How does one dry apricots?

[Denny Renfrow]

Too late for this season, but physc'd for next ...

I would like any recommendations on steps involved in drying apricots:

* how long should they dry?
* any steps besides splitting and sunning?
* should they be ripe, or a little raw?
* why was this year's attempt not as good as what I buy?

Thanks in advance,
Denny

[kathy morgan]

Denny Renfrow (d...@cup.hp.com) wrote:

: I would like any recommendations on steps involved in drying apricots:

I have used a food dehydrator to dry apricots for a couple of years now,
and been very happy with the results. The preparation steps should be
the same, even if you dry the fruit in the sun.

: * any steps besides splitting and sunning?

I dipped the halves in a color preservative (Fruit Fresh(TM), lemon
juice, etc.) to help minimize the browning. I tried peeling one batch
and decided that was WAY too much work.

: * should they be ripe, or a little raw?

I found that I liked the ripe fruit best. Slightly underripe was
a little easier to handle (firmer) but I liked the results better when
the fruit was fully ripe. Of course, waiting meant that I was taking
a chance that the squirrels would beat me to it.

: * why was this year's attempt not as good as what I buy?

I decided that it was the preservatives in dried apricots at the
store that made the biggest difference. Like the difference in the
banana chips I made at home, I soon developed a taste for my own.

Make sure that the fruit really is dried before you put it away. This
isn't so important if it isn't going to last all that long :-) I found
small areas of mold after several months in airtight jars when I didn't
let the batch dry long enough.

Good luck,
Kathy

[Sullys Maze]

In article <Cuow5...@vcd.hp.com>,

----We always dried lots of apricots ( got the instructions from
Cooperative extension)

Best ones are large and ripe. My Dad made trays with slats of
redwood that they sit on. We would cut in half, and they sort of
snip out the stem scar.

My Dad would stack the trays, cover with plastic and then burn
Sulfur underneath. No flames here-if you don't sulfur your cots
will turn all brown. If you don't want to use sulfur then don't
read this! (disclaimer-I am an organic gardener and not currently
drying apricots). Anyway, he would put about 1/2 cup sulfur dust in
a shallow pan and light it, and place under the bottom tray of cots.
Then cover the whole thing with plastic for the night.

In the morning, put trays up on the roof in the sun for about 4
days. Check them daily and remove them before they get too hard and
dry.

Now the really tedious part. My mother figured that the flies had
been on them all week, so she would wash the dried cots in warm
water and put them on cookie sheets in the over at 150 degrees until
they were dry. This make them also very soft and chewy.

Any, try your ag extension and see what info they have. There may
be a better way now than sulfuring.

Karen