Losing moisture during the drying process, fruits decrease in volume, but retain the calorie content of fresh fruit and a full set of trace elements. Therefore, replacing sweets with dried fruits, you should not consume them in large quantities.
Many diets include fresh fruit in the daily diet, but equating the recommended amount with dried fruit means getting 3-5 times more calories. Knowing this ratio, you can get the most out of yourself by taking a handful of raisins, figs or prunes on the road or to work. Indeed, to replace a glass of fresh fruit, ¼ of dried fruit is enough.
What happens during the drying process
The most important change that happens to fresh fruit during the drying process is that it loses moisture. Technologists claim that moisture still remains within 20%, but its decrease and affects the high calorie content. For example, if there are 44 kcal in 100 g of apricot, then when dried, only 20 g of this mass will remain with the same calorie content.
But the calorie content of dried fruit can be even higher if the manufacturer has previously placed fresh fruit in the syrup. Fruits that are sour in taste or not very bright in color are subjected to this technology. The syrup is made at the rate of 150 g of sugar per 1 liter of water. It seems to be a little, but there is additional sugar. When purchasing dried fruits in a store in packaging, you should inquire if sugar syrup was used. Although not every manufacturer mentions this.
It is believed that dried fruits differ from fresh ones only in their increased calorie content, while vitamins and minerals remain in the same proportions. But this largely depends on the drying technology. Large producers often blanch fruits in boiling water to speed up the process. It takes only a few minutes to take effect, but it partially destroys vitamins.
Then drying is carried out in huge installations - dehydrators at a temperature of 70-80 degrees, until 2/3 of the moisture evaporates. After that, the temperature drops to 45-55, depending on the specific type of fruit. Bypassing all the stages of production technology, fruits retain with them calories and trace elements, of which they contain exactly the same amount as in fresh ones.
We dry ourselves
The surest way, at least a little to reduce the calorie content, is to dry it yourself. Especially if these fruits are from your own garden. There are several methods, including an oven and special fruit dryers, which are sold in a wide range. Some people prefer to use a microwave oven. All this can be combined under one name - artificial drying.
However, do not forget about the old "old-fashioned" method, when apples and pears cut into thin pieces are laid out on clean paper and left in a ventilated room for two weeks. It is clear that the speed is not the one that is available in an electric dryer, and you need to choose sunny days and periodically stir and stir future dried fruits. But they will retain more vitamins and not add calories from sugar syrup.
