Dried Sweet Papaya

There are places in this country where fruits abound, but there is no way of or it is difficult to transport them to market, thus they become rotten and are wasted away, or are given to hogs. In places where there is an oversupply of papaya , the fruits can be preserved for as long as 10 months by turning it into "Dried Sweet Papaya".

Materials:

Half-ripe papaya, 1 kilo
Kalamansi juice, 1 tbsp. for every cup of syrup
Sodium metabisulfite powder, for every 1/4 tsp. = + 1 tsp. lime in 4 cups water
1 part sugar for 2 parts water
1 kilo sugar for every kilo of papaya

Procedure:

1. Peel the half-ripe papaya and remove seeds, wash.
2. Slice into pieces, about 12 x 4 cm.
3. Arrange in nylon or sinamay and steam for 5-6 minutes.
4. Soak overnight in lime-metabisulfite solution.
5. Drain.
6. Soak the papaya overnight in hot syrup with calamansi.
7. Next day, drain the syrup and add 1½ cups more sugar.
8. Soak again overnight the papaya in hot syrup.
9. Repeat nos. 7, 8 & 9 for three more days.
10. Drain and rinse.
11. Arrange in trays and put in oven at 65°C-70°C for 16-18 hours, or dry in the sun until it becomes tough.
12. Keep in plastic bags, seal.

Source: Food & Nutrition Research Institute

Flour and Vinegar from Squash

Squash Flour

Procedure:

1. Wash and peel the squash, remove the core and seeds.

2. Slice into 1 x cm.

3. Soak in 0.01% sodium metabisulfite to preserve the natural food nutrients.

4. Wash in tap water, drain.

5. Blanch for 15 minutes, drain.

6. Dry in an oven at about 50-55 C.

7. Grind and strain several times. Pack in plastic bags and cover tightly.

Squash Vinegar

Procedure:

1. Wash the core and peelings, add three parts water for every part of the core and peelings.

2. Boil for 15 minutes. 3. Strain. Add 1 1/4 cup sugar for every 4 cups of liquid mixture.

3. Roll again for 20 minutes. Transfer into a container, add 1 tsp. yeast.

4. Allow to ferment for 7 days until it reaches an alcohol content of 8%.

5. Decant the alcohol solution slowly so as to separate the precipitate from the alcohol solution.

6. Add 1 cup vinegar starter for every 4 cups of the alcoholic solution.

7. Allow to ferment for 15-20 days. Acidity of the solution is 6-7% as compared to commercial brands of 4%.

Source: ITDI (DOST); photo from photo.net