Homemade Dried Fruit (2024)

FAQs

Homemade Dried Fruit? ›

To make dried fruits, start by cutting some fruit into thin slices. If you're drying small fruits like berries, you can leave them whole. Then, spread the fruit out on a lined baking sheet and put it in the oven. Let the fruit dry for 4-8 hours at your oven's lowest temperature setting.

Lay the fruit slices on the baking sheet and place in the oven for anywhere from 4-12 hours (again, depending on thickness and water content). For me the apples/pears took 4-5 hours, the lemons took 7-8 and the apricots took about 12. Let cool and enjoy!

Dried fruit is highly nutritious. One piece of dried fruit contains about the same amount of nutrients as the fresh fruit, but condensed in a much smaller package. By weight, dried fruit contains up to 3.5 times the fiber, vitamins and minerals of fresh fruit.

Dried foods are tasty, nutritious, lightweight, and easy to store and use. The energy input is less than what is needed to freeze or can, and the storage space is less than that needed for canning jars and freezer containers. Dried fruits make high-energy snacks.

It's economical: While you can purchase equipment to make dehydrating easier, you can also dehydrate food successfully using what you already have in your kitchen. Plus, in-season produce is cheaper than buying it fresh, out-of-season; preserving it now keeps money in your pocket later.

“Recommended storage times for dried foods range from 4 months to 1 year. Because food quality is affected by heat, the storage temperature helps determine the length of storage; the higher the temperature, the shorter the storage time. Most dried fruits can be stored for 1 year at 60ºF, 6 months at 80ºF.

If you own an air fryer, then dehydrating fruit is really simple. In fact, many of the fancier air fryers even have a dehydrating mode. To use this mode, simply pop your fruit into the basket, set the air-fryer to the 'dehydrate' mode, and it will begin removing the moisture from your fruit, easy!

Don't have a dehydrator? Don't worry! You can use your household oven to dehydrate most common foods!

Some of the healthiest options with the most nutritional value include raisins, apricots, prunes and dates. But note that dried fruit may contain added sugar so opt for ones without as a healthier alternative.

High Sugar Content

"Because dried fruits are concentrated (the water has been removed) they come in small, dense packages that are very high in sugar and calories," Shapiro explains. "This makes it easy to eat too many at one time, which can quickly lead to increased sugar and caloric intake, and in turn, weight gain."

Is dehydrated fruit the same as dried fruit? ›

“A dehydrated fruit is a dried fruit but a dried fruit is not necessarily a dehydrated fruit. Everything depends on the quality of the drying process used.”

Potential Risks of Dried Fruit

While dried fruit is high in fiber, its high sugar content can actually lead to weight gain. Fresh fruit is a better option. In fresh fruit, the high fiber content is accompanied by a high water content.

Therefore, avoid drying foods like peanut butter or avocados and be sure to trim meat to remove any fat before dehydrating. While nonfat dairy products can technically be dehydrated, it's not recommended and may be associated with a higher risk of foodborne illness.

Pretreating light-colored fruits before drying is important for the quality and safety of the final product. Soaking the sliced fruit in an acidic solution preserves the color and texture of the dried fruits, and it increases the destruction of potentially harmful bacteria during drying.

Arrange the prepared produce on a baking sheet or tray and place it in the freezer. This step, known as pre-freezing, prevents the food from clumping together during the freeze-drying process. Once the produce is pre-frozen, transfer it to the shelves of a freeze dryer.