[sclarke624]

Has anyone dehydrated Apricots.  I did some, I like them but OH complains they are like leather.  I notice in the shops they seems to be peeled, is this the secret.

How do you do yours??

[catllar]

I think you are seeing the difference between dried and semi-dried. Yours (dried) need rehydrating in something before you can use them unless you want to keep them really chewy. I think the ones you are seeing in the store are semi-dried (not peeled) and are ready to eat, and I'm not at all sure that we can do this at home. There is a percentage of moisture left in the fruit - (Q to self: why don't they go mouldy? are they sterilised somehow?) Prunes can have the same treatment - really dried and hard or semi-dried and ready to eat. Maybe if you have a home drier you could get the result you want.

[sclarke624]

I do have a home direr.  Maybe shouldn't do it for as long as it says in the book.  I did read that you sort of tun the apricot inside out, or cut in half and push up the skin part, two different reasons on sites given for this, one it dries better and two it makes them softer.  Not convinced myself.

[catllar]

Hmmn! Maybe you should just give it a go as per instructions and see what happens - hope you've got a lot of cheap apricots!  The soft-drieds I buy here are still whole, but have had stones removed.