SUN DRIED FRUIT
Sun drying is a traditional drying method for reducing the moisture content of paddy by spreading the grains under the sun. The solar radiation heats up the grains as well as the surrounding air and thus increases the rate of water evaporating from the grains. It is also not possible to sun dry at night or during rain.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Sun-dried tomatoes are ripe tomatoes that lose most of their water content after spending a majority of their drying time in the sun. These tomatoes are usually pre-treated with sulfur dioxide or salt before being placed in the sun in order to improve quality. Typically, tomatoes spend 4-10 days in the sun in order for the sun-drying process to be complete. As a result, it takes anywhere from 8 to 14 kilos of fresh tomatoes to make a single kilo of sun-dried tomatoes.
Sun-dried Fruits
Tropical Dried fruits is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized because of its sweet taste, nutritive value, and long shelf life.
Today, dried fruit consumption is widespread. Nearly half of the dried fruits sold are raisins, followed by dates, prunes, figs, apricots, peaches, apples and pears. These are referred to as “conventional” or “traditional” dried fruits: fruits that have been dried in the sun or in heated wind tunnel dryers.
Many fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries and mangoes are infused with a sweetener (e.g. sucrose syrup) prior to drying. Some products sold as dried fruit, like papaya, kiwi fruit and pineapples are most often candied fruit. Dried fruits retain most of the nutritional value of fresh fruits. The specific nutrient content of the different dried fruits reflects their fresh counterpart and the processing method. In general, all dried fruits provide essential nutrients and an array of health protective bioactive ingredients, making them valuable tools to both increase diet quality and help reduce the risk of chronic disease
Empire Specialty Foods, Inc. dried apricots – sun dried tomato and tropical dried fruits. sun dried tomatoes.
SOME OTHER SUN – DRIED
