Tip of the Day - Making Your Own Dried Fruit

by Sarah LeTrent, Posted Nov 6th 2009 @ 9:00AM

Drying fruit is easy, mostly hands-off and yields a sweet and healthy snack.

Photo: bondidwhat, Flickr.

Barbecue and fruit may seem like an odd comparison to make -- but when drying fruit, much like with barbecue, "low and slow" is the name of the game.

With winter approaching, prolong the quality and taste of ripe fruit by dehydrating it. Depending on the type of fruit, it needs to be peeled, sliced and/or diced in preparation for the drying process.

Preheat the oven to the lowest setting -- with the maximum being 200 degrees. You don't want to bake the fruit, just dehydrate it. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the fruit slices on top.

The rest is pretty easy if you have patience. The process can take anywhere from four to eight hours -- just test the fruit. You'll know it's done when the slices are dry but still pliable and chewy. If they turn out crunchy, it means you've dried them for too long.

Once dried, the fruit is multi-versatile -- eat it as is, use it in trail mix, salads, cereals or turn it into compote. In any case, be sure to store it in air-tight containers to keep it fresh.

What's your favorite use for dried fruit? Let us know in the comments!

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Tags: dried fruit, DriedFruit, fruit, tip of the day, TipOfTheDay