Drying Fruit
Ingredients
Directions
Lay out and dry
Spread pulpy fruits such as berries, cherries, and plums on a flat surface without letting them touch each other.
Dry the fruit in the sun under glass, or in a moderate oven.
Turn the fruit daily.
Scald and prepare
Scald the fruit first in a hot oven to make it dry more quickly.
Pare large fruit such as apples, pears, and peaches, divide it, and remove the seeds or stones.
For a small quantity, set the fruit first in a hot oven until heated through, which forms a film or crust over the cut surfaces and holds the juice inside.
Finish drying
Finish drying in a warming oven or somewhere about the range where the fruit gets only moderate heat.
For a larger quantity, after heating in the oven, place the fruit in the hot sun out of doors under fine wire screens to keep off flies, or suspend it from the ceiling, or place it on a frame set directly over the stove.
Turn the fruit occasionally as it dries.
Store
When dry enough, heat the fruit thoroughly before packing it away, to prevent it from getting wormy.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The step that matters
Setting the cut surfaces in a hot oven first. Brief heating of cut fruit forms a film or crust over the surfaces, which helps hold the juice inside while the fruit dries. Skipping it or heating too gently can let juice escape and slow even drying.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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