Dried Fruit

Dried fruit gets that way when most of the moisture is removed. This can be accomplished by using the oven, the microwave, the sun, or a food dehydrator. The most popular dried fruits are raisins, prunes, and dates. Others commonly available in stores are apricots, figs, apple slices, cranberries, and tomatoes. Many more fruits can be dried, including apricots, bananas, pears, and pineapples.

Want to try drying fruit at home? You’ll find step-by-step instructions at each of these sites:

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_fruit

http://www.ehow.com/how_2083871_dry-fruit.html

What’s the advantage of drying fruit? Without refrigeration, shelf life is lengthened. Also, because of the great loss of water, the flavor is stronger. Therefore, when fresh fruit is not available or not practical, dried fruit is a tasty alternative. In general, the vitamin content of dried fruit is high, but the drying process does destroy most of the vitamin C.