How to use the dried fruit and vegetable

! as snack ! in porridge - pound the dried fruit and add to

THE GAIA-MOVEMENT BOOKLET NO 2 HOW TO: GET VITAMINS YEAR ROUND SOLAR DRYING FRUIT AND VEGETABLE

cooked porridge ! as a drink - pound, sieve to remove fibres and add boiling water ! dried vegetables can be boiled - short time - together with beans or other ingredients for meals

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www.gaia-movement.org

Get vitamins year round solar drying fruit and vegetable Idea The idea is to build and use solar driers to dry fruit and vegetable so vitamins can be available out of the fruiting seasons. Introduction Fruit and vegetable contain many vitamins - especially Vitamin A and C. Especially for growing children it is very important that they get enough of these. The first 6 months the child gets A vitamin through mothers milk. So pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should also make sure they get sufficient Vitamin A. Vitamin A is made from the yellow and orange colour (Beta Carotene) in fruit or vegetable. So to get vitamin A it is good to eat carrots, mangoes, papaya (pawpaw) but also tomatoes and cabbage are a good source. Vitamin A is important because it:
! prevents infections ! keeps eyes healthy ! is required to grow well *2*

! Remove the slices and drain of the syrup ! Continue as with mangoes and bananas

How to dry vegetable Many green leaves are good for drying. They should like the fruits be cleaned well and cut in smaller pieces. To keep many vitamins and to keep a fresh colour it is good to blanch them before drying. ! Water with salt is boiled ! The vegetables are put in a clean cloth or basket ! Hard vegetables (kale etc) are dipped in boiling water 3 minutes ! Softer leaves like spinach dipped for 2 minutes ! Immediately after taking them up, dip in cold water ! Spread on trays, dry until crispy dry and pack like the fruits

chopped vegetables sieve boiling water with salt stones firewood Blanching of vegetables *7*

How to dry fruit It is important to use firm and ripe fruits. Do not use overripe fruits. Mangoes and bananas ! wash well in clean water (scrub - if mangoes) ! peel and cut in thin slices so they dry fast ! dip in lemon juice and water (20:1) - then less vitamins are lost ! spread on a tray made of bamboo, plastic, sisal metal destroys vitamins ! cover the drier at night and if it rains. Or take it inside. ! dried after 3-4 days, when dry but still leathery they do not break ! pack in plastic bags, close well and make small holes ! keep in dark and dry place - for example in a mealy meal bag - hanging inside the house so rats and mice do not eat them. Guavas and papapya (pawpaw) As for mangoes but they should be dipped in a syrup made of lemon juice mixed with sugar. ! Lemon juice is mixed with two parts of water. This is heated gently and the double amount of sugar is gently dissolved by stirring ! Continue stirring until it cools ! Wash the firm ripe fruits ! Remove seeds and threads and cut thin slices ! Immediately after cutting dip slices in the syrup and hold for 15 minutes
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Good sources for vitamin C are oranges, lemon and lime, but also guava, green pepper, rape and other vegetables have much of it. Vitamin C is important because it: ! prevents infections ! produces brain and nerve substances ! controls blood cholesterol levels ! makes the body better at getting iron from the food The best way to get vitamins is to eat the fresh fruits. But fruits like mangoes are plentyfull for a few months only. They often go to waste or are sold much too cheap because there are too many. By drying the mangoes it is possible to have a vitamin source the whole year round. Many fruits and vegetable are good for drying: Mango, bananas, guava, papaya, pineapple, tomatoes and green vegetables Experiment with fruits from your local forests Mahobohobo, morula etc. They are also filled with vitamins and plentyfull for short periods. If you dry fruit and vegetable directly in the sun most of the vitamins are lost. But in a solar drier most of the vitamins are kept. It is simple to build a solar drier.

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Instruction How to build the solar drier Different models can be made. All look like a box and have a tray inside where fruit and vegetable are placed for drying. This tray can be made of bamboo or straw and must allow air to flow through. Mosquito net or other plastic netting can also be used. The sides of the can be made of timber or metal sheets. Then you can easily move the drier to the place you need it, turn it so it gets most sun and move it inside if it rains. Or you can make a fixed drier using bricks or clay. It is important that there are holes in the sides so new air can come in to dry the fruit. In the simplest model a box is covered with a frame of black plastic. The fruit and vegetable should not get direct sunlight - that is why black plastic is used. You can also divide the box in two parts - but still so air can move from one to the other:
! the heating part. Use clear plastic or glass to get clear plastic in heating chamber

heating drying chamber black plastic on a frame air passage Portable indirect solar drier

more solar energy inside. You can also paint the insides black - or carefully burn the planks black ! the drying part. Here black plastic is used. The tray for drying is placed here.

This model should be placed so the heated air - from the heating part - moves up through the drying part. Hot air will always go up just like smoke. You can make a system so the drier can be turned to face the sun always. It is also good to make a system so you can open more or less where the air goes out (the top end). If it gets too hot in the drier you can then open more. Further improvement can be that the end can be opened so the tray or trays can be placed without moving the plastic top.

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