PURPOSE: A drying method of dried persimmon is provided to shorten the drying time than the conventional natural drying method with maintaining or improving the quality. CONSTITUTION: Peeled persimmons are loaded in a drying apparatus equipped with a refrigerator. The peeled persimmons are dried at 1-30deg.C for 3-6 days. The persimmons dried at a room temperature are dried at 1-30deg.C. A cooling process that the inner material temperature of the dried persimmon is dropped at the range of below 0deg.C and above the freezing point at lowest is periodically repeated for 3 to 10 days. The drying temperature in the drying process is 15 to 25deg.C. The drying time in the drying process is 12 to 24 hours. The inner material temperature of the dried persimmon in the cooling process is -6.4 to -1deg.C. The cooling temperature in the cooling process is -5 to -10deg.C. The cooling time in the cooling process is 4 to 10 hours. The drying and cooling processes are repeated 3 to 6 times. The wind speed in the drying and cooling processes is 2 m/s to 6 m/s. The room temperature drying step is performed by periodically repeating a normal temperature drying which dries the peeled persimmons at 15-25deg.C and a low temperature drying which dries the peeled persimmons at 0-8deg.C. The drying time in the normal temperature drying of the room temperature drying step is 12-24 hours, and the drying time in the low temperature drying is 4-10 hours. The normal temperature drying and low temperature drying in the room temperature drying step are repeated 3 to 5 times.본 발명은 실온 건조단계와 영상 및 영하 변온건조단계를 순차적으로 수행하는 곶감 건조방법에 관한 것으로, 재래식 자연건조공법에 비해 건조시간을 5배 정도 단축하고, 또 이로 인하여 유황훈증처리가 필요치 않게 되며, 자연건조공법으로 제조된 곶감과 당도와 풍미 및 색깔이 유사하면서도 껍질두께가 얇고, 외부주름발생이 억제된 우수한 품질의 곶감을 제조할 수 있는 곶감 건조방법을 제공하고, 또한 곶감의 제조가 어려웠던 '특대' 등급의 대봉시 역시 곶감으로 제조할 수 있게 한다.
