Between July and December, the cactus family's dragon fruit blooms and yields fruit. The fruit is rectangular or oval in form, with a crimson skin, and is 10-12 cm in length. The peel is waxy and thick. The pulp is either white or crimson. It is also known as sesame fruit due of its 10,000 aromatic sesame seeds.
The moniker "dragon fruit" refers to its appearance as a flaming red ball. The pulp inside is sweet and creamy, yet it is coated with tiny black seeds and has a light texture and delicate flavor. Dragon fruit, which is sweet and flat, has a lot of protein, dietary fiber, iron, calcium, potassium, and other minerals. The pit (the seeds of black sesame seeds) is also rich in minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron, as well as enzymes, albumin, fiber, and natural hues such as anthocyanins (particularly in red meat).
1. The production process of dried dragon fruit
Raw material selection→cleaning and slicing→color protection, hardening and blanching→drying and softening→packaging of dried fruit
2. Dragon fruit drying reference process
When baking, the two passages in the drying room should pay attention to the material balance, so that the dragon fruit slices are heated evenly. Set the temperature, humidity and other parameters of the dragon fruit dryer and the drying mode. Generally, the best effect is to bake at 55℃-75℃ for 15-20 hours, until the moisture content of the dried fruit is about 10%-15%.
3. The specific drying process of dragon fruit can be completed in four stages:
The first stage: the temperature is set at 60°C, the humidity is set at 35%, the mode is drying + dehumidification, and the baking time is 2 hours;
The second stage: the temperature is 65 °C, the humidity is set to 25%, the mode is selected to dry + dehumidification, and the baking is about 8 hours;
The third stage: the temperature is raised to 70°C, the humidity is set to 15%, the mode is drying + dehumidification, and the baking time is 8 hours;
The fourth stage: the temperature is set to 60 ℃, the humidity is set to 10%, and the continuous dehumidification mode is baked for about 1 hour.
