Dried Fruit Recommendations?

Cherries. Trader Joe's also carry dried fruits but many have added sugar.

Dried mangos. Must try dried mangos.

That's odd - I loved the dried pineapple that I've tried. I think they've been sugared to some degree...I'd give them another try from somewhere else. I pretty much love any dried fruit though...and I hate fruit in general.

Dried bananas used to be my favorite.

This is why i can't stand blogs.

Costco sells some good dried mangoes. They're yummy. You could also get a dehydrator and make your own!

I absolutely love semi-dried tomatos, especially if they are nice and spicy.

I'll second the vote for trying the pineapple from somewhere else. It's a favorite of mine. But bananas and apples are good too.

Yeah, I love dried pineapple. The stuff you tried has to be an exception. My local health food store sells tons of different kinds of dried stuff (almost all of which I like). I'm considering getting a dehydrator so I can dry fruit, herbs, jerky, fruit leathers.

Dried apples are probably the best. Dried pineapple can be good, though what I've found in my area tends to have been heavily sugared. Other fruits that are tasty when dried: Apricots, Mangos, Papaya and Grapes.

One "dried" fruit I *don't* like is bananas. Well, the fried banana chip variety - about as nasty as fast food.

Have you tried dried grapes? They are my personal favorite. In India, we call them 'KishMish'.

One other thing - not a fruit, but dried (or is it crystalized?) ginger - yummmm.

There are a lot, but the one thing I'd suggest is to keep an eye out for sulphites. They're generally used as a preservative, and while you probably won't notice in small amounts, you certainly will in larger portions. Trader Joe's sells a good quantity of items that don't use sulphites as preservatives, and those are all quite good (even the pineapple).

Personally, I like the dried mixed berries, followed by apples, and the dried grapes (raisins). Many of the cherries are nice, but they get really tiresome after a bag or two. Then again, I tend to take a bit and hold it in a cheek for a while to really get the flavors out of it.

Haven't tried the dried mango yet.

(Oh, and to the anonymous guy that hates blog posts like this? It's ok, you're obviously not a geek. Anyone who spends the better part of days at a computer knows the value of dried fruits at 4 in the morning.)

JR is right about the sulfites. Guys like Case de Fruta and regular grocery stores pack their product with the stuff. Tends to generate a ton of gas out of the wrong end. :-(

--b

cranberries, blueberries, apricots, mangoes

I like dried fruit, too! I like the way we think we are tricking ourselves with some of these types of natural fruits with a little sin added on with the extra sugur....for me those are the only type I eat...I actually find they give me energy....and they are a cool combo. between fruit and candy!

One think I like the idea of more than candy is to see you this week!

Apricots are the best. Mangos too when their coated in sugar as they do in Thailand.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned dried figs yet. I love them.

Japanese ume-boshi are spectacular, especially in an oni-giri rice ball.

Other than that, I have a weakness for HYDRATED fruit, especially guava and pears.

by the way, what a california neo-yuppie conversation we have going on here.

Figs and dates are a must. Very Christmassy food (well they are here in the UK). I'm also a fan of dried apricots.

We have a local organic farm-shop that sells all sorts of amazing dried fruits and seeds. Much better than chocolate and sweets (or "candy" as you American folk call it)

5. Apricots
4. Apple
3. Dates
2. Mango
1. Tomatoes

This is what blogs were made for!

I don't like dried pineapple either, the stuff I tried seemed like what you described. Dried banana chips are good, as are dried apricots (probably my favoutite).

I prefer dried apricots to almost all other dried fruits.

Yahoo! has just released their "Dried Fruit" API. Here are the call parameters:

Request parameters

Parameter Value Description
appid string (required) The application ID.
fruitid string (required) The fruit name or ID
dryness_level float The desired dryness.
pits integer 0 = no, 1 = yes

Response Elements

Field Description
ResultSet Contains all of the query responses.
Result Enclosing tag for one result.
dryness_level The actual dryness level of the result
pits Whether or not the search result had pits.
fruit_name The string version of the fruit name.
latitude The latitude portion of the fruit's location
longitude The longitude portion of the fruit's location.

Notes: If there are no dried fruits available for the given parameters, you will be immediately disintegrated.

Nice spam post above! :)

I like the 'meaty' fruits best. I like pineapple, for sweetness, and apricots and dates (dried figs). If you're concerned about cost, check out http://farmgal.tripod.com/Dehydrate.html -- how to dry your own fruits. Not energy efficient to use your own oven, but it's possible if you don't want to invest in an electric dryer. I've made my own beef jerky this way, and it turns out really good. I don't like 'hard' dried food, so sometimes cranberries, blueberries and currants can be a miss if they're old (although I like 'em).

I'll also note that fruit is mostly water, so a 1/4 cup of dried fruit is about 1 cup of fruit (1 large banana, or 2 medium-sized apples). You pack on the calories quickly, if that's your thing.

Mango's from the Phillippines should be at the top of the list.

I'll second the dried strawberries - expensive but addictively tasty. Mangoes and cherries are also good.

Apricots are pretty good and juicy even dry. I went to the farmers market in Mountain View yesterday, a 2 1/2 lb bag for $10 from an organic farm.

Apricots!

And second on the mangoes...

Apricots, they're the dried fruit "killer app".

The thing to avoid is sulphur - most dried fruit you get in supermakets contain sulphur which really ruins the flavor.

You tree-huggers in California are really into your oragnic stuff, so there's a greater chance of getting them there. Avoid the sulphur at all costs!

Trader Joes dried cranberries. Yum!

I had a cheese sandwich for lunch today.

For more details, look on Flickr for images tagged "Cheese Sandwich."

Yes, by all means, go with mangos. They are the best. And by all means go with the Phillipine Brand per the other recs. There are many brands. Almost all suck.

Here's a link to a pic of the "right" brand http://photos1.blogger.com/img/183/1488/640/dried%20mango.jpg

I second the votes for cranberries and apricots. My two favorite dried fruits.

Dried fruit is a nice treat way better then candy.

I'm a *huge* fan of Sunsweet Cherry Essence dried plums. The Orange Essence ones are great too. Come see me at A2412 and I'll let you try them. :)

Is dried fruits a code word for something?

Aside from the typical cranberries, raisins, mangos, you should try persimmons. They dry nicely and aren't exploding with flavor, but it tastes light and refreshing. Not sure if whole foods will have them, but drying them at home is pretty easy.

Dried bananas are really good. Not those dry sweet chips, but the sometimes sticky, chewy variety. They can look somewhat off-putting but really are the king of dehydrated fruit and great for taking on long hikes.

Apricots are also good, and apples, though I find they swell up and can be a bit 'bloaty'.

Wow, who would have thought that dried fruit would elicit such a comment fest. Mate in South Africa dried guava is all the rage... yum yum!

Certainly I did not!

Try the Sunnyvale farmers' market. My favorite dried apricots come from there. My second choice dried apricots come from Trader Joes (I prefer the California slab, but Blensheim is good too). They also have a variety of good dried peaches, but I always seem to return to the apricots...

Definitely try some dried cherries.

Dried durian. Better yet, dry it yourself in your own home.

My grandmother used to dry apples that my grandfather grew in his orchard. They were the absolute best; slap-your-momma good things, they were. The ones you can buy are OK, but they don't compare. HST, I do like dried banana slices, too.

Cantaloupe. I've picked up some from whole foods before, and it was like candy. In fact, that might almost be a reason to not try it; it's so good, I kept thinking it had to be sugar coated or something. And if we're going to eat candy, Whole Foods at 6th & Lamar carries chocolate-covered honeycomb.

Dried peach is very much like dried apple slices, ie. lovely.

(as featured in "Tesco Special Flakes with Peach Melba", the world's most addictive cereal)

My brother in law has a bussiness like that dryng fruits in Malang Indonesia (I'm in Surabaya). He choose jack-fruits
(http://www.kauaivacationresorts.com/jackfruit/jackfruit.html)

Its sweet but sticky, I love eating them both dried or when still wet :P. You should try that!.

btw, in Indonesia, that fruit called "buah nangka".

the best dried fruit hands down is by a california farmers at Bellaviva.com
most everything is natural with NO SUGAR added
try the different Apricots and Cherries
also they have dried fruit without Sulphur added

cheers!

Try dried apricots

I tried dried Mangoes from the Phillippines that my son bought at Sam's Club. These are delicious. But the one's at Costco, are not so good.

I never liked dried pineapple until I tried this brand called frontier. it is sweetened with evaporated pineapple juice and contains no added sulfites. I also like dried cherries and blueberries. My favorite source for dried fruit is http://www.sunorganicfarm.com because they carry mostly organic products without sulfites.
But I get my dried pineapples from this websites:
http://www.shamanshop.net/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/47797.0/CategoryID/21500.0/SubCatID/5140.0/file.htm

Not sure if anyone is reading this thread anymore, but I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I am biased towards dried fruit because I sell it for a living (http://www.nutsonline.com/driedfruit/) and it them all day long :-) I personally cannot detect the taste of sulphur in the fruits. It's harder to find unsulphured product because dried fruit tends to get nasty looking without the sulphur, but things are beginning to shift more towards the unsulphured / organic side of the spectrum.

If you are looking for a deliciously unique variety of dried fruit, try natural dried papaya. It's tough to chew, but tastes amazing. So much better than the sweetened variety. It reminds me of fruit rollups. So so good.

Trader Joe's Dried Physalis. They look like raisins but orange! Exoticious!!!

Dried cantaloupes are the best. I'm surprised it was only mentioned once.

I got here by looking up info about the sulphur preservatives on dried fruit. I love dried fruit, but heard it's frowned upon by some nutritionalists...when I noticed that virtually all dried fruit has sulphur something or other, I wondered if this was why. Is the preservative bad for you? Anyone ever tried dried passionfuit?

wow hardly anyone here has said strawberries, but they're my all time favorite!

I'm surpried no one likes prunes. They taste great and they keep you regular. Although I can't stand prune juice, but probably because I was given it when I was in the hospital. Just a thought.

I love dried fruit much and i do dry tropical and subtropical fruit.Let me tell you enjoy the natural sugar from the fruit, snack your children with dried fruit. Have you tested the dried litchi?it very nice

I really like dried figs and dried papiya i just ordered some dried friut off of www.nutsonline.com they have an amazing selection of dried friuts from strawberrys so guava...

Agree about the semi-dried bananas - Trader Joe has been doing them for a few years - they are amazing. And the Physalis are great - I've only recently discovered these little beauties - I actually found them being sold as "Columbian Mountain gooseberries" - they are realy great fresh or dried. Also TJ now do orange scented dried cranberries - excellent. I aslo get a lot of my dried fruit from Patel Brothers - but the stuff they sell is laedn with sulphites - does anyone know what the long-term effects of consuming sulphites might be?

I love dried mangoes, peaches are another favourite. Living in the Pacific Im thinking of experimenting with drying of other tropical fruit. Most dried fruit are imported and very expensive.
I read about someone doing dried kiwi fruit in NZ some time ago, would really like to try it.

Dried mangoes are about the most heavenly thing my mouth has tasted. Of course, with the hundreds of different cultivars, each place you try them from may have their own unique taste...

I'm interested in trying to do my own fruits, and two that I haven't heard mentioned (albeit, I didn't ready everything) are dried kiwi and dried strawberries.

I also enjoy dried apricots - sweet and fruity. Not a fan of dried fruits with sugar added; just teh fruit itself.

Dried fruit - yes, I've got to say pears are the utmost indulgence, closely followed by peaches. Tried dehydrating
(strawberries), however, results were not great. Am leary
of purchasing online, any suggestions?

You have got to try the dried fruit at http://www.nuttyidea.net the dried cranberry's are the best I have had in awhile . . . They have a dried fruit mix to die for! Thanks for the blog.

I've tried just about every dried fruit imaginable, and I'd have to stick to the dried MANGO as a favorite!!!! If you haven't tried it then your missing out... Also to add, if your into health and nutrition, don't forget that dried fruits are an excellent source of energy!

Dried Goji Berries....I love to use these in granola, particularly. Not particularly cheap and depending where you live, it can be hard to find them, but well worth it.

Has anyone ever tried this site for dried fruit? www.jdfinefoods.com - They seem to have great prices, just wanted to know how their quality is...

Jeremy, the VERY BEST dried fruits I've ever tasted come from MEDURI; incredible flavor, moist, many flavors. They are expensive but the taste and quality is worth it.

I bought food dehydrator by the end of August to dry my homegrown black tomatoes. The result - I have been dangerously addicted to it so I cut down half of my evergreens so I can expand my tomato garden and dry everything. I just recently bought a commertial food dehydrator.
I dried 2 kinds of organically grown peaches - yellow variety (absolutely divine, and indian red peach - very interesting taste that I love as well), pears from my friend that are great by now almost gone and a huge amount of homegrown red italian peppers - another addicted item. I will dry everything starting next year. I almost prefer dry fruit and vegetables to fresh ones after my experiment with black tomatoes.

I really enjoy dried cherries. Recently I tried freeze dried beans, only upon the very adamant insistence of a close friend and I think I prefer freeze dried beans to canned beans. They were quite delicious.

Cherries are great! But love

Cantaloupe
pineapple
mango
pears

Maybe its because of the added sugar I like them so much...

I'm worried about all the preservatives and sulphites in dried fruit and don't eat much of them. Instead, I love natural berry powders: no additives, not even sugar.
They are delicious with plain yogurt or oatmeal. And very important: your body can absorb the vitamins of the ground seeds, which doesn't happen with whole seeds.