Dehydrated Apricots: Part 2

I have  a friend with an apricot tree. Three apricot trees actually, and they are full of enough fruit to feed a small army. Being the good friend that I am, I try to help her out whenever I can by removing some of this extra fruit before it ripens too far and falls to an untimely death on her lawn.  But now that I have all this fruit, what can I do with it?

If you've been here before, you already know about the "Zombie Scab" incident that occurred when I first tried to dehydrate apricots. I couldn't let my efforts end on a failure like that, so I decided to try again. This time instead of going online for advice, I asked my friend from whom the apricots came.  She gave me excellent advice which thankfully yielded excellent results.


Step 1: Pop the apricot open with your bare hands! Grrr! Doesn't that make you feel tough!

Step 2: Pull out the pit and toss it aside.

Step 3: Turn the apricot inside out so the juicy part is sticking up.

 

Step 4: Lay your apricots on a pan/rack for drying.  (Step 5: Sprinkle with sugar. This isn't really a required step, but I just LOVE sugar!)

Then set your apricots out in the sun for a day or two and wait for them to dry. Check them every 6-8 hours to see when they become chewy.

For best results place them on a dark or reflective surface to maximize their sun exposure. If bugs are a problem, cover the fruit with netting or tulle. You may want to bring your fruit in overnight if temperatures drop drastically (or if you just want to keep them out of the sprinklers!).

No electricity, no money, and only 15 minutes of work and you can go from quickly ripening apricots that will only last days to dehydrated apricots that will last for months!

Enjoy!

Marcia