Apricots are very useful for vitamin deficiencies, anemia, cardiovascular and many other diseases, because they contain many vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Best of all, their beneficial properties are preserved in dried fruits - dried apricots, which can be prepared from fresh fruits at home.
Pick your recipe
For drying, take well-ripened healthy apricots with dense pulp and well-separated bone. Wash and dry the fruit thoroughly to remove excess moisture. Divide them in half and remove the seeds.
At home, apricots can be dried in the oven or in dry weather in the air, as well as combining both methods, but in any case you will need sheets for layout, which can be used as trays, trays or nets on wooden frames.
For drying in the oven, cover the baking sheets with baking paper, lay the apricots with the slices up, put in the oven and dry at a temperature of 50-60 ° C for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Then open the oven and let the fruit cool, and then repeat the procedure until the apricots cease to secrete juice when squeezed (5-6 times).
You can do it in another way: place the prepared halves of apricots in a colander or sieve and soak for 5-10 minutes over boiling water to preserve their natural color. Dry the fruit from excess moisture on a clean cotton cloth, and then spread it on a baking sheet covered with paper, and place it in the oven, heated to 65 ° C for 8-10 hours. Cool the dried apricots, pour into a wooden box with a tight-fitting lid, leave for 3 weeks, and then store in a dry, well-ventilated place. This method will help to preserve all the useful properties of apricots.
For air drying, lay the prepared fruits on sheets, let stand in the shade for 3-4 hours, then take them out in the sun and put them under a roof or canopy at night. Further, apricots can be dried in the shade: in a private house - in the attic, porch or in the gazebo, in a city apartment - on the balcony or loggia. Excessive sun exposure can give dried apricots an ugly baked look.
The combined method of drying apricots is as follows: first, the fruits are kept for 3-4 hours in the sun, then for 1 hour in an oven heated to 50-60 ° C, after which they are sent to dry in the shade.
Keep in mind that dried apricots, cooked at home, will look different from the store, as the latter is fumigated with sulfur dioxide to preserve the presentation in the production.
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