eta Vital Air Bedienungsanleitung Seite 34

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– Drying meshes should be filled with a thin layer of dried food. If necessary, put a clean
fine baking paper or drying tray B1 on meshes so that small pieces of food do not fall
through and stick to the surface of the mesh.
– The time of drying is mostly dependent on the following facts: the type of fruit /
vegetables, food humidity, air humidity, sizes of cut pieces, distribution on the mesh.
– Meat that can be dried includes beef, poultry, fish or game. Cut the meat into pieces /
slices thick less than 0.5 cm, and remove the redundant fat before drying. The higher
the fat content in the meat, the shorter is the meat durability after drying. For better
tenderness and gentleness, cut the meat across the grains; dried meat sliced along the
grains will be tough. For longer durability and better taste, you may sprinkle both sides
of the meat slice before drying with a spice mix or apply a marinade, and put the meat in
refrigerator for about 6 - 12 hours. Then let the meat drip dry. During the drying process,
occasionally remove the fat drops that may appear on the meat surface.
Caution: Game should always come from a legal source with the guarantee that the
meat has been inspected by a veterinary doctor. We also recommend storing
the meat before drying for 60 days at the temperature of -18 °C (i.e. frozen).
This should eliminate any harmful bacteria that might cause a disease.
Marinade: Use any combination of the following ingredients: soya, Worchester sauce,
tomato, barbecue sauce, garlic, onion, curry, seasoned salt or pepper.
– Fish to dry must be as fresh as possible to prevent perishing before the drying itself.
Beware of the oil contained in fish. Fat or oily fish, such as tuna, may quickly perish, and
unlike other types of meat, there is no way to simply cut off the fat. Therefore certain fish
species are not recommended for drying (see the table below). For longer durability and
better taste, you can souse the meat before drying in a salty dressing for 30 minutes,
then rinse and let drip dry. Thereafter sprinkle the fish on both sides with a mix of various
spices, or even salt. Now store the fish in refrigerator for about 6 - 10 hours. During the
drying process, occasionally remove the fat drops that may appear on the meat surface.
– The time of dehydration depends on the amount of dehydrated ingredients. The more
drying screens you use, the longer the time of drying.
– Before tasting food that is being dried, take out several pieces and let them cool down.
Hot pieces are softer and more humid than those that have cooled down. Dry food for
sufficient time so that their decay and microbiological production of bacteria is prevented.
Properly dried vegetables must be hard and crispy and prone to cracking. Duly dried fruit
should not be overdried, it must be leathery and smooth. The meat may crack when bent,
but will not break. Fish meat should never be brittle or fragile. Fish jerky should and no
moisture should be visible on the surface. Smell and taste the meat, it should have just
a slightly fishy taste and aroma. For short-time storage, dried fruit does not have to be
dried so much as in a shop. In drying food, we recommend following the instructions in
professional literature.
Blanching
Enzymes in fruit and vegetables are responsible for change in flavour and colour. Then the
changes will continue in drying and storing if dried food is not treated in advance so that
activity of the enzymes is slowed down. In some kinds of vegetables or fruit we recommend
blanching or soaking before drying. Blanching (enzymes deactivation) is used to eliminate
disturbance of look and taste by cooking vegetables for a short time in water or in steam.
Put the prepared food into a wire basket or a mesh and sink it into a container with boiling
water. Count the time necessary for blanching from the time when water starts to boil again
(see table). Then let water drip off from the food, or dry it.
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