Homemade raisins in a food dehydrator
People often ask why I make foods that are easy to buy. The answer is simply that I enjoy it. Homemade raisins are a good example: after a successful first attempt, I now make them every season, even in a city apartment. I also like being able to choose how dry they become.
I can't follow the drying cycles exactly. First, I only turn on the dryer when someone is home. Still, you shouldn’t leave an electrical appliance unattended. Secondly, I turn off the dryer at night. The main principle that I follow is that the grapes must cool properly between drying.
Usually, by the end of the second day, most of the grapes have time to dry.
While the raisins are hot, they are all sticky. Therefore, you need to check readiness when it has cooled down.
I tried not to blanch the grapes before putting them in the dryer. As a result, the drying process was lengthened several times. And instead of 2-3 days, I dried the grapes for a week.
Wash the grapes, remove rotten and wrinkled berries. If the grapes are easily separated from the branches, then tear them off now.
Boil water in a wide saucepan. Add soda at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water. Place some of the grapes in a colander and lower them into a boiling soda solution for 10-12 seconds. Remove and immediately rinse under cold water.
Remove the grapes from the stems; they come off easily after blanching. Arrange in a single layer on the dehydrator trays.
We carry out this procedure with all grapes. I got 4 trays of 1 kilogram each.
The grapes are dried in cycles: 6-8 hours drying, 3-4 hours break. Drying temperature 60-70°C. Trays must be swapped every 1-2 hours.
This is what the grapes look like after drying for 6 hours.
This is the end of the first cycle. The grapes stood, cooled completely and some of the berries shriveled a little.
This photo shows the middle of the second cycle.
Here you can clearly see that some of the grapes are already ready. The berries are wrinkled, do not stick, and no liquid is released when pressed. I sorted them
and sent the rest for another cycle.
From 4 kg of grapes we get 600 grams of raisins.