How to properly store dried apricots at home

Where can I store it?

First of all, you need to determine where to store dried apricots. Unfortunately, in a modern apartment it is difficult to create suitable conditions and find a place where it will not deteriorate and lose its taste. But it is quite possible.

In the box

The most convenient option for those who live in a small apartment is a box or table that should not be exposed to sunlight. In addition, there should not be high humidity, because this also harms dried fruits. Ideally, dried apricots should be stored in a tightly closed container. True, this storage method also has its disadvantages. The fact is that a white coating may appear on the surface of dried apricots over time. Or it will dry out even more and become tasteless.

In a refrigerator

Dried apricots can also be stored in the refrigerator. To do this, you also need to get glass or plastic containers. Containers also need to be checked on a regular basis. In the refrigerator, dried apricots can soften too much. It is not stored in such conditions for very long - a maximum of three to four months.

In the freezer

Another good place for storage is the freezer. Here, the shelf life of dried fruits can reach a year or even more. It is recommended to freeze dried apricots in bags or convenient small plastic containers. Eating dried apricots should be defrosted. All you have to do is keep the dried fruits at room temperature for a little while and you can enjoy them.

Secrets of chemical and temperature processing of dried fruits

Most often, dried fruits are fumigated with sulfur dioxide (sulfur dioxide, sulfur dioxide, SO2, another name is additive E220). This is how manufacturers kill bacteria and make the product inedible for insect pests.

Dried fruits are smoked in sulfur fumes, and they acquire shine and gloss in the literal sense of the word. The apricots and sultanas become golden and transparent, the prunes literally shine with fat and shine on the counter like polished black marble.

Opinions about the admissibility of treatment with sulfur dioxide are ambiguous: some say that in the form in which it is present in dried fruits, our body completely removes it. Others say that when dissolved in water, it turns into a weak solution of sulfurous acid, which in turn irritates mucous membranes of our digestive system.

What to do? You can soak dried fruits in cool water for a while, then drain the water and rinse thoroughly.

Another trap is the shine of dried fruits, which also appears for a reason, but after treatment with fat of poor quality and unknown origin or glycerin. "All that glitters is not gold." The more shiny, for example, prunes are, the more fat the producers spared.

Ideal dried fruits have an inconspicuous appearance: matte, wrinkled, often dusty. They are unlikely to shine.

At the same time, pour dried fruits onto a grid and point a burner or lamp at them. Of course, such dried fruits will be less healthy! In addition, they will absorb harmful substances and have a “gasoline” taste.

Gas drying must be equipped with a multi-stage system of cleaning filters through which hot air reaches the product. This rule is often ignored. As a result, carcinogenic substances settle on dried fruits. In addition, the natural aroma of the fruit disappears.

A tunnel oven or dryer is, roughly speaking, a tunnel with heating elements along which a conveyor with dried fruit moves. In Uzbekistan, according to the information we have, there are no such installations, but fruits from Moldova, Poland, Iran and other countries can be dried in a tunnel oven. Such dried fruits can smell like diesel fuel. The usefulness of such drying, as in the previous method, is questionable.

Plums, dates and raisins, especially those picked ahead of time, have such hard skin that they will not dry out on their own. Therefore, they are dipped in a boiling solution of caustic (non-food) soda, which causes the peel to become covered with small cracks and drying proceeds faster.

“Unfortunately, this is a necessary measure,” the producers are trying to justify. However, juice leaks out through the cracks, bacteria penetrate and this also does not have the best effect on the appearance.

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Liquid smoke - used to “smoke” dried apricots and prunes. There is an opinion that, despite manufacturers’ assurances about its safety, liquid smoke is a carcinogen.

In small quantities it’s not so scary, but we don’t know HOW the manufacturer processed the fruit and what specific type of liquid smoke. And in many countries around the world, “smoke in a bottle” is completely prohibited.

Light fruits should ideally be dark when dried. Dried apricots that are not fumigated with sulfur dioxide are dark in color, and a beautiful bright color is achieved with the help of dyes.

When choosing dried apricots, take a closer look at the inconspicuous grayish, pale yellow or dark brownish fruits - there is a chance that they have not been treated with chemicals.

Dried apricots can still be pale orange or yellowish, because they contain a storehouse of carotene, but bright orange only happens with a storehouse of chemicals.

Apricots are processed less, so they are often inconspicuous. Apricots with pits are healthier than dried apricots without pits. In the East they say: “If you take a seed out of a fruit, it means depriving it of its soul.”

This is confirmed by studies conducted in the West: apricots contain more vitamins and microelements than dried apricots; Prunes dried with pits also contain more useful substances than prunes without pits.

Also: “Where can I buy quality dried fruits?”

Prunes

Coffee shade

If the prunes have a coffee tint, this means that they were previously scalded with boiling water. And there are few vitamins in it.

Factory and private manufacturers dip prunes in boiling water, often with a solution of caustic soda, before drying for disinfection and better preservation.

This treatment causes prunes to turn brown, they lose many of their nutritional properties, and their taste begins to become bitter. Of course, boiling water does not exclude the stove, oven and open fire, which again does not add points to prunes for services to our body.

Dark gray "anthracite" shade

Also, you should not buy dark gray “anthracite” prunes; they are clearly treated with glycerin. Quote from a certain manual: “A product treated with glycerin has a shiny surface, which improves its presentation.”

Black color

Real prunes are just matte black, do not taste bitter, have a rich sweet taste with a slight sourness.

You can also check prunes this way: wet them and look at them after half an hour; natural ones should turn white in places, processed ones should not.

The less shiny the prunes are, the better. Why? Read at the beginning of the article about fumigation and about processing with low-quality fat of unknown origin or glycerin.

By the way, prunes from the USA can be coated with oil obtained from genetically modified soybeans.

Prunes with pits are healthier

In the East they say: “If you take a seed out of a fruit, it means depriving it of its soul.”

Therefore, real prunes without pits may cost less than real prunes with pits.

Dates

As with any other dried fruit, dates with pits are healthier than dates without pits.

Almost all dates sold in Russia are not dried, but canned in sticky glucose syrup. This is what it says on some packages.

Glucose syrup is very likely to be corn syrup (in the USA, mostly so, and in other countries - wheat or unknown).

Dried dates are preferable to those processed in syrup.

US Reality: “Many varieties of dried fruit, including raisins and dates, can be coated with oil derived from genetically modified soybeans.”

Perhaps you have tried this divine fruit in its full form at southern resorts. But fresh figs only come to us if they have been processed using harmful technologies. Because he is capricious. Therefore, it is better to eat dried figs rather than fresh ones.

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When choosing dried figs, you should remember that high-quality fruit has a light beige, light brown color, while the figs themselves are quite soft.

Also, its slightly flattened shape should indicate the high quality of dried figs.

Some people are sometimes put off by the white coating on figs. However, in fact, this is not a drawback, but a pleasant bonus in the form of released glucose (it is precisely this type of fig that is surprisingly sweet).

But if the figs have an unpleasant salty-sour taste, if they are rough to the touch, their shelf life has already expired.

99% of light raisins sold in stores and markets are treated with sulfur to give them a beautiful golden yellow color (see above for details).

Light grapes should ideally turn dark brown during the drying process. Raisins should not be uniformly yellow, soft and oily.

Dark grapes, when dried, turn black with a bluish tinge.

The best varieties of raisins at the market are thrown into the air for display and, as they fall, they knock like small pebbles. The raisins have a stalk left on purpose.

Dried apples

Seen in the recommendations for drying apples: “Apples are kept for 2-3 minutes in a 0.1-0.2 percent solution of sulfurous acid (1-2 grams per 2 liters of water) or fumigated with sulfur dioxide, burning the sulfur for 5-10 minutes (2 grams per kilogram of apples). This pre-treatment of raw materials reduces the oxidation of enzymes and eliminates darkening of the surface of apple slices during drying.”

For more information about the possible side effects of such drying, see the beginning of the article.

Dried bananas

See above about processing with fat.

Do not confuse dried fruits and candied fruits: candied fruits are a dessert, not a healthy product. They are often made from tropical fruits.

They are boiled in sugar syrup, dried, and even painted with who knows what. It is very easy to distinguish by appearance and taste.

They contain plenty of calories, but their benefits are questionable.

Although some nutritionists advise replacing sweets with candied fruits.

Walnuts

There should be no dots, spots, extraneous yellowness or mold on the walnuts.

Peanut

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Selection of dried fruits for storage

We select dried apricots in stages, adhering to the following rules and nuances:

Appearance of the product and its color. Dried apricots, dried without the use of chemicals or dyes, should be opaque, matte and brown or yellowish in color. The bright orange color and “translucency” of the fruit indicate its chemical processing.
Product density. The dried fruit should not be sticky and release juice when pressed.
Smell. Dried apricots have a pleasant apricot smell, without any soot or other foreign notes.
The taste of dried fruit is sweet and sour, without any aftertaste.
Size. Larger specimens are usually sweeter, have a rich taste and contain more nutrients.

Advice!
We pass by dried fruits, the surface of which shows signs of mold.

Features of choosing a container

To ensure that dried apricots do not lose their taste over time, you need to choose a container made of the right material. Many people are accustomed to the fact that cereals and spices are stored in plastic containers or linen bags, so dried fruits are also placed there. But this approach is completely wrong.

The fact is that any fabric bags allow moisture to pass through, and the food inside them becomes damp over time. As for plastic, it greatly spoils the smell of the product. If you store dried apricots in simple plastic bags, the dried apricots will become moldy. Metal containers also have their disadvantages. The metal is known for oxidizing any dried fruit (including dried apricots).

If the dried apricots need to be kept for a short time (literally a couple of days before cooking or eating), then you can use a thick box made of cardboard or wood for this. The same can be said about ceramic dishes. By putting dried apricots in it, you can store dried fruits for up to thirty days.

As for storing food in the freezer, this also has its own characteristics. In this case, dried apricots are best packaged in special freezing bags, which are sold in any supermarket, or in aluminum foil. After such packaging, they can be safely stored even in the same freezer with meat or fish.

Example of fumigation of dried fruits with sulfur

Do you think that dried fruits do not need to be washed? Look then how they fumigate dried fruits, how they dry them right in the dust of the road and stomp on them with dirty boots!

1. Sulfur for fumigating raisins

2. Now they will put sulfur on hot coals...

3. Burning sulfur is placed inside the “gas chamber”

4. Poisonous “steam room” for raisins

5. Unbearable fumes, impossible to be near!

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6. Properly sun-dried raisins. But you have to wash it afterwards.

7. Ready raisins (pay attention to how the guys pour this food product).

Storage tips

To properly store dried apricots at home, you need to know a few more important points.

Firstly, all containers in which this product is stored must be tightly closed. Sealed containers do not allow oxygen to reach dried fruits. Therefore, they deteriorate more slowly. This is also important because in this way the dried apricots are not saturated with unpleasant foreign odors.

It is also very important to sort through the dried apricots and see if there are any spoiled dried fruits or bugs there. This must be done before placing the dried apricots in the container. Next, you need to regularly check whether the dried apricots have deteriorated over time. If you do this constantly, then dried apricots can remain high quality and tasty for up to two years.
Before eating or cooking dried apricots that were previously stored in the refrigerator or drawer, it is recommended to soak them. This usually takes about an hour. After this, dried apricots become tasty and sweet again. In addition, hot water treatment allows you to get rid of dust and pests. In some cases, dried apricots are soaked in water with honey. When dried fruits are processed this way, they acquire a brighter taste and aroma. Dried fruits can also be reheated in the oven. This method works best if they have already become too wet or even spoiled. Dried fruits heated on a baking sheet also turn out very tasty. Once removed from the oven, the dried fruit can either be eaten immediately or put back into the container. After that, they will remain there for quite a long time.
It is also impossible to store all types of dried fruits in one container. You cannot mix prunes with figs, dried apricots and other dried berries and fruits simply because then their smells and tastes will mix. And this will not benefit either dried apricots or other products.

Finally, it’s worth answering the question that many people ask: is it worth buying dried apricots in large quantities? In general, the answer is yes. Finding tasty and high-quality dried apricots is not so easy, so if you come across one, you should stock up on it. You are especially lucky if the dried fruits are fresh.

The fact is that the storage conditions for dried fruits in supermarkets and stores are often far from correct. Almost no one controls either the temperature or the humidity level in the room where they lie. Therefore, it is better to buy dried apricots and store them in your drawer or refrigerator. This way you can be sure that the product will not spoil or become tasteless.

To learn how to properly store dried fruits, watch the following video.

Prevention

To prevent fungal diseases that cause the appearance of white plaque on grape leaves, you can spray with potassium permanganate. To do this, 10 crystals of potassium permanganate are dissolved in one liter of water; the solution should be pale pink. Grapes should be processed in this way before flowering begins.

To prevent the spread of the disease, infected plants are dug up and burned. After this, the soil is dug up, treated with fungicides, and nothing is planted there for two years.

To prevent oidium, in the spring, as soon as 3–5 leaves appear, the vineyard is sprayed with systemic fungicidal preparations: Topaz, Falcon, Strobi. A week before flowering, re-treatment is carried out. Before covering the grapes for the winter, the bushes are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Regular pruning and removal of unnecessary leaves will prevent infection.

To protect against grape itch, do not allow the vine to be on the ground. Even before the buds open, the bushes are sprayed with acaricides, and in the fall they are treated with lime decoction.

If signs of chlorosis are detected, it is necessary to ensure sufficient air permeability of the soil, drain it by adding expanded clay. Stop fertilizing with manure for a while. Feed the grapes with potassium sulfate or ammonium sulfate. Plant alfalfa or lupine nearby. Treat the roots with iron sulfate and the leaves with iron chelate.

Where to buy complete, high-quality, properly dried dried fruits?

1. You can go to the nearest market and choose fruits that are more or less acceptable in quality and processing technology. The above tips will help you. Although, of course, most of the dried apricots, prunes, and raisins lying on market shelves do not stand up to criticism. But relatively cheap.

2. In stores and supermarkets, the situation is no better: many dried fruits sold there have undergone (like many market ones) severe temperature treatment, after which they are brought to “shine and gold” with sulfur dioxide, glycerin, cheap oil - all those disadvantages that are mentioned stated in the article. Often the choice of more or less acceptable dried fruits at the market is wider than in the store.

3. There are online stores under the Solntsefrukty brand that pay attention to the quality of their products and carefully select suppliers, according to what is stated on their websites. These stores operate in different cities.

Or you can visit Oleg and Katya, who have already earned a good reputation, in their eco-shop (where you can choose good dried fruits, and at the same time pay attention to homemade pastries and sweets, and village dairy products).

The quality must be good, but, as they say, trust and verify. This is what we learned above in the article.

What are the benefits of dried fruits?

For humans, dried fruits are a source of essential vitamins, antioxidants and other beneficial elements. When food is prepared sparingly, most of the substances are preserved.

It does not collapse, as during heat treatment of fruits in preserves, compotes and jellies. Constant, reasonable consumption of dried fruits has a positive effect on the functioning of the brain, other systems and organs, and improves the condition of hair, skin and nails.

The specific benefits depend on the type of dried product:

pineapples help cope with intestinal infections, improve digestion, promote fat burning;
bananas improve mood and relieve muscle spasms;
Cherries saturate the body with vitamin C and increase resistance to viruses;
pear improves the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, helps cope with stress;
raisins protect against iron deficiency, improve blood circulation and digestion;
figs improve cognitive functions and reduce the body's susceptibility to infections;
dried apricots strengthen blood vessels, help the heart cope with daily stress, and have a positive effect on vision;
dates calm, lower blood pressure, fight fatigue;
prunes act like a laxative and help cope with gastrointestinal disorders;
apples reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, participate in stabilizing the process of hematopoiesis, help cleanse and protect the body from harmful substances, stimulate brain activity and strengthen the nervous system.

In any case, you should not overeat foods. Due to the loss of moisture during drying, the calorie content of the snack increases. If you eat the same amount of dried fruits daily as fresh fruits, excess weight will not keep you waiting. Dried plums, grapes, apricots are also contraindicated for stomach ulcers, dental problems, and diabetes.

The benefits of dried fruits