them on a tray or any clean surface
-Place them in a drier until there is 10-20 % moisture content. Kivumbi explains that in the absence of a modern drier, you can use ordinary domestic driers made from wooden stands surrounded by transparent polythene of 100gages.
-Store in a cool dry container
Kivumbi explains that to enable the pineapples to dry properly, spread them out on a day of full sun shine. When sufficiently dried, the snack can last for as long as one year.
He adds that drying the fruits in a drier helps in regulating the the amount of moisture lost, and at the same time keeps the flies off, since the snack is eaten instantly.
Recipe
Besides chewing the dried pineapple as a snack, Kivumbi explains that you can blend it to make juice. Below are the steps to follow:
-Soak the snack over night or for about 6-10 hours
-Drain the water and put the snack in a blender
-Add a little water and blend
-Add required amount of water and little sugar to taste
-Sieve and serve.
Kivumbi adds that the snack is also used to add flavour to ice cream, yoghurt and even in cakes while baking.
PRESERVATION of food is regarded in most homes as a field for manufacturers. However, you can also preserve fruit in the comfort of your home for your family to enjoy. One such procedure is pineapple drying.
Patrick Kivumbi, the managing director Envalert Uganda, processors of dried organic fruits and vegetables in Kungu, Matuga says: “pineapple drying is one way of providing dry natural fruit snacks for your family at the same time preserving the fruits for the time of scarcity (off season).â€
Kivumbi explains that though dry, the pineapple snack is a good substitute for the fresh one and is healthy for consumption since the process is natural without the addition of artificial preservatives. Secondly, the snack contains Vitamin C and natural sugars.
Now that the pineapple season is on, you do not have to throw them away when in plenty, you can sun dry them to make dried pineapple snack.
Procedure
To get one kilogram of the dried snack, Kivumbi explains that you require eight ripe medium size pineapples. A medium size (1.5-2kg) pineapple costs between sh600 to sh1,000 in most markets.
-Wash the pineapples in clean water
-Peel and slice them into very thin slices.
-Spread them on a tray or any clean surface
-Place them in a drier until there is 10-20 % moisture content. Kivumbi explains that in the absence of a modern drier, you can use ordinary domestic driers made from wooden stands surrounded by transparent polythene of 100gages.
-Store in a cool dry container
Kivumbi explains that to enable the pineapples to dry properly, spread them out on a day of full sun shine. When sufficiently dried, the snack can last for as long as one year.
He adds that drying the fruits in a drier helps in regulating the the amount of moisture lost, and at the same time keeps the flies off, since the snack is eaten instantly.
Recipe
Besides chewing the dried pineapple as a snack, Kivumbi explains that you can blend it to make juice. Below are the steps to follow:
-Soak the snack over night or for about 6-10 hours
-Drain the water and put the snack in a blender
-Add a little water and blend
-Add required amount of water and little sugar to taste
-Sieve and serve.
Kivumbi adds that the snack is also used to add flavour to ice cream, yoghurt and even in cakes while baking.