Process steps of lotus seed processing
1.Although the lotus seeds are small, there are many processes beforedrying, such as picking the lotus pods, peeling the lotus pods, peeling the lotus seeds, peeling the skins, and removing the lotus cores.
2.The peeled lotus seeds should be selected. In general,the old and tender ones should be separated, which is conducive to peeling. The removed lotus core is green, like green tea. The dried lotusseed is a very good Chinese herbal medicine for clearing heat, and it can also be used to make tea.
lotus seed drying process
After the previous steps, put the cleaned lotus seeds into the sieve and then into the material cart. Each material truck should not have more than 14 sieves, and the distance between the sieve layers should be controlled at about 10 cm to ensure that there is a reasonable gap in the drying room. This design is conducive to hot air passing. After everything is ready, start the temperature and humidity control panel of the dryer. The temperature should not be too high at the first beginning. If the temperature is too high and the humidity in the initial drying room is high, it will cause simmering and affect the taste of lotus seeds.
In general, the temperature setting at about 50 ℃ is appropriate. When baking, you should firstly heat the air in the drying room for initial drying, and turn over the lotus seeds from now and then. However, it is not suitable to directly touch the lotus seeds with hands, so as not to affect the whiteness of the lotus seeds. After about half an hour, when the lotus seeds surface has water droplets oozing out (commonly known as sweating), lower it to 40℃-50℃ and dry steadily, it should prevent the dried lotus seeds from turning yellow. When the lotus seeds are dried to a moisture content of less than 11%, the drying process shall be stopped, and the lotus seed should be cooled down to room temperature for packaging. In general, the drying time is about 6-8 hours.