Key Points and Detailed Methods of Candied Jujube Processing Technology
(1) Process flow
Feeding → Peeling → Sulfur treatment → Sugar boiling → Sugar soaking → Draining sugar → Baking → Quality inspection → Weighing → Packaging → Storage
(2) Process specifications
(1) Raw materials: Select jujubes that are undamaged, pest-free, and have turned from green to white, with no red rings on the surface and uniform size.
(2) Peeling: Heat a 10% sodium hydroxide solution to 95-98°C, pour in the jujubes for 2-3 minutes, and as soon as the skins turn black, immediately remove them, rinse thoroughly with cold water, and neutralize the residual alkali with dilute hydrochloric acid water until neutral. Remove the jujubes and rinse them clean with water; at this point the skins have been completely removed.
(3) Sulfur soaking: Soak the jujubes in 0.3% sodium sulfite water for 30-50 minutes, then remove and drain dry.
(4) Sugar boiling: First bring water to a boil, then add sugar to make a sugar solution with a concentration of 40°Bx and add about 0.4% acid. Once the sugar is well dissolved, pour in the peeled jujubes for about 400 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula to heat the jujubes evenly and prevent burning. Add white sugar at 5%, 7%, 9%, and 11% and 30°Bx cold syrup in four batches, and boil until the sugar solution concentration reaches nearly 60°Bx.
(5) Sugar soaking: Pour the jujubes together with the sugar solution into a vat and continue soaking for 8 hours to encourage the jujubes to absorb as much sugar as possible.
(6) Draining sugar: Scoop the jujubes onto a steamer tray and drain off the excess sugar solution.
(7) Baking: Place the baking trays into the drying room and bake at 65-70°C for 15 hours until they are no longer sticky to the touch. Because this product is peeled, its sugar absorption and dehydration drying times are both shorter than those of candied jujubes.
(8) Weighing: Before weighing, quality inspection must be carried out first. Those with incomplete flesh or uneven sugar penetration must be removed. In addition, those with spots, residual peel, or other impurities must also be sorted out. After quality inspection, weigh them into bags of 250g and 500g.
(9) Packaging: Put the weighed jujubes into plastic bags printed with a trademark design, finally heat-seal them tightly, and store them in the warehouse.