Reconstituting Dried Fruits

[ulterior epicure]

This question applies to dried fruits in general, but specifically, I'm interested in dried berries as the seem particularly susceptible to over-dehydration.

1. I didn't properly store my lusciously moist dried blueberries that I got out of the beautiful pharmicist jars at Dean & Deluca's and they've gone dry - they look like over-sized large purplish-blue peppercorns. I'd hate to throw them out as I know that while probably not good for straight eating, they'd be good enough for baking or in a bowl of oatmeal, etc... How can I gently (this being the key word) reconstitute the berries. When I reconstitute figs and other larger fruits, I often find they end up overly moist - indeed soggy - with juice. I don't want that.

2. Can I dry my own berries. Sometimes I get greedy at the farmer's markets when they're in season and I over-buy... and they go to waste (surprising given the rate at which I consume them). If I can - can anyone provide instructions or a link to instructions?

Thanks!

u.e.

[lperry]

1. Rehydrate them in a steamer. Watch them carefully because it probably won't take very long.

2. You can dry fruits in a food dehydrator. Just stop it whenever they have reached the desired dryness. I've heard that people dry things in slow ovens, but I've never tried it.

[ulterior epicure]

1.  Rehydrate them in a steamer.  Watch them carefully because it probably won't take very long.

Yes, maybe I should do it over simmering water instead of boiling.

2.  You can dry fruits in a food dehydrator.  Just stop it whenever they have reached the desired dryness.  I've heard that people dry things in slow ovens, but I've never tried it.

I don't have a dehydrator... boo. However, if I do get one, or find success in some other method - do I need to add any sugar or is there enough sugar in the fruit itself to preserve it? Also, how do I safely store the moist fruit without it growing mold or other unwantables?

u.e.

[John DePaula]

Interesting piece on Splendid Table Sally Schneider's Essential Plumped Dried Fruit

Or if you prefer to listen to that show (February 18, 2006): Splendid Table Audio Archive - February 2006

[Smithy]

U.E, if you have the space, I'd advocate freezing the fruits rather than drying them. I don't have a dehydrator, so maybe I'm selling the method short, but I've found I much prefer the berries (blueberries, raspberries, cherries) I froze during the best part of the season to the equivalent in dried form. Well...except possibly for the cherries. Dried tart cherries are a real treat eaten out of hand, and they seem to work better in baked goods than the frozen ones. I'd prefer the frozen ones for a pie, though.

For freezing: I wash (gently) the blueberries or raspberries, spread them out on a towel to let them dry somewhat, then spread them on a tray and put that in the freezer. When they're well frozen, I load them into a freezer storage container and they're good to go. I've read many times that you aren't supposed to wash blueberries before freezing them. I disagree. I've tried side by side tastings and found no deterioration in quality between pre- and post-washed berries. In the meantime it's a real pain to wash frozen berries. They keep freezing the wash water and sticking to each other, making it necessary to keep scattering them apart unless you want to thaw them first. That's messy.

With cherries I wash, then pit, then freeze all in a muddled mess, not separated at all.

[ulterior epicure]

U.E, if you have the space, I'd advocate freezing the fruits rather than drying them.

Nancy.

Thanks for the suggestion... but I was specifically wanting to know about dried fruits. Dried fruits function in ways that frozen fruits just can't - say in a bowl of cereal, granola, or just straight eating... while frozen is better for cooking, stewing and baking... There's also a lovely concentration of flavors and sugars that you get with dried fruit that can't be found in frozen products.

Thanks for the thought though!!

u.e.

[Kouign Aman]

I've dried fruit in both gas and electric ovens.

In both cases, i put a lot of space between the pieces. If you live where its sunny and there's some air movement, you can dry outdoors too. Its not a touchy process.

I had a gas oven with a pilotlight that kept things about the right temp (I live in a pretty dry climate, which helps). The electric oven got turned on to the 200F setting every couple of hours for about 10 min, then turned off. If things didnt look pretty shriveled in the first half day, I cranked the temp a bit.

I never dried enough for long term storage so cant address your mold question. Good luck and have fun. (I never tried cherries. Too much work to pit them).

[ulterior epicure]

(I live in a pretty dry climate, which helps).

My California days being long over, I unfortunately, do not... in the Midwest where I've been for the last few years, it gets so humid (during the warm months) that walking to the mailbox is like taking a hot swim...

u.e.

[Tess]

That simmer in syrup method looks good.

I bought some mixed dried berries that were delicious but too dry and chewy to do much with. I didn't think of stewing or simmering; I just put them in a jar and covered them with brandy. After a couple of weeks they were soft and the brandy had turned into a nice syrup. Good on ice cream, not so much for oatmeal I guess.

[ulterior epicure]

I just put them in a jar and covered them with brandy. After a couple of weeks they were soft and the brandy had turned into a nice syrup. Good on ice cream, not so much for oatmeal I guess.

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...and I hadn't thought about soaking in liquor!!! I've macerated raisins in rum before for my signature rum raisin buttercream-filled oatmeal whoopies, but I never thought about doing it for both reconstituting and preservation purposes. Thanks, Tess!

u.e.