 Dried fruits are unique, tasty, and nutritious. Sometimes called nature's candy, dried fruit tastes sweeter because the water has been removed, concentrating the fruit's flavor. This also concentrates the nutrients, so dried fruit is a nutrient-packed package. Dried fruit can be eaten as a snack, added to cereals, muffins, even ice cream. It is important to choose produce of high quality and at the desired stage of ripeness as drying does not improve the quality of fruits. Follow directions for preparing and treating fruits carefully so that quality is maintained. Hi, I'm Julie Cascio with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service. Fruit is ideal for drying because of its naturally high sugar content. Fruit is high in acid and thus less prone to spoilage in microorganisms. Fruits should be at the desired stage of ripeness for best quality when dried. Fruits with high water content such as oranges or other citrus fruits are not suitable for drying. Do not use under-ripe produce. Fruits to be used in leathers can be overripe as long as they are not spoiled. Equipment for drying fruits using a food dehydrator includes a portable electric dehydrator with an enclosed heating element, fan, and enclosed thermostat that ranges from 85 to 145 degrees Fahrenheit with a dial for regulating temperature. Mesh trays, nonstick cooking spray, knife and cutting board, slotted spoon, spatula, timer, small bowl, pretreatment powder and measuring spoon, and containers for storing the dried fruit. Because fruits contain sugar and are sticky, spray the drying trays with nonstick cooking spray before placing the fruit on the trays. Prepare only as much fruit as there is room to dry at one time. Wash fruit in cold running water, which I've done, to remove the dirt, insect larvae, and any surface microorganisms. Trim away bruises or soft spots, remove stems, pits, or cores. Peels may be left on the fruit, but they do get tough or brittle when dried. Also, drying time increases when peels are left on. Slice uniformly about ¼ to ½ inch thick for even drying, shorter drying time, and more nutritious, better quality food. These strawberries smell so good. Pretreatments prevent fruits from darkening and may help retain nutrients. Common options for pretreating fruit include ascorbic acid mixtures and fruit juice dips. Ascorbic acid or vitamin C, mixed with water, is a safe way to prevent fruit browning. Mix ½ teaspoon of powdered ascorbic acid, or 1500 milligrams, crushed ascorbic acid tablets, to 1 cup water. Place fruit in the solution for 3 to 5 minutes. We're going to use apples. We want to separate the pieces, too, slices, so they all are exposed to the ascorbic acid solution. When the fruit has set for 3 to 5 minutes, then we'll remove the fruit, drain it well, and place it on the drier trays. After using the dipping solution twice, add more ascorbic acid. If using a commercial antioxidant, such as fruit fresh or ever fresh, follow the label directions for the cut fruit. Hold the fruit in the solution no longer than 1 hour, because the fruit will absorb moisture and it will take longer for drying to be complete. Another option is to dip the fruit in a fruit juice that is high in vitamin C. Today we're going to use pineapple juice. Place enough juice to cover the fruit in the bowl, and then add your cut fruit. Again, separating them. Allow the fruit to soak 3 to 5 minutes. Then remove the fruit, drain well, and place on drier trays. I'm just checking my time. This solution may be used twice before it needs to be replaced. Light colored fruits, such as pears, peaches, nectarines, and apricots, may use sulfur treatments to prevent browning, protect vitamins A and C during drying and storage, and help retain that fresh fruit flavor and increase the shelf life of the fruit. For long-term storage, sulfite dips are an effective pretreatment. Sulfite dips can be prepared and used in the kitchen, and sulfite dip fruits can be dried indoors. There are several disadvantages of sulfite dips. Penetration of sulfite may be uneven, resulting in uneven color retention. Recent research also indicates that certain asthmatics may react adversely to sulfites. Persons who are sensitive to sulfites should avoid preparing or eating sulfite-treated foods. Sulfite fumes will be given off during the drying process. Also, if sodium bisulfite is added to water for steam blanching, fumes will escape with the steam. To make a sulfite dip, dissolve ¾ teaspoon of food grade sodium bisulfite per quart of water. Soak ¼ inch thick fruit slices for 5 minutes. Soaking times vary with the type of fruit and thickness of slices. Cherry's grapes, blueberries, and small dark plums that are dried whole may require a short heat treatment called checking to remove a naturally occurring waxy coating and to crack the skins. Checking speeds up drying by allowing interior moisture to evaporate. If checking is not done, there's a greater chance of case hardening, which is the formation of a hard shell on the outside with moisture trapped within the fruit. This may occur more readily when fruit is dried in an oven rather than a dehydrator. Fruit to be checked should be immersed in briskly boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then dunked in cold water and drained on paper towels. Treatment time depends on the thickness of the skins. Checking can be done in a microwave oven by heating on high about 20 to 30 seconds, then chilling. Some flavor loss may result from the checking process. Now that these fruits have been pre-treated, we're going to put them on the trays that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. It makes it so much easier to get the fruits off. The bananas were pre-treated in fruit juice with a high vitamin C content, in this case pineapple juice. In fact, we used canned pineapple to get the juice, and the canned pineapple can also be dehydrated. You don't have to do anything to it, just spread it out on the tray. We also pre-treated apples in an ascorbic acid solution. We'll spread those out in a single layer in peaches that were done in the bisulfite solution. Then we'll put them in the dehydrator and start the dehydrator. About halfway through the dehydrating process, and it usually takes six to eight hours, depending upon the thickness of your slices. We're going to turn the fruit so they don't stick. In fact, I would check them at about a couple of hours, at about two hours into the process, to make sure that you can prevent sticking, and then maybe another two hours. It's good to turn them again. That's where the spatula comes in handy. When dried fruit is taken from the dehydrator or oven, the remaining moisture may not be distributed equally among the pieces, because of their size or their location in the dehydrator. Conditioning is a process used to equalize the moisture and reduce the risk of mold growth. To condition the fruit, take the dried fruit that has cooled and pack it loosely in plastic or glass jars. Seal the containers and let them stand for seven to ten days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the dryer pieces. Shake the jars daily to separate the pieces and check the moisture for moisture condensation. If condensation develops in the jar, return the fruit to the dehydrator for more drying. This one looks good. After conditioning, package and store the fruit. Store dried foods in glass jars with tight-fitting lids or vapor-proof freezer cartons or plastic bags. Screw lids or covers on glass jars to prevent insect contamination, but it is not necessary to heat process the jars. Metal cans may be used if fruit is first placed in plastic bags. Let's check on our fruit. This is some fruit that was dried for about eight hours. We have strawberries and blueberries. Strawberries are leathery, and the blueberries rattle. You can hear them when I put them together. These are ready to be packaged. I'm just going to take my blueberries and add them to my glass jar. When they're in the jar, I will put the date and any pretreatments that I did. In this case, I checked the blueberries on the top of the jar so that I remember what I did. Dried fruits can be eaten. They will keep up to one month at room temperature in a cool, dry, dark place. For storage up to one year, place the tightly-wrapped dried fruit in the freezer. Low temperatures extend the shelf life. Dried fruits can be eaten as nutritious snacks or can be soaked in water or juice and used in favorite recipes. Use one and a half to two cups of water for each one cup of dried fruit. Soaked dried apples about a half an hour, pear and peaches they need to soak for an hour. Cook reconstituted fruit by simmering in a covered pan in the soaking water. Adding a little lemon, orange or grapefruit juice to the fruit just before serving will give it a fresh fruit flavor and add vitamin C. Enjoy eating the nature's candy you have preserved.