Dried fruit

Dried fruit and nuts at a Marrakesh market

What is Dried fruit?

Dried fruit is fruit that has been dried, either naturally or through use of a machine, such as a food dehydrator. Raisins, prunes, and dates are examples of popular dried fruits. Other fruits such as apples, apricots, bananas, cranberries, figs, kiwi fruit, mangoes, pawpaw, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapples, strawberries, and tomatoes may also be dried. In addition to dried whole fruits, fruit purée can be dried in sheets to make fruit leather.

Drying preserves fruit, even in the absence of refrigeration, and significantly lengthens its shelf life. When fresh fruit is unavailable, impractical, or out of season, dried fruit can provide an alternative. It is often added to baking mixes and breakfast cereals.

Since dehydration may result in water loss up to seven parts out of eight, dried fruit has a stronger flavour than its fresh counterpart. The drying process also destroys most of the Vitamin C in the food.

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