How to dry apricots for dried apricots and dried fruits at home? At what temperature should you dry apricots?

How to dry apricots for the winter using dried apricots at home?

The benefits of apricots are undeniable. How I would like to enjoy these fruits all year round! Vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, organic acids, macro- and microelements - an invaluable contribution to the health of the body and the flawless functioning of all organs
Apricots are especially useful for heart diseases. Potassium contained in fruits is an important element for the normal functioning of the myocardium of the heart muscle.
How to stock up on apricots for the whole year? There are many options for preparing and storing delicious fruits. One of them is drying apricots
Drying is the natural or artificial evaporation of liquid by concentrating and preserving the beneficial substances contained in the fruit. This method eliminates the risk of the development of microorganisms during subsequent proper storage of products

Apricots on a branch

Video: How to prepare dried apricots at home?

Benefits of dried apricots for restoring energy

Dried apricot fruits are a healthy treat for both adults and children

Dried apricots are a high-calorie product containing organic sugars: fructose, glucose and other low molecular weight carbohydrates
Several dried apricot fruits help suppress hunger and restore the body's energy costs during hikes and long trips.
Dry apricots can be used as a snack between meals in many weight loss diets.

Properly dried apricots

Some tricks for drying apricots

Fully ripe and undamaged apricots are selected for drying.
If the fruits have just been picked from the tree and are clean, then it is better not to wash dried apricots and apricots for harvesting.
To avoid darkening of the fruit during drying, you should keep the apricot halves in a colander over hot steam for some time and dip them in a solution with lemon juice or citric acid in the proportion: 8 teaspoons per liter of water. Then dry the fruits on a cloth or wire rack

Drying apricots. Step-by-step instruction

Step 1

Select fruits that are ripe, but not overripe, without rot or signs of impact. Too green ones will crack, and more mature ones will become squishy in the process of preparing for drying. It is better to collect apricots for drying from the tree.

Step 2

Wash the fruits thoroughly under running water and dry on a clean towel.

Step 3

Using a knife, break the apricots into two halves and remove the pits. Turn the apricot halves inside out.

Step 4

Place the apricot halves on the trays of an electric dryer with the flesh facing up. Make sure the pieces don't touch each other! They should be well blown from all sides. It is important.

Step 5

Set the temperature to 50 degrees and let the apricots dry at this temperature for about 18-24 hours. It is advisable to rearrange the trays once an hour, changing their places, for more uniform drying.

Step 6

Remove dry fruits and continue drying at a temperature of 65 degrees until completely dry. The second stage took me another 18 hours.

Make sure your dryer is in a well-ventilated area.

Step 7

Leave the finished apricots to cool and dry completely at room temperature for another 12 hours. After this, they need to be stored in containers or jars.

Step 8

Shake the jars daily for two weeks. If you notice any condensation, dry the apricots for another hour, cool, and put them back in the jars.

Useful tips. To make the apricots a brighter color (like store-bought ones), you can resort to a little trick. Place the prepared apricots in a plastic bag. Dissolve a teaspoon of ascorbic acid (you can buy it at the pharmacy) in half a liter of water. Shake the apricots with ascorbic acid and keep them in the solution for 5-10 minutes, shaking occasionally.
For a sweeter option, simmer the apricot halves in a solution of 1 part sugar and 2 parts water for 10 minutes, and let sit for 45 minutes. Then drain the syrup, dry the fruits and put them in an electric dryer.

At what temperature should you dry apricots?

The temperature factor when drying fruits is the most important component of proper drying technology.

The fruit drying process begins and ends at a lower temperature: 40-50 degrees. The main drying is carried out at an optimal temperature of 60-70 degrees.

Apricots in an electric dryer

How to dry apricots for the winter in an electric dryer?

A variety of electric dryers from different manufacturers greatly facilitate and speed up the process of drying fruits. They have different configurations, are equipped with sets of plastic trays and are equipped with a fan and a powerful heating element
The fruit halves are laid out loosely on plastic trays so that the fruits lie at some distance from each other and cannot stick together. The first and last two hours of drying are set to 50 degrees. In the middle of the process, the temperature is maintained at 60 degrees. On average, apricots are dried in an electric dryer for 10 hours, depending on the density of the fruit

Video: Dried apricots in an electric dryer

How to dry crops at home

There are devices that will help you prepare dried apricots yourself.

Oven drying

It goes like this:

Place the fruits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper;
first remove the seeds, wash and inspect;
set the temperature to 50 degrees and send the fruit there;
We do not close the oven door completely, we cover it so that the moisture escapes;
The process will take up to 10 hours, but despite this, it is considered fast.

Drying in an air fryer

Having this device in your kitchen will help you quickly dry fruits. What to do:

Place pre-washed apricots on the racks of the appliance.
Set the temperature to 120 degrees, wait 20-30 minutes.

In the microwave

Microwave ovens strongly dry fruits, evaporating water from them, for this reason the process requires attention to how it goes:

Place the fruits in a bowl, having previously washed them under running water;
We set the power to no more than three hundred watts, and the timer to 2 minutes;
If during this time the fruit does not dry, then increase the time by 30 seconds.

Drying in the sun

Sunlight will help dry the fruits, what will we do:

Place them on a wire rack, cover with gauze, and leave for 5-6 hours.
During this time, they will dry out and stop releasing juice.
Then we transfer the apricots to a sunny place and dry until tender.
The process will take from a week to two, depending on the size of the fruit and the weather.

Outdoors, in the fresh air

Perhaps the simplest method, which is suitable for those who live in the southern regions of the country:

the fruits are laid out on a baking sheet, having first washed and inspected them;
do not cover it with a lid or newspaper, put it in a place that is well ventilated, air circulation is important;
leave for several days, turning over periodically so that they do not start to rot.

Advice: it is important to protect fruits from insects; gauze will help to do this; it is often used to cover fruits that are being dried.

In an electric dryer

It will take a lot of time to get tasty dried apricots:

Place the fruits on the drying tray in one row.
We will dry for the first 2 hours at a temperature of 50 degrees.
Then 8 hours at a temperature of 60 degrees, the remaining 2 – again at 50 degrees.

How to dry apricots in the oven?

Apricots can be dried in the oven with careful temperature control.

First, the apricot halves are dried at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Then place on wire racks covered with parchment and dry in the oven at a temperature not exceeding 60 degrees.
Since there is no ventilation in the oven, you should dry apricots with the oven slightly open. To ensure even drying, it is recommended to turn the apricot slices over from time to time.
At the end of drying, you should lower the temperature to 50 degrees and carefully monitor so that the fruits do not dry out. If individual fruits are dried unevenly, you should keep the dried fruits for some time in the air at room temperature until completely cooked

Natural drying of apricots requires sunny and hot weather.

Apricot dried fruit recipes

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are not only different ways of drying apricots, but also recipes with different ways of preparing the fruit. We present to your attention the best of them:

Dried apricots “like in a store.” To make dried fruits juicy and sweet, you need to squeeze the pit through the hole, leaving the fruit whole, and first boil the apricots in sugar syrup. Take a bamboo stick and press on the seed from the side opposite the stalk (tail). Place the fruits (300 g) peeled in this way in a syrup of 100 ml of water and 100 ml of sugar. Add 4 lemon slices. Simmer the apricots over medium heat for 2-3 minutes and leave in the cooling syrup for another 1 hour. Then fish out the slices and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dry in the oven slightly open for 3 hours or 14-22 hours in the dryer.
Dried apricots. Apricots dried with the pit are the easiest to prepare. Simply wash them and place them in the oven on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The fire is turned on to a minimum, the door is left open. Turn the apricots every 3 hours. In total, apricots take 12–17 hours to cook, and in an electric dryer – 40 hours or more. Whole fruits are especially good in compotes.
Ashtak. Many people eat dried fruits instead of sweets. Ashtak is a wonderful substitute for unhealthy sweets. To prepare it, you need to squeeze the pits out of the apricots without disturbing the integrity, and boil the fruits for 2-3 minutes in sugar syrup. At this time, the apricot kernels should be split and the kernels removed. Place the kernels inside the caramelized apricots. Dry them at 60 degrees.

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Anyone can dry apricots for the winter. At home, it is best to do this in a dryer or dehydrator. The devices help preserve maximum taste, smell and benefits. Try different recipes and drying methods - each of them will certainly please you!

How to properly dry apricots for dried fruits in the sun?

In areas with long hot and sunny days without rain, drying apricots outdoors in the sun is considered the best way to harvest fruits
Before drying in the open sun, apricots should be dried in a shady place, well blown by the wind, for 3-4 hours
The fruits are placed on fabric or wooden grates in a place with maximum sun exposure for a long time with good air circulation. At night, it is better to store fruits in a dry place to avoid them becoming damp.
Apricots can also be strung on twine and hung to dry. To ensure even drying of the fruits, they should be turned over periodically. After 2-3 weeks, you can get high-quality dried apricots with a full range of useful components. Moreover, the fruits have a long shelf life
5-6 days is the optimal period for drying apricots in the sun

Apricots treated with sulfur dioxide and naturally dried fruits

IMPORTANT: To ensure that the fruits have an attractive presentation and are less likely to spoil, they are fumigated with sulfur dioxide or sulfur. Such fruits are not recommended for children and people prone to allergic reactions.

Methods for drying apricots at home

There are several methods that can help produce fruits with different characteristics.

Cooking kaisa - whole fruits without seeds

A recipe will help you create such a product. What to do:

Wash the fruit, remove the pit, and inspect.
Cover them with sugar so that they produce juice within 3-4 hours.
We drain this juice and prepare sugar syrup based on it.
Pour the syrup over the fruit, the temperature of the syrup is 85 degrees.
Then we place the apricots on the oven tray and send them to dry.
We carry it out at a temperature of 85 degrees for half an hour.
Then we reduce the temperature to 60 degrees, after 35 minutes - to 40.
We lay out the fruits, wait for the juice to drain, then place them in a sunny place.
In 7 days the apricots will be ready.

Preparation of dried apricots - pitted apricot halves

Cultivated varieties are used for this purpose. Fleshy and large fruits are easy to turn into dried apricots. To do this, you will need to cut the apricots into 2 halves and remove the pit, and then dry them in a convenient way.

Drying apricots - fruits with seeds

Apricots are dried in the sun. In the southern regions, the fruits are left on the tree, they dry out, and then they begin to harvest.

But you can dry fruits in the open air, simulating natural conditions.

How to dry apricots in an air fryer?

To prepare dried fruits, you can use an air fryer, which can easily replace an electric dryer and oven.

An air grill is a household electrical appliance that operates on the principle of a convection oven. The hot air heating system and the presence of a powerful fan allow you to dry fruits and vegetables.

Washed and dried apricots are cut into halves
Place the fruits on the air fryer grill so that they do not touch each other
Drying is carried out at high fan speed at a temperature of 60-70 degrees
If the apricots are not dry enough during one cycle of operation of the air fryer, the drying process can be resumed again

Useful apricot kernels

How to dry apricot kernels?

According to the latest scientific data, apricot kernels have valuable healing effects and are of interest for the prevention and treatment of a number of diseases.

Apricot kernels contain rare natural vitamin B17, which kills cancer cells. Daily intake of a small amount of apricot kernels (about 10 pieces) is a good prevention of malignant diseases
Apricot kernels effectively heal coughs due to bronchitis, tracheitis, whooping cough
Raw apricot kernels have antiparasitic and anthelmintic properties.
Apricot kernels have a good effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system and kidneys
Apricot kernel oil is well absorbed and beneficial for the body. Many athletes use apricot kernel oil in their diet.

Drying apricot kernels

IMPORTANT: Eating a small amount of apricot kernels is beneficial and does not cause intoxication of the body. You should only use sweet kernels in an amount of no more than 50 g per day. The dose for children is 25 g, depending on age.

For drying, apricot varieties are used in which the stone is easily separated from the fruit. The seeds are laid out in a thin layer on trays or baking sheets and dried in ventilated areas or in the open air, possibly in the sun. The seeds are stirred periodically to ensure even drying.