Processing Methods and Technical Points for Mandarin Orange Peel Food Products
Mandarin orange peel accounts for about 20% of the total weight of the fruit. In China at present, aside from a small amount used as traditional Chinese medicine, dried tangerine peel, and for extracting essential oils, most of it has not yet been utilized. In fact, mandarin orange peel contains large amounts of vitamin C, carotene, protein, sugars and various trace elements that are beneficial to human health, has high nutritional value, and can be processed into many kinds of health foods or food ingredients, making it an important food resource.
Orange peel jam: take mold-free orange peel, wash clean, soak in clean water, then remove and drain, chop and put into a pot with water to soak, bring to a boil over high heat, then switch to low heat and simmer for 5 hours (until it can be crushed by hand). Then remove the orange peel and mash it, add white sugar in the same amount as the dry weight of the orange peel and mix well, then cook over low heat for 4 minutes to obtain a sweet and fragrant orange peel jam.
Orange peel powder: after washing and sun-drying orange peel, crush it, then dry it by methods such as freeze-drying or spray-drying to produce orange peel powder with excellent color and flavor. It can be added as a flavoring agent, coloring agent and dietary fiber to cakes, biscuits and ice cream.
Candied orange peel: wash fresh orange peel clean with water (soak dried peel for 2-3 hours), cut into strips 5 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. Soak in 10% salt water for 1-2 days to remove the bitter taste. Then put the orange peel strips into boiling water and cook for several minutes, until cooked through. Cook in sugar for 5 minutes, then soak for 24 hours. Remove, drain the sugar liquid, put into an oven or drying room to bake (60°C-70°C), and take out when 70%-80% dry.
Orange peel candy: 50 kg fresh orange peel, 40 kg white granulated sugar, 300 g licorice powder, 100 g five-spice powder, and an appropriate amount of food coloring. Wash fresh orange peel clean, thoroughly rub and break the oily and crisp outer layer, soak in 10% salt water for 1 day and night, then put into clean water and boil for 5 minutes, remove and drain, and sun-dry for one day. Cut it into neat small squares and put them in a pot, then add white granulated sugar to an appropriate amount of clean water, boil to dissolve, and cook until the sugar liquid is thick and the peel is translucent, then remove from the heat. Remove the sugar-cooked orange peel pieces, drain the sugar liquid, spread them on a bamboo tray, then add part of the white granulated sugar and mix well. Put the sugar-mixed orange peel into a tray and send it to a drying room, or it can be sun-dried. At this point, evenly sprinkle five-spice powder and licorice powder on the dried peel to obtain mandarin orange peel candy.
Fruit leather: take mold-free mandarin orange peel, orange peel and pomelo peel, wash clean with water, drain, crush with a grinder and then grind into a slurry while still wet, generally grinding 2-3 times until it becomes a paste. Add water to the peel slurry to dilute it, put it into a double-layer pot to concentrate, and after it boils, evenly add white sugar, continue simmering over low heat for 30 minutes, then add a small amount of citric acid to make it sweet and sour. Finally add 15 g cyclodextrin to remove bitterness, and at the same time add 15 g food red to adjust the color. Spread the color-adjusted peel slurry while hot onto a tempered glass plate, then place it on a drying rack and send it into a drying room for baking. The temperature is 65-70°C, and baking for about 14 hours, until the moisture content is 18%-20%, is sufficient. After cooling, cut into long strips and package.