Dried pumpkin in an electric dryer for the winter

So we, like hardworking Cinderellas, on the threshold of winter, have to urgently creatively process the failed carriage into compote, jam, marmalade, freeze it or pickle it. But when it turns out that all the jars, bottles, cellar pantries and other freezers have already run out, and the pumpkin is still gone, the only option left is to dry it! And the fastest and most effective way to dry pumpkin is, of course, in an electric dryer.

TOHow to dry pumpkin in an electric dryer

To begin with, you need to open the pumpkin, at least just halve it, then it will be easier. For this purpose, it is advisable to choose not the sharpest, but the most durable knife, because the rind of a good autumn pumpkin is no softer than a carriage door made of bog oak. We may have to fiddle with a thick knife longer, but we’ll save our fingers!

Finally, the pumpkin is opened, and inside there is a bonus - seeds. Do not throw them away under any circumstances, they are incredibly beneficial for health in general, and especially for men! Sort through, rinse, dry (do not fry!) - and click with benefit and pleasure!

And we will continue dissection.The most convenient sequence of operations is as follows: after the pumpkin has been divided into two parts along the meridian, we cut off both “polar half-caps” to the thickness of the pulp. Next, we cut the resulting two semicircles and one half-cylinder into convenient slices 2-3 cm wide, from which it is quite easy to cut off the crust without risking being left without fingers.

Well, after that, you can safely take a sharp knife with a wide blade and carefully cut the pumpkin flesh into a medium cube (a centimeter or slightly smaller). It is recommended to blanch some fruits and vegetables before drying or at least scald them, but this is not about pumpkin; it will dry perfectly without any additional tricks.

Place the pumpkin cubes evenly, in one layer and not too closely, on the trays of the electric dryer, turn it on to the maximum temperature - and begin to wait.

You will have to wait a long time, at least 12 hours, or even more, it all depends on the type of pumpkin and its degree of ripeness.

Alas, no matter what super-sophisticated electric dryer we have, simply “set it and forget it” like a homing missile will not work: from time to time the trays will have to be swapped, the pumpkin cubes must be mixed so that they do not stick together, but dry evenly. It is extremely undesirable to leave the dryer running unattended at night; just in case of fire, it is safer to turn it off, so that in the morning we can start our miracle unit again and continue the dehydration process further, until the bitter end.

Well, the cherished hour has finally come, the hard, heavy pumpkin cubes have turned into elastic, light pads, which we must immediately seal tightly before they absorb moisture from the surrounding air.

It is best to use plastic containers with screw caps or special “self-sealing” bags, from which we will pour a little into the “operational jar” as needed.

Dried pumpkin is ready! Glory to us, hardworking (and modest) Cinderellas! Now, before the new harvest of carriages, sorry – pumpkins, we will be able at any moment, without fear that something somewhere has defrosted, or gone sour, or has become moldy, or has gone rotten in some other way, – to get a handful or two of dry and light pumpkin shavings and cook from them whatever your darling desires: even soup, even pie, even compote!

And if we add a little imagination to the dried pumpkin, a little dried fruit, a spoonful of honey and nut butter, a pinch of spices, then in just half an hour we can easily prepare an incredibly tasty, tender, healthy, aromatic and absolutely dietary dessert, like Cinderella at her first ball I never tried it.

This is all because she used her carriage incorrectly! 😉

As you can see, drying pumpkin for the winter is easy and simple. Tasty and easy preparations for all of us!