Q&A for How to Dry Apricots

Yes, you can freeze dried apricots. Just be sure to place them inside a sealed freezer-appropriate bag or container before adding to the freezer. They can be kept frozen for up to 12 months. Allow them to thaw before eating or using in cooking.

In small amounts, dried apricots can add such healthy benefits as fiber and nutrients like iron. However, they are also calorie dense and high in fruit sugars, so don’t eat too many of them at any one time.

Yes, you can enjoy dried apricots when dieting but remember to keep the amount consumed small. For example, around 4 dried apricot halves provide about 80 calories. It’s important to keep your intake of dried fruit low when dieting, as all dried fruits contain high amounts of calories and sugars when eaten in even medium amounts.

It depends on the method you are using but usually the apricots will dry in about 10-12 hours in the oven, 12 to 18 hours in a racked dehydrator or several days using drying racks outside under the sunshine.

Check out the wikiHow: How to Sun Dry Fruit for details on how to dry fruit outside, using racks or trays.

Absolutely. Sprinkle the red chile powder over the apricots before you put them in the dehydrator. Be conservative with the amount of powder until you determine the heat level you can tolerate.

To prevent browning, buy a commercial ascorbic acid product like Ball's Fresh Fruit (contains no sulfites) and mix according to directions, or use a mixture of 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice and 4 cups of water. As you cut the fruit, drop it into the mixture and let it sit for about 10 minutes, then shake the excess fluid off and place the fruit on the dehydrator tray.

You could, but it would probably affect the flavor in an adverse way.

No.

Cut them in half and remove the pit. Then follow directions as shown above. All dried apricots are dried halves.

4, after reconstituting them. Pour boiling water over them to cover and let soak for a couple of hours.