Processing Methods and Technical Key Points for Peach Crystals

(1) Process flow:

raw material selection → washing → crushing → juicing → concentration → adding powdered sugar → stirring → forming → drying → packaging.

(2) Technical key points:

① Raw material selection: choose fresh peach fruits with high ripeness, plumpness, abundant juice and strong aroma; remove diseased, insect-damaged, rotten and browned fruits; first soak the fruits in 0.5%-1.5% hydrochloric acid for 2-3 minutes, then rinse them clean with water, and it is best to wash off the peach fuzz.

② Cutting and pit removal: cut the fruits open with a stainless steel knife, then remove the pits with a pitting knife.

③ Crushing and juicing: mash the fruits into a pulp with a pulping machine. During crushing, add an antioxidant at 0.04%-0.08% ascorbic acid by fruit weight to prevent oxidation. Extract the juice with a juicer; after the first pressing, the pomace can be removed, mixed evenly with 10% clean water, and pressed once more.

④ Concentration: generally use atmospheric-pressure concentration. Concentration can be carried out with heating in a stainless steel jacketed kettle, with the steam pressure controlled at 0.25 MPa. Stir continuously during concentration and properly control the amount of material added so that the concentration time for each batch does not exceed 40 minutes. When the sugar content reaches 58%-59% (by refractometer) after concentration, it is ready to be removed from the kettle.

⑤ Adding powdered sugar: take dry granulated sugar, grind it into powder and sift it into powdered sugar. For every 15 kg of concentrated juice, add 35 kg of white sugar and stir evenly. To improve the flavor, an appropriate amount of citric acid may be added.

⑥ Forming: generally use a granulating machine to mix it into rice-grain-sized particles, or gently rub it by hand to loosen the powder mass, then sift it into granules through nylon or metal sieves with aperture sizes of 2.5 mm and 0.9 mm.

⑦ Drying: evenly spread the formed peach powder granules in an enamel tray or drying tray to a thickness of 1.5-2 cm. The drying time is 3 hours, and the temperature is controlled at 65°C. When drying has proceeded for 2 hours, turn the peach crystals in the tray over once to make them heat evenly and speed up drying.

⑧ Packaging: pack the dried finished product immediately after it cools. Generally 20 grams per small bag, which can be brewed into one cup.

(3) Quality requirements: peach crystals are yellow or white, with uniform granule size and no impurities; after being dissolved in water, the beverage is pale yellow or colorless, sweet and sour in taste, and has the flavor of peach juice.