As a traditional Chinese snack, candied haws are beloved for their sweet and sour taste. Traditionally made with fresh hawthorns, which are not easy to store and are seasonally limited, the conventional processing methods often lead to nutrient loss. The advent of freeze-dried hawthorns has opened new avenues for the processing and utilization of hawthorns, allowing us to enjoy this delicacy and its health benefits all year round.
The process of making freeze-dried hawthorns is similar to that of other freeze-dried fruits, but requires adjustments based on the characteristics of hawthorns. For instance, fruits like apples and pears that easily oxidize and discolor need color protection treatment, while fruits like strawberries and blueberries require the removal of their stems. Hawthorns need to have their cores removed using a corer or manually before freeze-drying. Additionally, the thickness of the fruit slices affects the efficiency of freeze-drying and the texture of the final product. Therefore, the size, water content, and structure of different fruits result in varying freeze-drying times.
Making Freeze-Dried Hawthorns:
1.Preprocessing: Select fresh, ripe, and disease-free hawthorns. Clean the surface dirt and impurities with water, remove the cores, and either slice them or keep them whole.
2.Quick Freezing: Place the preprocessed hawthorn slices into the freezer of the freeze-dryer and quickly freeze them at a low temperature of -30°C to -40°C to form fine ice crystals within the hawthorns.
3.Vacuum Drying: Transfer the quick-frozen hawthorn slices to the drying chamber of the freeze-dryer. Under vacuum, heat is applied to sublimate the ice crystals directly into water vapor, which is then expelled, resulting in dried freeze-dried hawthorn slices.
4.Packaging: Seal the freeze-dried hawthorn slices in packaging to prevent moisture and oxidation, extending their shelf life.
Advantages of Freeze-Dried Hawthorns:
1.Breaking Seasonal Limits: Freeze-dried hawthorns have low moisture content and are less prone to spoilage. When sealed, they can be supplied year-round, unaffected by seasonal changes, while retaining nutrients like vitamin C and flavonoids, and locking in the natural color and sweet-sour taste of hawthorns.
2.Crispy Texture, Unique Flavor: The loss of moisture in freeze-dried hawthorns creates a loose, porous structure, resulting in a crispy texture. Due to the dry surface of freeze-dried hawthorns, making candied haws requires adjusting the concentration and temperature of the syrup or slightly rehydrating the freeze-dried hawthorns, leading to a crispier texture compared to traditional candied haws.
3.Diverse Applications: Freeze-dried hawthorns can be eaten directly, combined with other fruits and flowers to make freeze-dried fruit tea, ground into powder for baking, juiced and filtered to make solid beverages, or even have their active ingredients extracted to produce health products like capsules and tablets. Thus, the application of freeze-drying technology offers more possibilities for the diversified processing of hawthorns.
If you are interested in our Freeze Dryer Machine or have any questions, please feel free to Contact us. As a professional manufacturer of freeze dryer machine, we offer a variety of specifications, including household, laboratory, pilot, and production models. Whether you need equipment for home use or larger-scale industrial equipment, we can provide you with the highest quality products and services.
Post time: Feb-26-2025
