Production of preserved Lotus Root

1. Choose the material. Fresh lotus root with yellowish epidermis, white meat and 40~50mm in diameter should be selected, and white sugar with clean white, uniform and transparent particles should be selected, which meets the hygienic standard.

two。 Pre-processing. Wash the lotus root in clean water, cut off the lotus root, and rinse it several times in clean water. 2.5% sodium hydroxide solution was prepared and heated to 90 ℃. Then put the washed lotus root into the sodium hydroxide solution and stir constantly. When the lotus root skin begins to fall off, it can be removed and washed in clean water until the lotus root skin is completely removed. Cut the peeled lotus root into 5mm thick lotus root slices, immediately soak in 0.5% sodium bisulfite solution for 90 minutes, then rinse clean. After the above treatment, the lotus root slices are precooked. Pre-cooking can inhibit the role of microorganisms and enzymes and prevent oxidation and discoloration. At the same time, it can also soften lotus root slices properly, making sugar easy to infiltrate. Pre-boil the lotus root slices to soften slightly.

3. Soak and cook. ① formula. Proper amount of fresh lotus root 50kg, sugar 25kg and citric acid. Prepare sugar solution: clear water 16.5kg, white sugar 12.5kg, citric acid 60g. First dissolve the sugar with clear water, add citric acid, stir fully, and the pH value of the sugar solution is 2-2.5. This is the first soaking liquid. The second and third soaking liquid can be prepared with the sugar solution after the previous soaking, or can be reprepared. The sugar content of the first cooking solution is 40%, and the sugar content of each subsequent cooking liquid is 10% more than that of the previous one, and the pH value is controlled by 2-2.5. Boiled with ②. Boil the first soaking solution and put the preprocessed lotus root slices into. Keep stirring when cooking. When the lotus root slices are softened, pour the lotus root slices and sugar solution into the jar and soak for 24 hours. After soaking, soak the lotus root slices in the second precooking solution for 15 minutes, then pour them into the jar together with the sugar solution and soak for 24 hours. The third soaking time is 10 minutes and the soaking time is 2 days. Then remove and drain the sugar solution as the semi-finished product. Note that whether it is pre-cooking or soaking, it is best not to use an iron pot, because iron can synthesize black substances with tannins in the products, affecting the color and quality of the products.

4. Bake. Put the boiled lotus root slices in a drying room of about 65 ℃, then sugar-coated. The method of sugar coating is as follows: first mix 3 parts of sucrose, 1 part of starch syrup and 2 parts of water into sugar solution, heat to 113 ℃, then cool to 93 ℃, then dip the dried lotus root slices in sugar solution for 1 minute, take out and drain, and then dry in a 50 ℃ oven. The dried preserved lotus root can be packed or stored after finishing.