Dried fruit is fruit that has been dried, either naturally or through use of a machine, such as a dehydrator . Raisins and prunes are examples of popular dried fruits. Other fruit that may be dried includes apricots, apples, cranberries, peaches and bananas.
Dried fruit has a long shelf life and therefore can provide a good alternate to fresh fruit, allowing out of season fruits to be available. Drying is a good way to preserve fruit in the absence of refrigeration. Dried fruit is often added to baking mixes and breakfast cereals.
Due to the water loss experienced during dehydration, dried fruit can have a stronger flavour. However the the drying process also destroys most of the Vitamin C in the food, so that the dried version of the fruit has only a fraction of the levels of Vitamin C that would exist in the fruit if it were fresh.
Commercially prepared dried fruit may contain sulphur dioxide which can trigger asthma in sensitive individuals, though dried fruit without sulphur dioxide is also available, particularly in health stores.
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