Drying is one of the most ancient methods of preserving vegetables, fruits, berries, herbs and mushrooms. It takes less time than conservation. The resulting product requires less storage space. But the main advantage is that dried products preserve as much nutrients and vitamins as possible for a long time.
Eggplants, like other vegetables, are also prepared for future use in various ways. Let's look at how to dry eggplants for the winter at home.
What are the benefits of dried eggplants?
The composition of fresh eggplants includes ascorbic and nicotinic acids, carotene, riboflavin, solanine-M, thiamine, fiber, tannins, hemicellulose, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, cobalt, sodium, calcium and copper.
Eating eggplants improves the functioning of the heart, liver and kidneys, helps cleanse the intestines and bile ducts, prevents the development of atherosclerosis, reduces cholesterol levels in the blood, and removes excess salts from the body. They are used to treat hypertension, anemia and gout.
Eggplants are a dietary (0.1–0.4% fat, 0.6–1.4% protein, 2.8–4.6% sugar) and low-calorie product (33 kcal per boiled vegetable), so they are recommended for consumption who want to lose weight or eat healthy.
Raw eggplants (1–2 months), so they are canned, frozen and dried.
When frozen, eggplant loses about 20% of its nutrients, and when preserved – up to 40%. When properly dried, the vegetable retains almost all the beneficial substances. Therefore, dried eggplant does not lose its beneficial properties.
Other ways to prepare eggplants:
How to freeze eggplants for the winter
Cooking eggplants like mushrooms for the winter
How to cook the most delicious eggplant caviar
Preparing vegetables for drying
It is better to choose eggplants of the same size and the same degree of ripeness . Small fruits with small seeds that are not overripe are suitable. The skin should be smooth, thin and without damage.
The most suitable varieties for drying are Almaz, Czech Early, Helios. Their fruits have less seeds and bitterness.
Advice. To rid eggplants of bitterness, soak the sliced pieces in cold salted water for 15 minutes. Then dry with a paper towel.
Vegetables are washed in running water, dried with paper towels, and trimmed on both sides. It is not necessary to remove the peel from eggplants or cut them as thinly as possible so that more useful substances are preserved.
The cutting method depends on what dishes you plan to cook:
- for casseroles and roasts, eggplants – in slices 1–2 cm thick;
- for soups, stews and caviar - in cubes;
- for salads – in thin strips;
- for slicing, use a Korean carrot grater or cut by hand;
If you are making preparations for stuffed eggplants , the vegetables are dried in halves. To do this, cut the eggplants lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. A thin layer of pulp (up to 1 cm) and skin remain.
Drying a whole vegetable is also possible , but it takes longer.
Slicing eggplants for drying
Eggplant is one of the most popular vegetables for preparing a wide variety of culinary dishes. It was brought to Russia from Persia in the 17th century. Initially, the vegetable was planted in the southern regions. It was a real paradise for eggplant, as it is very heat-loving.
When “little blue” appeared in Russia, local chefs easily decided on how to prepare it. Moreover, it quickly became clear that eggplant goes perfectly with meat dishes.
But it turned out that this vegetable has a seasonal growth pattern, limited to summer and early autumn, and when stored fresh for a long time, eggplant begins to quickly deteriorate. We decided to try making preparations for the winter using the drying method. Until now, in Russia, eggplants are not so often dried at home, unlike in other countries such as Turkey or Italy.
Regardless of the choice of vegetable drying method, the fruits chosen for this operation are small in size with small seeds. When purchasing eggplants for drying, you should pay attention to their degree of ripeness. Experts recommend choosing young but already ripe fruits.
The thing is that overripe “blue” ones develop an unpleasant bitterness, and as a result it remains in the dried fruits. Another important point that should be given special importance is the freshness of the vegetable. In vegetables picked long ago from the garden, spots appear on the skin, it wrinkles, and the stalk acquires a brown tint. Fresh eggplant has a smooth skin and good flesh density.
Benefits of eggplant
With the help of eggplants, the human body is freed from excess fluid, thus reducing swelling. In addition, thanks to the beneficial properties of the “little ones,” the kidneys are perfectly cleansed and the risk of urolithiasis is reduced.
This is explained by the fact that the vegetable contains nicotinic acid, due to which the discomfort associated with quitting smoking is noticeably reduced. In this case, eggplant has no less effective effect on the human body than a nicotine patch.
Dishes made from dried eggplants turn out to be of better quality if you choose the right method for drying this vegetable. Vegetable stew or eggplant caviar are prepared from vegetables dried in small cubes. To obtain dried products, you can use the Isidri vegetable and fruit dryer.
Before boiling or frying eggplants in a frying pan with the addition of herbs and garlic, the dried pieces must be soaked in heated water for half an hour or forty minutes.
A casserole made from dried eggplants makes a very tasty dish. Before preparing it, you should restore the dried vegetables in water.
Then the “blue ones” must be fried in vegetable oil, fry the onion and minced meat separately. Then finely chop the garlic, herbs and bell pepper, pour mayonnaise over it all and mix. Next, place a layer of tomato on a greased tray, then a layer of fried minced meat, another layer of tomato and eggplant on top.
Don't forget to salt each layer and coat it with mayonnaise sauce. Sprinkle the top layer with cheese and place in the oven. Bake until a golden brown crust appears on the surface.
The method of drying eggplants for the winter preserves in the vegetable all the beneficial substances that are so necessary for the human body during the cold season to maintain its vital energy.
Methods for cutting eggplants before drying depend on what dishes will be prepared from such preparation:
- Cutting into cubes. If in winter you will prepare caviar or stew from dried eggplants, cut the fruits into small cubes for drying. This workpiece dries well at room temperature for 3-4 days. Drying faster will be in the oven, which only takes 4 hours.
- Eggplant strips. This is the optimal form of eggplant for making salads and soups. Peeled eggplants are grated on a grater with large holes and the resulting mass is laid out in a thin layer on clean paper or cloth. Store this preparation in fabric bags away from products with a strong aroma.
- Drying eggplant halves. In Turkey and Italy, this form of eggplant is used for stuffing with fillings. For drying, the pulp is cut out from each half, leaving a wall 0.5 cm thick.
- Drying whole eggplants. In this case, small fruits are used, which are kept in the open air for a long time. A well-dried eggplant inside can hear the sound of seeds knocking when shaken.
Tags: eggplant, drying, electric dryer About the author: admin4ik
How to dry eggplants at home
Eggplants are dried at home in several ways . The choice depends on the availability of time and equipment.
In the oven
The vegetables are placed on a baking sheet, placed in the oven and dried at low temperature (40–60 °C) . At higher temperatures, beneficial properties are lost. During drying, keep the oven door slightly open (5–10 cm) so that evaporating moisture escapes. If there are several baking sheets in the oven, they are swapped every half hour so that the vegetables dry evenly. Drying time is 3–6 hours depending on the size of the pieces.
In an electric dryer
The prepared pieces are placed on the bottom of the electric dryer. The instructions for the device should indicate the temperature at which the eggplants are dried and the weight of the loaded vegetables. Drying takes 20–27 hours. This depends on the model and power of the device.
Drying eggplants – 15 kg. Eggplant powder.
On open air
Sliced eggplants are strung on a thread and hung in the shade in a ventilated place . Drying time depends on weather conditions (3–5 days).
Also, chopped vegetables can be laid out on paper . To dry evenly, they must be turned over periodically (morning and evening). In this case, the process will take from 5 to 7 days. The finished pieces rattle like wood, and the whole dried fruit sounds like a baby rattle.
How to dry eggplant rings. Tip 1: How to dry eggplants
Dried vegetables and fruits are a great opportunity to preserve all the nutrients in a product that can be used all year round. You can dry almost everything: berries, fruits and vegetables. The main thing is to perform the drying procedure correctly.
Choose your recipe
benefits to the body
Eggplants are incredibly tasty and filling vegetables.
There are a huge number of variations in preparing the dish. Eggplants are rich in B vitamins, which stabilize the functioning of the nervous system and effectively cope with depression and insomnia. Thanks to the vitamin C content, the body is replenished with strength to fight infections. PP vitamins, as well as carotene, promote skin regeneration, wound healing and smooth out wrinkles. In addition, eggplant fruits contain phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium and iron. If this vegetable is present in a person’s diet, problems with cholesterol are not terrible. Frequent consumption also has a great effect on the functioning of the heart and water metabolism in the body. Simpe Wine News: simply about the best wines
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The dried form of this vegetable is no less useful, because it retains all the vitamins. But most importantly, eggplant is enriched with copper, cobalt and manganese, which are a real “treasure”. The beneficial effect of the contained minerals improves the condition of the blood, and also helps to increase the level of hemoglobin in the blood and stabilizes the functioning of the spleen.
how to properly dry eggplants without losing their healing properties
In order to use dried fruits all winter and delight yourself and your loved ones with tasty and healthy dishes, you need to prepare them correctly. Having selected the best fruits without signs of spoilage, they need to be thoroughly rinsed under running cold water. It is important that the eggplant is ripe, but not overripe. You can dry it with the skin on. Cut the vegetable into four parts, which additionally need to be divided into small slices. You can dry eggplants on a sieve or in gauze, which is spread on a flat surface, laying out the parts evenly. Each slice can be strung on a thread and hung in a dry, ventilated area. Drying on a stove involves the same primary processing procedure. then the slices are laid out on a baking sheet, and the vegetables are dried for 2 hours at a temperature of 50-60 degrees. After drying for two hours, you need to increase the temperature to 80 degrees. Thanks to technological progress, drying vegetables and fruits has become even more comfortable and simpler. You can use a special electric dryer, which will cope with this task perfectly. The time spent on preparing such a simple preparation is completely repaid by the opportunity to eat real, not frozen vegetables in winter.
Tip 2: How to dry eggplants in the oven for the winter
Eggplants are delicious and incredibly healthy vegetables that are suitable for making salads, snacks and more. Therefore, it is not surprising that many housewives try to stock up on these fruits for future use by canning, freezing or drying. The last method is the most common, as it allows you to preserve maximum nutrients in vegetables.
First of all, prepare the eggplants: wash them and dry them with a paper towel. If the vegetables are from your garden, then this is enough, but if the fruits were purchased in a store, then in this case it is advisable to cut off the skin. Next, cut the eggplants into thin strips, circles or slices (the thinner you cut, the faster they dry), place them in a deep bowl and salt (one kilogram of vegetables requires a teaspoon of salt). Stir and leave for an hour. After time has passed, squeeze out the slices (if desired, you can rinse and squeeze them out).
Place a cotton towel on a clean baking sheet, and carefully place the eggplant pieces on it in one layer, trying to place them as close to each other as possible. Place the baking sheet in the oven and turn on the kitchen appliance, adjusting the temperature on it to 50-60 degrees. Leave the vegetables to dry for 10-12 hours, trying to open the oven for two or three minutes every couple of hours, allowing the moisture to evaporate more actively.
After the specified time, check the eggplants: they should be dry, and with strong pressure they should break, but not crumble. If the slices bend, then leave the vegetables to dry for another hour or two. Carefully remove the dry slices from the baking sheet and place them in a jar or cotton bag. Store in a dry, dark place.
How to make eggplant chips
Delicious and healthy chips are prepared from eggplants in an electric dryer . The recipe is simple.
You will need 3 eggplants . Vegetables are washed and cut into thin long strips.
Prepare the marinade by mixing:
- 100 ml vegetable oil;
- 70 ml soy sauce;
- 2 teaspoons honey;
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper;
- ½ teaspoon paprika.
The strips are immersed in the marinade for 2 hours . Then they are wiped with paper napkins, placed in an electric dryer and dried for 24 hours at a temperature of 40 degrees.
The result is a tangy, crispy chip.
Home drying methods
Each drying method deserves your attention. Each of them is self-sufficient, original and interesting. Those who want to enjoy crispy chips as quickly as possible will choose microwave drying, and patient housewives will wait a week to get naturally dried vegetables. An electric dryer will retain all its beneficial properties, but an oven, on the contrary, will destroy them. Try all the ways to prepare dried eggplants and you will feel how different they are from each other.
Recipe for cooking in the oven
Eggplants must be washed and wiped with a dry towel, cut into equal pieces to dry evenly. Place the vegetables on a baking sheet in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. The total drying time will be 5 hours, but after the first hour of drying, the temperature should be halved.
To prevent all the vitamins from disappearing during drying, you can reduce the temperature, which will slightly increase the time required
This drying method is one of the fastest. Its only disadvantage is that during heat treatment at high temperatures, all beneficial properties will be lost.
How to dry vegetables in an electric dryer
Sliced and pre-pickled eggplants are laid out on tiers of the dryer. In the WALTERA 1000 Lux dryer, hot air will be evenly distributed over the surface of vegetables and will deprive them of excess moisture - you don’t even have to turn them over. A minimum temperature of 40 degrees will preserve vitamins.
Monitor the process and do not allow the temperature to rise above 40 degrees
The method requires time; drying one portion will take 24-27 hours.
In the microwave
Eggplant chips cook very quickly in the microwave. Not even half an hour will pass from your “I want” - and you will already be crunching on fragrant vegetable slices. Vegetables are washed, dried and cut as thin as possible. Next, they should be placed in a bag, pour in a small amount of vegetable oil, add salt and any spices, and mix. Slices are prepared for 5 minutes at a power of 750 W.
Add salt, spices, vegetable oil to the eggplant bag and mix everything well
Vegetables will dry due to exposure to microwaves and become crispy.
It is important to monitor voltage control and not allow the chips to dry out or, conversely, remain soggy.
How to air dry
For drying in open space, you should choose thin-skinned fruits with a minimum number of seeds. Vegetables must be whole, smooth, without damage or signs of spoilage. The eggplants are washed and wiped with a towel, after which they are cut crosswise and laid out on a paper sheet. The drying time for vegetables will range from 5 days to a week.
The method is inconvenient because the eggplants will have to be periodically turned over to dry evenly and covered with gauze. Any dry, draft-free room will do.
Avoid direct sunlight on hanging vegetables.
How and where to use dried eggplants
Dried eggplants are boiled, stewed, baked . But before cooking, they are restored by soaking in hot water.
The holding time depends on the size of the pieces:
- the whole vegetable is soaked for 30–40 minutes, the amount of boiling water is 2–3 times the volume of the vegetable;
- pieces and rings 1–2 cm thick are soaked for 15–20 minutes, the volume of water is 3 times more than dry vegetables;
- thin straws are soaked for 5–10 minutes, pouring in so that the water covers the vegetables.
Then the excess water is drained . Further, the recipe does not differ from the preparation of fresh vegetables.
For some dishes (soups, stews), dried eggplants do not need to be pre-soaked. They will absorb the broth during cooking.
Dried vegetables are also ground into powder and added to recipes to add flavor and thickness . But it should be taken into account that during the swelling process the product will absorb more moisture.
Eggplant powder is used for breading cutlets, zraz and meatballs.
The dried vegetable is also used for medicinal purposes.:
- Dried eggplant powder is taken for the prevention of liver and kidney diseases, 1 tbsp. spoon a day.
- To treat hypertension, dry eggplant slices are ground into powder and taken 1 teaspoon per day before meals.
- To strengthen gums and teeth, use an infusion of powder: 1 tbsp. spoon pour 1 tbsp. boiling water, cool to room temperature, add 1 teaspoon of salt and rinse your mouth.
Ground powder (1 teaspoon per day) helps people who quit smoking cope with nicotine addiction . This is explained by the fact that the vegetable contains nicotinic acid. And powder added to toothpaste in a 1:1 ratio relieves smokers of nicotine plaque on their teeth.
