The Best Way To Dehydrate Apricots At Home

 

 

Apricot dehydration is one of the smart things that you can do in your kitchen and the reason for this is that the apricot season is very short so keeping apricots at home through Dehydrate will help you get apricots at any time of the year.

 

On the other hand, it does not have many offers in the supermarket, so it is preferable to take advantage of the short time that there are offers on apricots by buying a large quantity and then Dehydrating them or making them as juice or jam.

 

Personally, I enjoy dried apricots as a snack and also put them in the school lunch box for my kids, they love it!

In this post, I will explain to you how to choose apricots for dehydration, as well as how long they remain valid on the shelf.

Then I share with you some tips to get wonderful dehydrated apricots.

 

How to choose an Apricot for long time storage?

 

As a general rule, you should choose medium-sized apricots, not large or small, so that they do not take a long time during dehydration, and that they are fully ripe, but without any mold or mildew.

On the other hand, the apricot color should be bright and not dark, as the dark color indicates the possibility of mold inside the apricot.

 

How to prepare an Apricot for dehydration?

 

1.  The apricots are prepared for dehydrating by washing them well with salt water to reduce the speed of oxidation and turn brown.
2. Cut the apricots into two equal halves.
3.  Remove the inner seed.
4.  Wash the apricots again with normal water.
5.  Let the apricots dry a little.

 

What Is The Best Way To Dehydrate Apricots At Home?

 

As a general rule, the best way to dehydrate apricots at home is to use an electric dehydrator for 24 hours, with the first three hours being at 160 degrees and then reducing the temperature to 130 degrees.

 

Instruction to dehydrate Apricot.

1. Place the apricots in the dehydrator rack close to but not sticking
2. Make sure that the apricots do not stick to the sides of the dehydrator because after drying they will be difficult to remove.
3. Set the dehydrator to 160 degrees for 3 hours
4. Reduce the temperature to 130 degrees Fahrenheit and leave it for 21 hours.
5. After 24 hours, leave the apricots to cool completely
6. Put the apricots in an air-tight jar and put it on the shelf

 

Tips for Dehydrating Apricot.

Now let’s share some important tips while dehydrating apricots.

 

• Use the Mesh sheets.

 

Every electric dehydrator comes with mesh sheets, which are very important when dehydrating apricots because the apricots will often be sticky (at least until they cool). Here comes the task of the mesh sheets, as it helps prevent apricots from sticking.

 

•  Push Apricot inside out.

 

The inner tissues of the apricots are somewhat thick, so it is preferable to Push the Apricot inside out after about 8 hours to make sure the apricots dehydrate properly.

 

• Rotate your Dehydrator Trays. 

 

One of the general tips for dehydrating is to Rotate your Dehydrator Trays at least once every 8 hours to ensure that the heat is distributed

correctly – even if there is a fan in the dehydrator –

 

• Use airtight Jars.

Apricots turn brown very quickly under normal conditions, so it is preferable to put them in an air-tight jar
Personally, I use a moisture absorber, it helps a lot.

 

How long home dehydrated apricot last?

 

In general, dried apricots remain usable for a period ranging from 24 months to 30 months if the dried Apricot has been conditioned probably.

 

After drying the apricots and placing them in air-tight jars, the moisture content should be low, about 15% to 20% as a maximum. Therefore, it is preferable to shake the jar every period to make sure that there is no moisture in any of the apricots. Personally, I strongly recommend that you put a moisture absorber.

 

Are there any other ways to dehydrate apricot at home?

 

In fact, there are other ways to dry apricots at home and we will explain them in this part so that you have all the options.

1-Sun drying

Drying apricots by the sun is a natural method, which is still used in some countries. The method is very easy. It is to prepare a clean piece of cloth suitable for the size of the apricot quantity, then put the apricots on it and put it in the sun, but it must be noted that the apricots must be washed well with saltwater.

It takes about 3 to 7 days for sun-dried apricots to reach a good result.

You can see this video that explains the method in detail.

 

 

 

2- Drying apricot using the Oven.

Apricots can be dried using the oven by cutting the apricots in half and removing the seeds, then placing the apricots on the lower rack and setting the temperature to about 60 for a period of about two or three hours.

 

3-Drying Apricot using Microwave.

 

Using the microwave to dry apricots will not be using the normal method of heating food inside the microwave, but it will be using defrost
And the method is very easy.

Cut the apricots into slices and set the defrost setting for about 50 minutes, noting that the apricots should be turned every 10 minutes.

 

Conclusion.

The best way to dry apricots at home is to use an electric dehydrator by placing apricots. The process of drying apricots takes about 24 hours and the temperature is between 160 to 130

There are other ways to dry apricots, such as using sun drying, oven, or microwave

One of the important tips when drying apricots is to push the apricots from the inside out every 8 hours to ensure the drying is complete, and also flip the shelves of the dehydrator and also use an air-tight jar to save the apricots after drying.

 

Useful resources.

 

Top Tips For Successful Food Dehydration For Beginners 

 

External Resources.

 

Packaging and Storing Dried Foods