CONVENIENCE AND HEALTH FOODS 3 (1+2)

Lesson 10 : Fruit And Vegetable Based Convenience Foods

Vegetable based convenience foods

Dehydrated vegetables: The dehydrated vegetables are easy to transport and cater to the needs of large food establishments. The process consists of grading, sorting, washing, trimming, blanching, chemical treatment, dehydration and packing. Defence Food Research Laboratory has developed a solar drier with three plate collector for dehydration of vegetables.

Anardana

1. The pomegranate seed is dried and used as a spice.
2. The improved processing technique consists of pre-cleaning, mechanized extraction of arils, solar drying and packaging.

Instant Pickles:

1. The traditional pickle making involves elaborate and time consuming process.
2. Instant pickles have now been developed which could be easily reconstituted for convenience.
3. The process consists of selection of fully matured commodity, washing, cutting, brine curing, drying, addition of dry spice mixes and packing in unit packages.

Mushroom products

1. Profitable mushroom cultivation can be taken up in rural areas for gainful employment.
2. The fresh produce can be value added by canning, dehydration, pickle making, sauce and ketchup preparation.

Tomato products:

1. Tomatoes can be converted to purees, paste, ketchup, sauce and other products.
2. There is a good domestic market and export market for tomato products.

Tomato ketchup: Meaning: De-skinned, deseeded and strained tomato pulp is boiled with salt and vinegar, sieved through a sieve and then heated with sugar till it thickens. Spices like onion, garlic, pepper, cloves, and cinnamon and cumin seeds are extracted into vinegar that is used in formulation.

Convenience mixes:

Several convenience mixes have been developed based on dehydrated and fried vegetables and other ingredients. These vegetable curry mixes are quick cooking and retain the delicate taste of Indian culinary preparation with a shelf life of over nine months.