How to Use Dried Fruit

You don't have to give up the health benefits of organic fruit when it is out of season. Organic fruit is often dried to preserve it for winter months. There are many uses for dried fruit, snacking, cooking, and blending are just a few of them. Read on to learn uses for organic dried fruit that you may not have considered.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

 

 

Things You'll Need:

• Organic Dried Fruit
• An Appetite (Optional)

1. Step 1
   As a Snack or Quick Addition to Other Foods -
   Dried fruit makes a wonderful snack alone or with other foods such as trail mix, cereals, salads, yogurt, granola, or blended into a smoothie.
   
2. Step 2
   
   Dried fruit makes an appealing gift when mixed with nuts and placed in a cornucopia or gift basket. There is a wonderful recipe for a small trail mix cornucopia that is kid friendly in the resource section below. It would make a healthy treat for school, home or holidays.
   
3. Step 3
   Cooking With Dehydrated Fruit -
   You can use dried fruit in recipes such as breads, pancakes, soups and stews. They can be reconstituted and used in recipes in hydrated form. For example, they can be rehydrated and used in syrups, jams, and jellies.
   
4. Step 4
   Rehydrating Fruit -
   *Smaller pieces of dried fruit will reconstitute more quickly than large ones.
   *Boiling water reconstitutes fruit more quickly than water at room temperature, but is less natural and may reduce the nutritional content of the fruit. Boiling Water Method: Cover fruit in boiling water for 5-30 minutes depending on the type and size of fruit. Room temperature water method: Cover fruit with water and allow to stand for ½ to 1 ½ hours. Drain the fruit and use in recipes or serve immediately.
   *The hardness of your water supply will effect the amount of time it takes to rehydrate fruit. Softer water rehydrates more quickly than hard water.
   *Sugar added to the fruit before drying will increase the amount of time that it takes to rehydrate the fruit.
   
5. Step 5
   Fruit Powder -
   Fruit that is Dried into a crispy form can be pureed using a coffee grinder into a powder that can add flavor to smoothies, ice cream, breads, or hot cereal.
   
6. Step 6
   Survival Food -
   An uncertain economy in the US has more and more people considering methods of storing food. Dried food, including fruit, is ideal for long-term storage in a poor economy because it does not require any energy to maintain dried food.
   

Tips & Warnings

• Decorations: Dried fruit also makes an excellent addition to potpourri or to craft projects.