How Do You Keep Dried Apricots From Turning Brown?

Step #3: Sweeten And Air-Dry Some people like to dip the separate, inverted apricots in a weak lemon juice mixture to prevent the dehydrated product from turning brown. If you want to do this, the formula is one cup of lemon juice to one quart of water. Other fans of dried apricots like to dip them in a sugar solution.

How do you keep dried apricots fresh?

Fruits such as dried apricots, prunes, and raisins will keep at top quality in the pantry for six months. After opening, you may wish to store them tightly sealed in the refrigerator to preserve the quality for up to six additional months or freeze them for one month.

What keeps apricots from turning brown?

This is known as enzymatic browning. Keep cut fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, and peaches from turning brown by: Coating them with an acidic juice such as lemon, orange, or pineapple juice. Use a commercial anti-darkening preparation with fruits, such as Fruit-Fresh®*, and follow the manufacturer’s directions.

Do I need to refrigerate dried apricots?

Properly stored, dried apricots will last for about 6 to 12 months at normal room temperature. Should you refrigerate dried apricots? In hot, humid environments, dried apricots should be stored in the refrigerator.

How do you pretreat fruit before dehydrating?

Pretreat fruit pieces by dipping in an ascorbic acid, citric acid, lemon juice or sodium metabisulfite solution. When dry, allow fruit to condition for four to 10 days before packaging for storage. Package dried fruits in tightly sealed containers and store in a cool, dry place.

How do you keep dried fruit from turning brown?

Soaking the sliced fruit in an acidic solution preserves the color and texture of the dried fruits, and it increases the destruction of potentially harmful bacteria during drying.

Why did my dried apricots turn black?

Brown Dried Apricots (dark dried apricots) differs from sulphured dried apricots: The colour of this type changes from light brown to dark brown, because these apricots are directly dried under the sunlight without being treated with SO2. And it is sweeter than the sulphured type.

Are dried apricots good for you?

One cup of dried apricots provides 94% of your body’s daily need for Vitamin A and 19% of its iron. Dried apricots also contain potassium and antioxidants and have been known to lower cholesterol and improve digestion. Dried apricots are fat-free, low in calories & high in flavor!

What are the red spots on dried apricots?

Scab. Scab (also known as freckles) is the result of a fungus called Cladosporium carpophilum. This fungus is common throughout the midwest U.S. and affects peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots.

What Colour should dried apricots be?

brown
Did you know that naturally dried apricots are supposed to be brown in colour? The bright orange ones contain sulphur dioxide making them look pretty but don’t do pretty things on the inside of your body!

How many dried apricots should you eat a day?

Apricots are a recommended health food
Obviously dried apricots count as one of your five a day. The recommended portion is 30gms (3 or 4 apricots). All dried fruit contains the same nutritional qualities as the original fresh fruit.

Should dried apricots be washed?

Nuts, seeds & dried fruit
You should be washing nuts, seeds, and dried fruit before eating unless the packaging states that they are ready to eat. This is especially true if you have purchased them loose.

Do dried apricots make you poop?

Dried fruits, such as dates, figs, prunes, apricots, and raisins, are another great source of dietary fiber that acts as constipation relief. “Prunes, in particular, are great because they not only are high in fiber, they also contain sorbitol, which is a natural laxative,” Prather says.

What additives are used commercially to prevent browning of fresh dried fruits?

Preserving Color and Preventing Browning of Foods

• Ascorbic acid, also known as Vitamin C, is used as an anti-oxidant to keep fruit from darkening.
• Citric acid is used to preserve the color of fresh cut fruit or as a pre-treatment for frozen and dried fruit.

How long do you dehydrate apricots?

Spread apricots on the dehydrator trays, keep some space between the fruits. Stack trays over each other on the dehydrator. Set temperature somewhere between 135 – 145 Fahrenheit/ 57- 62 Celsius and dry for about 12-14 hours or until you have the desired consistency.

How do you sweeten apricots before drying?

Add sweetness to dried apricots by mixing a solution of 1 cup (237 ml) of water, 4 tbsp. (59 ml) lemon juice and honey to taste. Soak them in the solution for a few minutes before setting them on the drying rack. You can rehydrate dried apricots by covering them in fruit juice for 2 to 4 hours.

Will vinegar keep fruit from turning brown?

Lemon juice, Vinegar, clear soda will all prevent food from turning brown quickly. These liquids are acidic, so they will lower the pH of the food surface. Olive oil, will also prevent food from browning, but is less effective than the acids. Water and salt water will also slow the browning of foods.

What is used to preserve dried fruit?

Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is predominantly in dried fruits and vegetables as well as soft drinks (and alcoholic beverages like wine). It’s a preservative that’s added to extend shelf life and kill bacteria.

Does citric acid prevent browning?

One way to prevent browning is to treat the cut fruit with a bath of citric acid. Citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons, contain citric acid, which is why they don’t require such treatment, and why their juice is often used to prevent the browning of other fruit.

Can you eat dried apricots with brown spots?

Those could be evidence of hail or another injury from back in the orchard, but are also nothing to worry about. The apricot pictured above came from a freshly opened bag of dried apricots. Those brown speckles are different from the dull, brown look dried apricots develop after too much time in storage.

Is it OK to eat expired dried apricots?

But remember that dried fruit, like some other fruits, usually has a best by date and not a use by date or expiration date. Because of this distinction, you may safely consume dried fruit even after the best before date has lapsed.