Fruit Drying (Dried Halves)
Every year, gardens produce an abundance of apricots, peaches, nectarines
and plums, most of which cannot be easily consumed during the short
ripening period.
Stone fruits can be preserved for later use by drying, bottling in
syrup or cooking into jam. This Fact Sheet discusses the drying method.
Fruit can be dried as halves for cooking and baking, or for direct consumption.
Fruit Drying Preparation
Stone fruits
Apricots (all varieties), peaches (all freestone varieties), nectarines
(all varieties) and plums (all freestone varieties) are suitable for
drying as halves.
Select fruit from the tree that is fully mature but not soft and over-ripe,
wash it, halve cleanly with a knife and remove the pits (stones).
Pears
Duchess, W. B.C., Bartlett or Williams are suitable for drying as halves.
Do not allow pears to mature on the tree, but pick them green (end of
January-early February) and allow them to ripen in a box stored in a
cool (20degC) dark place. This ripening will take 5 to15 days.
Pears are ripe and ready for drying when the stems can be easily pulled
out of the fruit.
Prepare pears for drying by washing, pulling out the stem, cutting cleanly
in halves with a sharp knife and removing the calyx (the dried flower
remaining at the base of the pear). Then core the pears using a special
corer or a teaspoon with a sharpened edge.
Sulphuring
Sulphuring is most easily done by placing the fruit in the solution
described below for the prescribed time. Dipping is easier than the
old method of burning sulphur in a sulphur box. The fruit has to be
kept submerged - a weight on a dinner plate in a 10 litre plastic bucket
works well.
Dipping solution
water - 10 litres
sodium or potassium metabisulphite - 200 g
sugar - 1.5 kg
Dipping times for the various fruits
apricots - 12 to 15 hours
peaches - 20 to 24 hours
nectarines - 15 to 20 hours
plums - 12 to 15 hours
pears - 24 to 30 hours
This dip will sulphur 20 kg of fruit before replenishment with a further
150 g of metabisulphite is needed.
After dipping, rinse the fruit in clean water, lay it on drying trays
or wooden planks, and place in the sun to dry. The cups of the fruit
should face upwards.
Do not use plastic or steel trays, as fruit on these does not dry on
the underside and mould can develop during drying.
Apricots are best dried to completion in the sun, but peaches, nectarines
and plums should be removed from the sun after two days to prevent the
flesh from bleaching. Dry pears in the sun until the edges of the cut
surface start to turn dark and curl up. Complete drying by stacking
the trays and leaving them so any breeze will blow over the fruit. When
dry, remove the fruit from the trays and store in tightly-sealed plastic
containers or tins.
Stone fruits are dry enough for storage when they cannot be easily bent
in halves, and are hard and difficult to eat.
Dried fruit moth control
Should dried fruit moth get into the dried fruit during storage, a few
drops of ethyl formate (sold as ErinoI(r)) per kg of dried fruit, placed
in the sealed container with the fruit, will eliminate it. Repeated
applications may be necessary as new eggs hatch.
Preparation for eating
Dried fruit from storage is usually too hard to be eaten as is. To improve
the texture, shake some fruit up with a small quantity of water in a
sealed plastic container and leave closed for 12 hours. This can be
repeated until a soft eating texture is obtained.
Drying fruit as "naturals"
Stone fruits can be dried successfully as halves without the sulphuring
treatment (dipping). This type of dried fruit is called "naturals".
The fruit finishes darker in colour, and often takes longer to dry,
but the different flavour is preferred by some people "Naturals"
will continue to darken rapidly after drying unless stored in the refrigerator.
When it rains
If, during the first few days of drying, fruit gets more than 10 mm
of rain on it (or has stood under shelter for 24 hours or more without
drying) it should be re-sulphured by dipping for half the normal specified
length of time. If fruit beyond this stage of drying does get wet, place
it in a well ventilated shady place and continue drying when the weather
fines up. Fruit which is nearly dry can be finished in the oven of a
stove, by placing the fruit on an oven slide, setting the oven on minimum
heat setting and leaving the door half open. Check and turn this fruit
regularly (when past the soft semi-liquid stage) to prevent scorching
and to aid drying.
Fruit which is being dipped but which cannot be placed out to dry because
of inclement weather should be dipped for the full initial period and
then re-dipped for three hours every 24 hours until it can be placed
out to dry. This process can only be continued for three or four days
before the fruit becomes soft and starts to break down.
Fruit drying (Kamaradin)
Dried Fruit
Fruit drying
Kamaradin is the Middle East name given to dried fruit slab or leather.
This very old product has only been recently introduced to Australia
from the Middle East. It is popular among home garden fruit driers because
it is easy to make, it is delightful to eat fresh or it can be used
in pies. A wide variety of fruits can be dried in this manner and with
the addition of some sugar to the pulp, a delicious confectionery will
result.
Fruit for drying
Fruit for drying as kamaradin can be both over mature and soft with
some blemishes because it is all converted to pulp before drying. Clingstone
varieties of fruits can also be used because it is not necessary to
be able to easily separate the fruit into halves. Fruits that can be
used for kamaradin production and their drying behaviour are:
Apricots - all varieties are suitable. Dries a bright orange colour.
Peaches - all varieties are suitable. A coarse mincer used with the
firmer clingstone varieties will produce a "chunky"-type product.
Pears - Duchess, W.B.C., Bartlett or Williams variety are the best.
Very juicy with little fibre content and consequently the slab will
dry with large cracks in it. Addition of 10 to 20 per cent peach pulp
will stop the cracking without taking away the pear flavour.
Nectarines - no real problems if well matured fruit is used.
Plums - very strong flavour but even with very mature fruit there can
be a stickiness problem.
Figs - the fruit should be very ripe, and the hard stems should be
removed before mincing.
Any of the above fruits can be combined to make kamaradin of mixed flavours
and dried vine fruits such as sultanas or raisins can be minced up and
added to the pulp for some other different tastes.
Making plain kamaradin
Making plain kamaradinfruit by hand or, with pears, de -stem the fruit,
core it and remove the calyx. Next weigh the fruit and pass it through
a mincer to produce a pulp. When mincing is finished, immediately add
3.5 g (one level teaspoon) of sodium or potassium metabisulphite for
each three kilograms of fresh fruit used. Mix this thoroughly with the
pulp and if there is any delay in mincing, add some to the pulp before
completing the mincing. Also add 100 g of sugar for each three kg of
fresh fruit at this stage to improve the texture of the dried kamaradin
without diluting the flavour.
Then spread the pulp on to plastic-lined trays, 150 mm wide and 12
to 15 mm thick. With some fruits, sides or slats will be required on
the trays to prevent the pulp from running off. Place the trays of pulp
in the sun for drying. Some protection from ants and other insects may
be necessary. Drying can either be completed in the sun or after one
or two days of sun drying, can be finished in an open shady position.
After three days of sun-drying the slabs are usually firm enough to
be peeled off the plastic and turned over to hasten drying. Drying is
complete in about a week.
Confectionery kamaradin
A delicious confectionery form of kamaradin is made simply by increasing
the amount of sugar added after mincing. The suggested amount is 300
g to three kg of fresh fruit; at this level the sweetness is increased
but the fruit flavours are not overpowered. Drying will take longer
than for plain kamaradin, and the total drying time will be 10 to 14
days.
Storage and usage
The kamaradin is dry enough to be stored when it is firm without a soft
centre, but still pliable and slightly "chewy" to eat. If
the slabs are sticky after drying, they can be rolled in castor sugar
before storage. This will reduce the stickiness and allow the slabs
to be handled easily. For storage, roll up the slabs or cut them into
squares and store in a tightly sealed plastic or tin container.
Cool locations are recommended for long-term storage because the slabs
discolour more rapidly at high temperatures. Dried fruit moth can infest
kamaradin during storage from eggs laid during drying. The grubs and
moths of this insect are destroyed by ethyl formate (Erinol(r)) but
repeated applications may be necessary as new eggs hatch. For control,
place a few drops of the ethyl formate per kg of dried fruit in the
sealed container with the fruit.
Plain kamaradin can be used in baking and cooking in the same way as
the dried halves of fruit. It can also be reconstituted to form a delicious
drink by adding a portion of kamaradin to some water and soaking overnight.
Some further dilution with water may be necessary to suit your taste.
Confectionery kamaradin, however, is much softer and can be eaten without
any preparation. Many people cut the sheets into 25 mm squares, dip
them in castor sugar or coconut and serve this way.
When it rains
If it rains during preparation and the pulp cannot be put out to dry,
then add a further 3.5 g of metabisulphite to each three kg of fresh
fruit every 24 hours and mix thoroughly with the pulp. Repeat this for
no more than 3 days. This will prevent any decaying organisms from infecting
the pulp and causing it to go off.
During drying, keep the pulp dry if at all possible i.e. if it starts
to rain, bring it quickly under shelter. The first three days of drying
are the most critical, after this the pulp will stand a few days of
non drying without deterioration. If holding under cover is necessary
in the first three days, then hold in a warm dry room with the window
open. Under these conditions the fruit will probably dry very slowly
and there should be no deterioration. After the first three days, conditions
will not be so critical and holding the pulp in a ventilated shady position
will probably be sufficient. Replace it in the sun as soon as possible
after any holding period under cover.
Information provided by South Australia Research and Development Institute.
www.sardi.sa.gov.au
