Isn't it fun to have all these wonderful summer fruits and vegetables? It's great until you have a surplus and don't know what to do with them.A patient at work brought us three grocery bags full of apricots. They were perfect! I took home a nice amount, but I didn't know what to do with them. I thought of what my family would like and decided to dry them in the dehydrator. It also gave me a chance to try something new and play with my dehydrator a little.
I got my info from ehow.com. So check it out for more detail.
Dried Apricots
1. Cut the apricots in half and remove pit. Press the skin of the apricot inward pushing the flesh of the apricot outward. This is called "popping the back". It helps the apricots lay flat on the the screen and dry evenly.
2. Make an oxidation bath for the apricots to prevent browning. Use 1/4 cup of lemon juice for every cup of water needed to cover the apricots. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Spread the apricots in a single layer on the screens. Air should be able to circulate easily between the pieces of fruit. This link has instructions on oven and air drying.
4. Dry according to directions. My apricots took about 12 hours. You want the finished product to have most of the moisture removed but not crispy.
These were so chewy and sweet. We really enjoyed them and I wished that I had more apricots!
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what a great little nibble - portable goodness.
ReplyDeleteI love dried apricots! How neat that you made your own! A healthy and yummy snack.
ReplyDeletePerfect treat, and imagine the many ways you can use these in baked goods..yum.
ReplyDeleteI need to get me a dehydrator, that's one thing I've never got around to puchasing and I love dried fruit and jerky. Your apricots look delicious!
ReplyDeleteOh yum those look so good!! I remember my mom doing this back in the 80's..lol She was drying banana's,apples and even tried to make fruit roll ups..those were really bad.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted a dehydrator! In college Ron Popeil was always selling those Ronco dehydrators on TV late at night. I must have watched that infomercial a hundred times while studying. These apricots make me want to buy a dehydrator again!! What a healthy snack idea!
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