Dried pumpkin: how to dry pumpkin for the winter at home

How to dry a whole pumpkin

The whole pumpkin is dried to create various crafts. Mainly decorative varieties are used. It is better to remove such fruits from the root just before frost, so it will be stored longer. Before drying the vegetable, it is washed and dried with towels. Each fruit is then placed in nets and hung in a dark, dry and well-ventilated room.

Drying pumpkins continues for 6 – 8 months. Readiness is determined by the sound of the seeds inside. Dried seeds should make a characteristic sound when they hit the dry walls of the fruit.

Preparing pumpkin for drying for culinary purposes

Table pumpkin varieties are pre-washed and then wiped with towels. Then the stalk of the vegetable is cut out and, cutting in half, the seeds are removed. Next, the pumpkin is peeled from the hard skin using a sharp knife.

Large pieces of pumpkin need to be chopped. For drying, cutting is mainly done in the form of thin plates or small cubes.

To prevent the vegetable from darkening, it is recommended to balance the slices in boiling water for 2 minutes. After heat treatment, the pumpkin is cooled in a container with ice water. After this procedure, you can begin drying.

How to dry pumpkin for the winter

Drying naturally

Pumpkin pieces are laid out in a single layer on trays or racks, which is more preferable. The containers are exposed to the sun. This could be a balcony or veranda of the house. Direct sunlight can dry a pumpkin in 6 to 10 days, provided the weather is dry and warm. To protect the cutting from dust and insects, it is advisable to cover it with a piece of gauze cloth.

Another way is to dry it over a gas stove. The pumpkin slices are threaded using a needle onto a strong nylon thread or fishing line. The “garland” is suspended over a gas stove and the liquid from the product is waited until it has completely evaporated.

Watch a video from Vadim Kryuchkov on how to dry pumpkin naturally

Oven drying

The pumpkin is cut into plates or pieces no more than 1 centimeter thick and blanched in the manner described above. Place the slices on a baking sheet in one layer, leaving a small distance between the pieces.

The oven is heated and the slices are placed there. Keep the door slightly open during the entire dehydration process. Drying occurs in two stages:

• For the first 5 hours, the pumpkin must be dried at a temperature of 55 - 60 degrees. After which the slices are turned over and allowed to cool completely.
• At the final stage, the temperature is increased to 75 - 80 degrees and drying is continued until complete readiness.

In an electric dryer

This unit can significantly facilitate the process of drying pumpkins, since human intervention in this process will be minimal. The processed slices are laid out on racks, leaving a small gap between them.

The exposure temperature during the entire drying process will be the same - 55 - 60 degrees. To prevent the product from sticking to the grates, you can turn the slices over after the first 1.5 hours, but this step is not at all necessary.

The total drying time depends on the thickness of the pieces and the ambient humidity. On average, it is 12 – 20 hours.

Watch the video from the channel “Ezidri Master” - Dried pumpkin for the winter. Pumpkin powder

How to make pumpkin chips

First, the pumpkin is baked in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes. Then the pulp is punched with a blender, and the resulting mass is spread in a thin layer on a baking sheet or container for preparing marshmallows. In this form, the product is dried in an oven or electric dryer until brittle.

Pumpkin powder

You can make pumpkin powder from pumpkin chips, as well as dried pieces of the vegetable. To do this, the product is ground with a coffee grinder to a homogeneous consistency. The powder is convenient to use for making pumpkin puree soup.

How to make candied pumpkin

To prepare candied fruits, pumpkin pieces are boiled several times in sweet syrup and then dried using any of the methods listed earlier. You can add lemon, orange, cinnamon or ginger to the syrup.

Oksana Valerievna in her video will talk in detail about how to make candied pumpkin.

How to store dried pumpkin

The finished product should be stored in glass jars, with tightly closed lids, in a dry, dark place.Candied fruits are stored in the refrigerator, and if a large quantity of sweets is made, then some can be put in the freezer.