Detailed Processing Method for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Paste

I. Raw Material Formula. Sweet potato 45 kg, black beans 15 kg, white granulated sugar 20 kg, vegetable oil 1.5 kg, caramel coloring 0.2 kg, sufficient water.

II. Processing Key Points

1. Treatment of Raw and Auxiliary Materials: Select fresh or winter-stored sweet potatoes, requiring no mildew or rot, no deterioration, no pests or diseases, and no sprouts. Remove both ends, wash clean of sand and set aside; black beans should be free of mold, borers, and sand grains. After washing with clean water, soak in warm water for 3-4 hours; dissolve sugar in purified water and filter to make a 75% sugar solution; separately dissolve caramel coloring in an appropriate amount of water, add vegetable oil and stir evenly into an emulsion, set aside.

2. Boiling and Water Cooking: Place the treated sweet potatoes into a boiling pot and heat with steam until cooked through with no hard core; place black beans into a jacketed kettle and heat with steam until fully soft and tender. During the cooking process, prevent the sweet potatoes and black beans from burning or scorching.

3. Mixing and Making Paste: Cool the cooked sweet potatoes and peel by hand, cut into small pieces with a knife or other tool, then mix with the cooked black beans in a certain proportion, and crush into paste using a pulping machine or grinding mill.

4. Blending: Place the material paste into a blending barrel, add the prepared auxiliary materials, mechanically stir until the color is uniform and consistent, while heating to 80°C.

5. Bagging, Sterilization, and Cooling: Fill the semi-finished product into retort pouches using a filling machine, with specifications of 500 grams or 250 grams per bag. After vacuum exhausting, heat seal, sterilize with high-pressure water at 196 kPa pressure for 45 minutes, and cool to 45°C to obtain the finished product.