Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 289 kcal | 82 kcal |
| Protein | 3.4 g | 1 g |
| Fat | 2 g | 0.6 g |
| saturated | 0.5 g | 0.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 61.2 g | 17.3 g |
| sugars | 52.4 g | 14.9 g |
| Fibre | 11.4 g | 3.2 g |
| Sodium | 54 mg | 15 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 2.5 kg fresh Papaya
Instructions
- Use a papaya that yields to a thumb along its length and is more orange than green. A firm one dries into something fibrous and nearly tasteless, and this fruit does not ripen usefully once it has been cut.
- Halve it, scrape the black seeds out with a spoon, and take the skin off with a peeler. The thin white layer just under the skin is bitter, so take a little more than looks necessary.
- Cut into spears, chunks or slices as you like, but keep them all one size. The flesh is soft and uneven pieces finish hours apart.
- Decide now what the fruit is for. Papaya carries an enzyme that stops gelatin setting and interferes with baking, and a minute or two held over boiling water destroys it — skip this if you are drying the fruit simply to eat.
- Give the pieces a light spray of lemon juice or an ascorbic acid solution. The flesh is pale enough that browning shows badly on it, and the acid also slows the colour loss in the jar later.
- Lay the pieces on mesh with space between them and dehydrate at 52 °C for 13 hours, turning them once at the halfway mark. The face against the mesh is always the last part to let go of its water.
- Take a piece off and let it cool before judging it. Finished papaya is leathery and pliable with no bead of moisture when torn; a torn edge that glistens means the batch needs longer.
- Condition the cooled fruit for a week in a jar you shake daily, tightening the lid only once no condensation appears on the glass. It then keeps for a year in the dark, and the week is worth it — one under-dried spear will mould the lot.
