I remember reading old recipes that said to wash dried fruit, dry then use. I lately have started doing this as I find the dried fruits have rancid oil (because they are coated in little oil) smell but they are also super dry so it does not absorb the alcohol too well or does not plump up. I am not sure if I am doing the right thing.

marcs - 2019-11-26 16:11:00

I think so, due to chemicals used/created (sulphur dioxide). I have never thought about it, but googled. It does say if ready to eat, you don't need to. I recalls DH pigging out on dried apricots and the smell of his farts were Rotorua lol.

unknowndisorder - 2019-11-26 21:38:00

I remember washing the fruit, it often has caterpillars and/or weevils (and their poo) , and sticks in the fruit so all the 'bits' floated to the surface of the water, then you drained it, rinsed again and dried it in a sieve.

articferrit - 2019-11-27 06:44:00

unknowndisorder wrote:

I think so, due to chemicals used/created (sulphur dioxide). I have never thought about it, but googled. It does say if ready to eat, you don't need to. I recalls DH pigging out on dried apricots and the smell of his farts were Rotorua lol.

This is correct,however these days it may have changed

happychappy50 - 2019-11-27 06:57:00

Ok that makes sense. These days they do still add sulphur but also when reading labels it says contains oil. It is the rancid oil that I can smell. Mine is soaking in brandy after washing and drying.

marcs - 2019-11-28 19:07:00

If it was old recipes, they washed the fruit spread it out and put it in the sun and the fruit would plump up. That was the drying. Seen it done many times.

hndn - 2020-01-08 20:52:00

Fruit used to be sun-dried WAY back in the day, then packed loose in boxes. The grocer used to weigh it out for his customers. It would pick up dust and dirt along the way, and really did need washing before use to clean it .
These days, it is washed, dried, oiled to keep it separated, then packed in convenient-sized packages, and is clean and ready to use. But of course, if oil sits around in warm temperatures it does tend to go rancid and needs to be washed from the fruit, after which, the fruit needs to be dried so as not to add extra liquid to the recipe.

punkinthefirst - 2020-01-10 20:13:00

To clean out the moth lava. It was then washed in a solution of brown and water or golden sugar and water to replace the stickiness of the fruit. Dates were also washed the same way. The fruit was then bagged up to sell. This was normal practice many years ago. I doubt very much supermarkets do that these days, maybe the bulk barn ones do as there fruit is not always safe from moths. Bird seed will carry moths, eggs, lava.

pickles7 - 2020-01-11 12:14:00

Bacon was often scrubbed and dried before it was sliced. Way back there was not the chemicals to control the bugs that infested food, a lot went on that saved the grocer having to take huge losses. My husband started out doing that job of saving anything the owner could salvage. How things have changed.

pickles7 - 2020-01-11 12:20:00

I always wash the dried fruit, drain it well and let it plump up in the sun. I like that part o making a Christmas cake as that, along with popping the almonds out of their skins, was my contribution to making the cake when I was a child.

I love the continuity.

calista - 2020-01-19 21:10:00