Dried Fruits

[cbarre02]

In restaurants all across the country, have dried fruits stored away in dark corners of their dry storage. Just waiting to be obnoxiously sprinkled atop an over dressed salad, or chopped up and thrown in chutney to go with dry pork. I have to admit I hate dried fruits (most of them... Figs, dates, raisins, currents aside), to much sugar in to small a space. I like the idea of concentrated flavors, but the over abundance of sweetness seems to mask the flavor all together.

Anyone have good uses for these little guys, I know that there not all bad, just need some help. Any unusual uses? Ways to cut the sweetness? And if any one has good uses for the dried apricot please let me know, it is preserved fruit enemy number one.

Edited February 20, 2004 by cbarre02 (log)

[flacoman]

How about macerated with water and some Sauternes , mixed into clafoutis?

I did clafoutis with dried cranberries macerated in port and they were a nice addition.

my 2c

Jorge

[russ parsons]

i always try to have some kind of poached dried fruit on hand in the winter. if nothing else, just sweetena little yogurt and use that for a topping. i find a light syrup is about right (half as much sugar as water). today i did some dried blenheim apricots and montmerency cherries in a syrup with some allspice, a stick of cinnamon and a dried out vanilla bean i found in the back of the cabinet.

poached dried fruit is also great on crepes and as a topping for waffles of different kinds.

[Wendy DeBord]

I've got to admit I'm not very fond of dried fruit. The best ways of working with them that I know of is reconsituting them in h20 and or liquours, once they're plumped up, they improve greatly....and you won't find uses so limiting.

My favorite use for dried apricots is a apricot souffle. Or dip them in alot of chocolate and use them on fruit trays.

[Susan G]

I put dried apricots into tea loaves with pecans or walnuts.

[Betts]

I love dried fruit but "chacun a son gout"

Alternative ideas - Raisins and pearl onions cooked with red wine vinegar and sugar; finely chopped and added to savory shortbreads to use with cheeses; macerated with wine , pureed and added to savory sauces.

[tsquare]

Lots of thoughts here:

Dried apricots thread

[wheatgirl]

hi, I adore dried fruit but I do agree, (and this is as a pastry chef) they are kind of ubiquious these days. Dried cranberries are the kiwis of the millennium.

I often combine dried with fresh fruit and grind up a complete orange or clementin (in a sweet and sour approach)...so consider dried pear, dried cranberries, WHOLE fresh craberries, fresh quartered apples, and a ground orange - and cook that down in recipes calling for similar ingredients. The combo of fresh and dried, and the citrus perk it up. OR, combine dried apricots with Dijon mustard for a great pickled veal or roast ham topping. Hot and sweet is another way to go - and it is something with tomato, dried fruit, vinegar and chilis that would update or alter the sticky dried fruits for you. What is nice about the fruits is the body they add, nutrition, but the sheer bulk in a recipe, as well as flavor and glazing abilities.

I also suggest finely finely diced raisins or dried anything - so that you get a bit of the flavor of these things but visually - do not encounter big hunks of dried fruit. Visuals are part of what you perceive flavor to me. And finely minced (almost confetti like) raisins or dried cherries, is a more subtle approach.

[Mottmott]

I keep raisins at the ready, soaking in rum or other liquor/liqueur at all times. Ditto currants. Sometimes other fruits.

Oddly enough, I don't care for raisins in cookies - they look like little bugs - but I do like them in such sweet things things as bread puddings, scones, quick breads.

I like to add raisins to some savory dishes such as empanadas, fish in sweet/sour sauces such as the Venetian en soar preparations. I also like dried fruits in stuffings for pork.

Oh, and there's always fruit cake for those of us who like it.

[alanamoana]

my pastry chef just made these great "croustades"...dried apples, prunes, apricots (and something else, can't remember), all chopped in a buffalo chopper...tons of armagnac and a special tea (can't remember the name right now)

all of this is soaked for a while

then, in strudel dough layered with butter and cinnamon sugar the fruit mixture is stuffed like a little beggars purse, sprinkled with more butter and cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar to carmelize in a hot oven until crispy. they are quite divine and you could use them as a breakfast pastry or as part of a dessert.

[cbarre02]

Finally... we have a winner. That one sounds good, i may try a variation on it though. Thank you!

[Jim D.]

I know this thread is not about sourcing dried fruit, but it's the only one I could find that at least was on the topic. I'm working on an "apple pie" filling for a bonbon (the subject was first mentioned on this thread on using caramelized white chocolate). In the recipe on that thread using apple compote, the water activity level was too high for a bonbon meant to be stored for a while. So I am trying to use an apple pâte de fruit layer (plus maybe a thin caramel layer and a crispy cookie buried in caramelized white chocolate to simulate the pie crust). I got some concentrated frozen apple juice, which had a really great apple flavor, but I wanted some texture, so got some dried apples at the supermarket to add to the undiluted juice (this is just an experiment so far). The juice works well, but the dried apples had virtually no taste at all.

 

So all that brings me to ask about sources for really good dried fruits. I know the subject has been discussed in many threads, but I don't know whether the sources recommended still exist and/or are still high in quality. I note that nuts.com has freeze-dried apples and wonder if anyone has tried those and whether freeze-dried is noticeably better than just dried. Any recent information would be very helpful.

[Gwbyls]

Jim, I source North Bay Trading Co and have been really happy with what I have received. I’ve only purchased berries from them but have been happy. Good luck. 

[Toliver]

3 hours ago, Jim D. said:

So all that brings me to ask about sources for really good dried fruits. 

@Jim D., I'd suggest PM-ing / DM-ing eG member @andiesenji. She has made many a fruitcake and often mentioned her dried fruit online sources. 

[Jim D.]

31 minutes ago, Toliver said:

@Jim D., I'd suggest PM-ing / DM-ing eG member @andiesenji. She has made many a fruitcake and often mentioned her dried fruit online sources. 

Excellent idea. I suspect your tagging of her may get her attention.

[teonzo]

What about using candied apples, diced really small (brunoise size), added to a spice ganache?

You can use the concentrated apple juice to make the ganache, subbing the cream with apple juice + vegetable oil (maybe coconut?).

 

 

 

Teo

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by teonzo (log)

[JeanneCake]

We use fruit powders to boost the flavors in our buttercream fillings (for cake) so we aren't making the buttercream too slack with so much puree; you might pulverize the freeze dried apples to add to the juice and get a flavor boost that way.  Or the next time you order from AUI, you can try the cooked apple essence from Sosa?

[TdeV]

I have recently begun with Bella Viva Orchards which (I think) I heard about on eGullet.

 

 

[Jim D.]

2 hours ago, teonzo said:

What about using candied apples, diced really small (brunoise size), added to a spice ganache?

You can use the concentrated apple juice to make the ganache, subbing the cream with apple juice + vegetable oil (maybe coconut?).

Teo

 

Interesting idea, but what kind of chocolate would you use for the ganache? In the past I have found that any chocolate (less so with white, but still...) masks the flavor, and apple is such a delicate flavor.

[pastrygirl]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L2G8ND6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I used the above freeze dried granny smith apples in a white chocolate bar for christmas, and liked it so much i might make it year-round.  They have the tart flavor that I want and the green skins contributed a bit of natural color.  Trader Joe's has freeze-dried Fujis that would be a lot sweeter, just depends on your taste in apples.

[Jim D.]

10 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01L2G8ND6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I used the above freeze dried granny smith apples in a white chocolate bar for christmas, and liked it so much i might make it year-round.  They have the tart flavor that I want and the green skins contributed a bit of natural color.  Trader Joe's has freeze-dried Fujis that would be a lot sweeter, just depends on your taste in apples.

The Granny Smith apples are exactly what I ended up buying (though from a different source). Whether for a pâte de fruit or a ganache, I think I will need to remove the skins. One reviewer said they are rather tough, and they probably would not grind up enough (I make most of my PdF fillings by combining purée and dried fruit, cooking them slightly to soften, then grind them to the desired consistency). Of the two choices (PdF or ganache), I am fairly sure the former would end up with more apple flavor. If I made a "water ganache," replacing cream with apple juice, I would get an unacceptable Aw reading. As I continued to experiment yesterday, the PdF turned out to have a really apple-y flavor. Of course, adding the usual apple pie spices helps a lot to create the illusion of eating apple pie, and the crust (cookie) I will include should add even more. I plan to make the shells from Callebaut Gold, which I have not yet tasted but have on order, and it gets high praise from Kirsten Tibballs of Savour (I know, she is a Cacao Barry rep). If the Gold taste overwhelms, I'll switch to Valrhona's Opalys.

[teonzo]

11 hours ago, Jim D. said:

Interesting idea, but what kind of chocolate would you use for the ganache? In the past I have found that any chocolate (less so with white, but still...) masks the flavor, and apple is such a delicate flavor.

 

I would try a delicate milk chocolate, using as much candied apples dices as possible (ganache would act like a "glue" and nothing more, spices should remain in the background). That part of the filling would end up with a bumpy surface, but if you add the crunchy base you solve it by piping a little dollop of ganache over the filling before adding the crunchy base (and pressing it). Candied apples and apple pate de fruits are almost identical about sweetness (a sugar bomb), but I would prefer the texture of candied apples over the pate de fruits, I also think it would give a higher "apple pie feeling". I would try the milk chocolate because white chocolate would make the whole bonbon even more sweet, but here we go about the customers' taste, as far as I understand US customers have a sweeter tooth than Italian ones.

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

If I made a "water ganache," replacing cream with apple juice, I would get an unacceptable Aw reading.

 

Depends on how you do it. If you start from a cream ganache that has your desired Aw reading, then sub the cream with 2/3 apple juice and 1/3 oil, then the Aw reading should be the same (maybe even a bit smaller considering that apple juice isn't pure water and has some solids). I wouldn't count on it giving a sensible apple kick, it would be just a way to maximize the chances of putting the more apple taste possible.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[Jim D.]

@teonzo, thanks for all of those intriguing ideas for the project. I will definitely give the ganache a try, though I expect the chocolate taste will muddy the apple flavor. Can you explain what you mean by "candied apples"?

 

I am very conscious of the sweetness of so many fillings and do everything I can to minimize it. I make pâte de fruit with Pomona's pectin, allowing for less sugar, and I substitute sorbitol for some of the sugar; I also use lemon juice liberally (assuming the fruit allows for it). But there is no question PdF is sweet. I would like to mold the apple pie bonbon in dark chocolate, but someone who has tried this reports that it overwhelms the apple taste, and I am sure that is true.

 

I am definitely looking for some texture in the apple part of the filling, and that is why I plan to grind the dried apple and apple juice mixture carefully, leaving some apple pieces (which, of course, must be small enough to pass through a piping bag). Using the dried fruit adds flavor and also helps with the Aw reading. I'm considering adding some apple brandy/calvados, but don't have any on hand to try at the moment (sometimes I find that fruit brandies don't help with flavor, meaning their flavor is far from the fruit itself--I think this is true of framboise, for example).

[pastrygirl]

4 hours ago, Jim D. said:

The Granny Smith apples are exactly what I ended up buying (though from a different source). Whether for a pâte de fruit or a ganache, I think I will need to remove the skins. One reviewer said they are rather tough, and they probably would not grind up enough

 

I had used the melanger to grind the apples into white chocolate plus added cocoa butter - one more reason you need a melanger, I knew there was one more sample I should have sent you!  But yes, otherwise you might need to pass your mix through a sieve if you don't want bits of skin.

[Jim D.]

2 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

 

I had used the melanger to grind the apples into white chocolate plus added cocoa butter - one more reason you need a melanger, I knew there was one more sample I should have sent you!  But yes, otherwise you might need to pass your mix through a sieve if you don't want bits of skin.

The photo of the apple pieces showed them as fairly large, so I thought I could cut the skin off (I'm not using a huge amount).