Drying vegetables, which has been around since ancient times in order to preserve food for a long time, is part of the culinary culture used by Turks since Central Asia and carried to Anatolia over time. Dried vegetables are accepted as a guarantee of being able to consume food after a long time. The sun rays, which increase vitamin D when they enter the body, are the lifeline of metabolism and feasts on the palates with the great formula it creates when it meets vegetables. Almost every vegetable that enters your kitchen, such as pepper, eggplant, tomato, okra, leek, comes to your table after drying; both enchants you with its taste and meets your body's needs with the vitamins it has. So, how do you dry vegetables that are even rich in minerals?
Drying Food and Dried Vegetables with All Aspects
The drying process, which means reducing the existing 80 to 95 percent water in vegetables to 20 percent, is applied both to increase the durability of the vegetables, cook them in subsequent seasons, and obtain different and original flavors. The humid environment in which microorganisms can reproduce is eliminated by evaporating water and removing water vapor from the vegetable's surface. Dried vegetables, whose water content decreases and sugar content increases, are dried outdoors, in dehydrators, in special drying cabinets, or ovens. Spice-class vegetables such as mint, thyme, and rosemary are dried outdoors, while the vegetables used in dishes usually are dried under shade in hot weather. Tomatoes, which are indispensable for Turkish cuisine, are accepted as foods that are dried under intense sun. One of the advantages of the drying process, where the transport of foods that have become light is facilitated, is that these foods, whose volume is reduced, can certainly be stored more easily and need less storage space. These foods can be stored in deep freezers and can be canned.
We can hear you asking, "How to store dried vegetables?" At this point, the vegetables that you carefully dried can be safely stored in the deep freeze section of the refrigerator on a string, by canning them, or by crumbling them and filling them in jars. Vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions go well above the normal nutritional value and enable you to obtain the calcium, vitamins, and minerals your body needs, especially when they are dried. So what are the benefits of dried vegetables?
Unique Taste Not Changing Among Dried Vegetables: Eggplant
Eggplants, which are harvested fresh and put on a string, lose nothing of their perfect flavor when dried. Eggplants, which should be collected from the brightest and best quality plants and dried, give life to stuffed dried-eggplants with olive oil and meat as one of the most known dried vegetables. Dried eggplants, which are usually 50 pieces on a string, can also be roasted and used for dried eggplant dishes prepared in different regions. You can also say hello to the most valuable recipe of Turkish cuisine with stuffed dried-eggplant.
Makes Sour Meaningful: Dried Okra
You can start putting okras on strings if you want to try them when dried and taste the flavor you get when you combine half a lemon with okra's unique flavor. You can prepare both olive oil and meat recipes with dried vegetables that offer significant benefits to the human body with their flowers. You can also expand your flavor range with dry okra salad in addition to these recipes, which will change the mind of even those who put distance between themselves and okras.
A Taste Symbol Among Dried Vegetables: Bell Pepper
Dried bell peppers, the symbol of taste in our kitchen, lead the way in the most dried vegetables. Dried bell peppers, which are a great combination with dried eggplant and give life to both olive oil and meat stuffed vegetables, can also be used to add flavor to mezes. Mezes made with dried vegetables definitely taste different!
Whether with Yogurt or Plain: Dried Zucchini
Perfect in dishes! You can serve dried zucchinis with yogurt, fried vegetables, and rice. Zucchini, the leading actor of cooking pots with the lowest calorie count among dried vegetables, turns into a savior when dried. Dried zucchini, rich in vitamins and minerals, will impress every palate when combined with garlic yogurt and heated oil.
One Thousand One Flavors: Dried Parsley
The dry parsley, which you can grow even by the balcony window, adds courtesy to your dishes. This vegetable, which is the number one flavor of meals with its strong taste, heals many organs from heart to liver and kidney to eye with its antioxidant-rich structure. Parsley, one of the dried vegetables, is the biggest helper of lovable flavors such as kısır, sandwich, meatballs, tantuni, liver, and pastry.
Rich in Selenium: Dried Mushrooms
Mushrooms, the leading actor in sautés, lose nothing of their flavor when dried. 1 kilo of dried mushrooms obtained from 12 kilos of fresh mushrooms is the number one flavor elixir of your omelets, roasts, sautés, and pastries. We can certainly say that the best friend of dried mushrooms, which is the most delicious of dried vegetables, is a thinly chopped crispy onion.
An Excellent Antioxidant: Dried Onions
Is there a dish without onions? The active ingredients and nutritional values in dried onions, which can be safely used in soup, manti, salad, and menemen, as well as meat, chicken, and meatball mixtures, are higher than scallions. Onions are one of the most effective dried vegetables.
"Good Agriculture" Difference: Jr. SousChef’s Organic Dried Tomatoes
Dried tomatoes, which stand out as being rich in vitamin C among dried vegetables, are also said to help to clean blood. If you cook dried tomatoes, which do not lose their nutritional value when dried, especially with olive oil, you can increase their nutritional value. It is also possible to facilitate your digestion with dried tomatoes, which are very rich in fiber. However, the conditions under which vegetables and especially tomatoes are grown and how they are dried are important at this point. Jr. SousChef, which does not contain any additives and which is obtained from natural and quality tomatoes whose weather conditions and development are monitored, and which makes a difference with its tomatoes and dips, delivers healthy products to your tables with its dried tomatoes. Through the hygienic production method and natural flavoring, you can create magic in your kitchen with Jr. SousChef’s organic dried tomatoes, which is the most delicious output of rock salt meeting the sun.
