Reconstituting Dried Fruits

[Genoa]

Although not the bulk of my storage foods, I have added a modest amount of dried items---with the exception of any dried fruit. I feel I should add some fruit, but I have a couple questions first:

 

1. What is the texture of the fruit after it has been reconstituted? Is it still kind of leathery? I hate, hate, hate raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, fruit leathers, etc. because of the texture. So I'm hoping that reconstituting improves the texture of dried fruits.

 

2. I have read that it takes 8 hours to reconstitute dried fruit and that it should be stored in the refrigerator when reconstituting. If there is no electricity, do you think it would be okay if eaten right away at the end of the 8 hours?

 

Thanks!

[Campy]

"I have read that it takes 8 hours to reconstitute dried fruit and that it should be stored in the refrigerator when reconstituting."

 

The time it takes to reconstitute any food or fruit is going to depend on several things:

 

How thick is it is going to be primary determining factor ?

 

Apple sauce flakes are going to reconstitute much faster than apple slices.

 

Do you plan to use it for cooking ? If so, use warm water to reconstitute it.

 

Do you plan to use it raw ? If so, use COOL water to reconstitute it.

 

Reconstituting in cool water is going to take longer than reconstituting in warm water.

 

 

"What is the texture of the fruit after it has been reconstituted? Is it still kind of leathery? I hate, hate, hate raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, fruit leathers, etc. because of the texture. So I'm hoping that reconstituting improves the texture of dried fruits."

 

The texture of what you have reconstituted (provided it is completely reconstituted) ranges from very close to identical to the item fresh. The flavor is (99%+ of the time) the same as the item fresh.

 

 

"If there is no electricity, do you think it would be okay if eaten right away at the end of the 8 hours?"

 

 

Raw, reconstituted food can be consumed immediately, actually the majority (if not all) dehydrated foods can be consumed in the dehydrated state.

 

You should store the reconstituted food the same way you would store the PREPARED food. For instance, if you slice fresh apples, most people put them in water or put lemon juice on them to prevent/minimize browning. Sliced apples I would use within 24 hours for best flavor appearance.

 

 

FWIW - I buy my dehydrated fruits from

 

http://www.bulkfoods.com/dried_fruits.asp?referer=godrifru

 

You need to be aware that some of their fruits are sulphered (for appearance) and some are sulphered AND sugared.

 

Their whole strawberries (In My Opinion) need to be rinsed thoroughly before reconstituting and the water changed and the strawberries rinsed several times while reconstituting. Doing this provides strawberries that are only slighter sweeter than fresh picked. The texture of the strawberries is softer than fresh picked.

 

The sulphered apple slices have the right amount of sweetness and their cherries taste just like fresh picked, again, the cherries are a just a smidgen softer than fresh picked. Personally, I like the banana chips just as they are for snacking on.

 

[Genoa]

Campy, thanks so much for your descriptions and information. It helps me a lot. I've been looking at the site you mentioned and it has a lot of things that look good to me.