Dry fruits like dates, figs, and apricots have been preserved for over 5,000 years through sun drying in the Middle East. This process removes moisture so the fruits can be stored indefinitely. Europeans would dry apples and grapes in warm ovens or on stone floors in monasteries. Today, 6 pounds of fresh fruit becomes 1 pound dried through harvesting, removing stems/pits, grading, and spreading in the sun to dry. Dried fruit is sweeter than fresh and commonly used in baking, cereals, and snacks. Figs specifically originate from Western Asia and have been distributed throughout the Mediterranean for at least 5,000 years. Their inverted flowers develop into seeds inside fruit.
2. Facts and info on Dried FruitsFacts and info on Dried Fruits
If a ripe fruit is dried it loses most of its moisture,
accumulates natural sugar and keeps almost indefinitely
This fact has been know to the middle eastern people for
over 5000 years, they have always preserved dates, figs and
apricots by sun drying, which is still the most favored
technique
Medieval Europeans put their apples into warm ovens,
then peeled, and threaded them onto strings and
suspended them from kitchen ceiling. In the
monasteries, however, monks dried their plumes grapes
and apples on stone, straw covered floors.
3. How it is processedHow it is processed
6 pounds of fresh fruit will produce only
1 pound of dried fruit.
The fruits are harvested by hand; the
stalks and pits are removed.
They are then fumigated and graded
before spread out in the sun to dry.
While sun drying gives fruit a golden,
translucent appearance which cannot be
achieved mechanically, it has many
disadvantages, firstly that of cost, which
makes mechanical dryers more popular.
4. The end productThe end product
Dried fruit is sweeter and richer than fruit,
which makes it valuable in baking and
dessert.
It is most often used in fruitcakes,cookies
and
in stuffing.
It can be eaten on its own, candied,
as a confectionery item, on cereals or
topped
with cream, yogurt or custard.
5. Fig ( ficus carica )Fig ( ficus carica )
Fig (English), Higo (Spanish), Figue
(French),
Feige (German), Fico (Italian).
Distant Affinity: Mulberry; Breadfruit;
Jackfruit; Chinese Mulberry
Origin:
The fig is believed to be indigenous to
western Asia and to have been distributed
by man throughout the Mediterranean area.
Remnants of figs have been found in
excavations of sites traced to at least
5,000 B.C.
6. The secret behindThe secret behind
Although considered a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted
into it.
The seeds are drupes, or the real fruit. Figs are the only fruit to fully
ripen and semi-dry on the tree.
For many years the fig has been used as a coffee substitute.
The fruit contains a proteolytic enzyme that is
considered an aid to digestion and is used by the
pharmaceutical industry.
And, because of its high alkalinity it has been mentioned as being
beneficial to persons wishing to quit smoking.
9. Growth Habit:
Grows upto 50 ft tall, but more typically to
a height of 10 - 30 ft.
Their branches are muscular and
twisting, spreading wider than they are tall.
Fig wood is weak and decays rapidly.
The trunk often bears large nodal tumors,
where branches have been shed or
removed.
Frost damage.
10. The twigs are pithy rather than woody.
The sap contains copious milky latex that is irritatin
to human skin.
Fig trees often grow as a multiple-branched shrub,
especially where subjected to frequent