How to make dried persimmon

Dried persimmon

How to make dried persimmon

1. Material selection:

Choose persimmons that are large, moderate in water content, free of pests and diseases, and not soft or rotten. It is best to choose persimmons that are seedless or have few seeds. From the appearance, the best ripe fruits are golden yellow with a slight red color and thin yellow calyx tips. Persimmons should be harvested and processed at the right time. If harvested too early, the persimmons will have more water and less sugar, and the processed persimmon cakes will be of poor quality. If harvested too late, the persimmons will be soft and ripe and difficult to process.

2. Peeling:

You can use an iron planer to scrape off the hard outer skin of the selected fresh persimmons, leaving the stalk skin close to the persimmon calyx and stalk.

3. Drying the Kang:

Spread the peeled persimmons neatly on a drying mat (the mat can be woven from bamboo) and dry them in the sun. The drying mat should be placed on a rack 1 meter above the ground. Spread the persimmons with the calyx facing downwards and dry them in the open air at night. If the weather is bad during the day, you can use a plastic film to cover it, but the film cannot be directly covered on the persimmons. Persimmons that are rained on should be wiped dry with a dry cloth in time. If it rains for a long time, you can dry them over a low fire at night. Generally, after the persimmons are exposed to wind during the day and dew at night for 2 days, on the 3rd to 4th day, when the outer flesh is slightly soft, you can start to pinch the cakes. After that, pinch and dry them, and continue to turn them over and dry them for 10 to 12 days. When they are half dry, you can stop drying them.

4. Knead the cake:

There are some particular ways to shape dried persimmons by hand. The specific method is: do not use too much force the first time, so as not to break the skin and affect the appearance. After 2 to 3 days, when the surface of the spread persimmons gradually dries and wrinkles appear, continue to pinch for the second time. This time is the key to the quality. The force used during pinching should be greater than the first time, and all the hard lumps of the flesh should be softened. After another 2 to 3 days, when large wrinkles appear on the surface of the fruit, pinch for the third time. This time, the surface of the fruit should be flattened, the flesh should be softened, and the shape should be flattened in time. It is best to choose a sunny day or a windy morning, because the moisture of the flesh exposed to the sun at night migrates outward, and the fruit surface becomes damp and tough, and is not easy to break.

5. Dew and frost:

The semi-finished products are packed in wooden boxes, and clean white paper is laid around and on the top and bottom of the boxes. Around the Frost Festival, the dried persimmons are taken out and spread in a cool place. Be careful not to expose them to the sun. Generally, they are spread out in the morning and put back in the box in the afternoon. In case of rain, charcoal or anthracite is used as fuel and baked over a slow fire. After repeated treatments, the sugar in the dried persimmons can overflow and white frost will appear on the surface. The quality of the frost on the dried persimmons depends on the water content of the dried persimmons. The dried persimmons in the last shaping are better to be hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Too much water will easily seep out, making the surface sticky and unable to frost. Too little water will also make it difficult to frost. The dried persimmons of good quality are yellow-red in color and transparent and sticky. The cakes are flat and round, complete, with copper gong edges, and white frost on the surface. They taste sweet and not astringent. The dryness is about 95%, and there is no mold or insect infestation.

6. Storage:

The finished dried persimmons are discarded and the inferior ones are bundled into a "cross" shape with white dry straw or palm leaf silk, and then sold as products. If sold in batches, they must be properly stored to prevent mildew and deterioration. The method is: put sterilized dry straw in the basket, put the bundled dried persimmons in, cover them with sterilized straw, and store them in a barn for heat preservation. It can also be placed in a dry and ventilated place.