2.2. Boiling in brine and sun drying
Raw whole shrimp was kept at room temperature for 10 min
before cooking in brine (5% NaCl solution, w/v). Cooking was performed
for 15 min in a 25 cm diameter stainless steel pot, with a
shrimp to brine mass ratio of 1:2 on weight basis. These conditions
are similar to those used in Mexico for the traditional production of
dried salted shrimp (Soto-Rodríguez et al., 2008). After boiling, the
shrimp were separated from the brine and allowed to reach room
temperature.
Cooked shrimps were spread on a plastic mesh and exposed to
direct sunlight for periods of 8 h per day during 4 days. During sun
drying, each shrimp was flipped every 2 h, to ensure similar exposure
to sunlight on both sides.