Other Dried Fruit Category

When fresh, these fruits are crisp like apples and have a mild, sweet flavor. In the United States, they're most often available dried. Chinese are different than middle eastern palm dates.

These dried Zante grapes look like tiny raisins. Don't confuse them with the fresh sour berry that also called a currant.

These are popular additions to trail mixes. They're often treated with sulfur to improve their color and shelf life.

Turkish dried apricots are lighter in color and milder in flavor than other varieties. They're often treated with sulfur to improve their color and shelf life.

People in the Middle East usually make a drink out of this fruit leather by putting it into boiling water. During Ramadan, it's often served before and after the day-long fast. Look for it in Middle Eastern markets.

These usually come in two forms: long spears, which are very sweet and best for cooking, and chips, which are fried in oil, crunchy, and best suited for trail mixes.

These are very sweet and have an intense cantaloupe flavor.

These are used to make muffins and cakes.

These are large and sweet, and they can serve as a refreshing alternative to raisins in many recipes.

Begin with orange, lemon, tangerine, or grapefruit peels, scrape off and discard as much of the bitter white pith as possible, and dry what's left in the sun until hard

With their flashy color and tangy flavor, dried cranberries are a good alternative to raisins in many recipes. Craisins is a well-known brand.

These are a great source of fiber and calcium. Varieties include the Black Mission fig, which is a good choice for eating out of hand, and the Calimyrna = Turkish = Smyrna fig, which is best for cooking. If your figs become too dry, you can rehydrate them with water. Don't eat the stems.

Dried fruit is a terrific snack, but cooks also use it in everything from muffins to stews. Drying has the obvious advantage of letting us enjoy our favorite fruit when it's out of season, but it also serves to concentrate the fruit's flavor and sugar. Since high concentrations of sugar ward off bacteria, dried fruit can last up to a year without refrigeration. If you live in a hot, dry climate, you can dry fruit just by leaving it out in the sun for a few days. If not, you can use an oven or dehydrator. Sulfur dioxide is sometimes added to the fruit to improve its shelf life and color. If you're allergic to it, you can usually find unsulfured dried fruit at health food stores. In a pinch, you can remove some of the sulfur by boiling treated dried fruit for a minute or so, then draining off the liquid.

These are sometimes coated with sugar.

These are the size of large raisins, and they taste like very dry figs. Look for them in Middle Eastern markets.

These are similar to dried peaches, but often a bit more expensive. They're often treated with sulfur.

These are sometimes coated with sugar.

These are similar to dried apricots, only larger and milder. They're often treated with sulfur.

These don't have the cloying sweetness of some dried fruits. They're often gassed with sulfur dioxide in the drying process in order to improve their color and shelf life.

These often have a white, sugary residue, which is edible.

These are sometimes coated with sugar.

These are sweet and chewy, and they're great in trail mixes or granola.

These are more tart than ordinary raisins.

Bags of grated coconuts are usually stored among the baking supplies in larger markets. Varieties include dried or desiccated coconut, flaked, angel flake, moist, sweetened and unsweetened, toasted and untoasted, and macaroon coconut. To make your own: To grate, peel off the brown skin, then grate the white flesh with a grater, food processor, or vegetable peeler. To toast, spread unsweetened grated coconut on a baking sheet and bake in a 350°F oven until coconut is golden (about 5 minutes).

This Indian souring agent is made from dried mangosteen peels. It's often used in fish dishes. Look for it in Indian markets.

These are sun-dried litchis. The outer shells are brown and the meat inside looks like a large raisin. Look for them in Asian markets.

These are large and very sweet.

In a marketing makeover, producers are starting to call these dried plums instead of prunes. Whatever you call them, they're sweet and just loaded with dietary fiber, iron, and other nutrients. You can eat them whole, chop them into sauces and stews, or make a compote out of them.

The common raisins we see on supermarket shelves are usually dried Thompson seedless grapes. Golden raisins are amber in color and somewhat tart--many cooks prefer them over ordinary raisins for baking and cooking. Muscat raisins are dark and very sweet, and they work well in fruitcakes. Currants are about one-quarter the size of ordinary raisins, and are typically used in baked goods. Store raisins in the refrigerator after you open the package.

Look for these in Middle Eastern markets.

Dried tomatoes have a richer, more concentrated flavor than ordinary tomatoes. They're great for snacking, or tossing in salads or sauces or on pizzas. Dried tomatoes usually come either dry or packed in oil. If they're hard and dry, steep them in boiling water for about five minutes before using them.