Doctors do not tire of repeating to the population about the benefits of dried fruits, in particular, dried apricots. They are recommended for people with high blood pressure, with kidney or bowel problems. This article is dedicated to dried apricots, it will examine in detail the benefits and harms of this product, as well as methods of home cooking dried apricots.

The chemical composition and calorie content of dried apricot

Dried apricot fruits are called dried apricots or apricot, depending on the method of preparation of the product. After drying, fruits do not lose nutrients and do not concentrate them. The amount of minerals and vitamins remains the same, but the weight and size of dried fruits are reduced by about 4 times.

• Nutrients in dried apricots:
• alimentary fiber;
• ascorbic and nicotinic acids;
• manganese, ash, calcium;
• copper, starch, potassium;
• salicylic and citric acid;
• B vitamins and vitamin A;
• organic acids;
• iron, magnesium, cobalt.

Calorie content of 100 grams of dried apricots - 275 kcal. A single serving of dried apricots is about 1/4 cup. This is about 28 g, or eight halves of dried fruit. Accordingly, in one slice of dried apricots contains about 3.5 calories

Nutritional value of 1 portion (1/4 cup) dried apricots:

1. Calories - A serving of this fruit contains about 67 calories.
2. Carbohydrates - The bulk of the calories in dried apricots comes from sugar. Of 17.5 g of total carbohydrates, 15 g comes from natural fruit sugar, which provides 90% of calories. A serving of dried apricots provides about 2 g of fiber, or about 8% of the daily intake.
3. Protein and Fat - a serving provides about 1 g of protein and trace elements.
4. Vitamins and Minerals - Dried fruits contain a small amount of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. They provide about 1171 IU of Vitamin A and 1.4 mg of Vitamin E. The portion is only 3 mg of sodium, which makes the product a low-sodium food and a good choice for people with high blood pressure.

Did you know? Egyptians make dried apricots a national drink called amar ad-din. The recipe for this drink came from antiquity and is still popular among modern Egyptians.

Useful and harmful properties for the body

Dried apricots contain many useful substances and have medicinal properties. Along with the benefits, there are some contraindications to the use of the product, and people need to consider them. Typically, restrictions apply to various groups of people: children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, patients with certain chronic diseases.

Children

Dried apricots are a nutritious source of key vitamins and minerals, but mom needs to know all the facts before offering them to her baby. Usually, most young children can safely eat dried apricots, but it is better to consult a pediatrician before offering him this type of dried fruit. A suitable serving of dried apricots for babies is less than 1/4 cup. This amount of dried apricots supplies the child with many nutrients necessary for normal growth.Dried fruits contain a generous dose of iron, which helps the child’s body produce healthy red blood cells. Also, the child, along with dried apricots, receives a good amount of potassium, which supports the proper functioning of the muscles and heart, and is also a source of vitamin A, which helps the baby’s eye health. The children's body also receives small doses of magnesium, zinc, calcium and niacin from a portion of dried apricots. Dried apricots contain many nutrients that a growing baby needs, but it can contain a large amount of sugar added during cooking. Too much sweet in a child’s diet can lead to unhealthy weight gain.

Important! A study published in the British Journal of Chest Diseases showed that asthma symptoms can flare up when sulfur dioxide is consumed. Moms need to remember that sulfur dioxide is used in the industrial preparation of dried apricots, so it is better to feed the baby with completely natural homemade dried fruits.

A high sugar diet can also contribute to tooth decay, so it’s best for children to buy unsweetened dried apricots that contain healthy, natural sugars. Dried fruits can also cause choking. Pediatricians recommend cutting dried apricots for children into pieces the size of a zest to reduce the risk of suffocation. Many types of dried fruit purchased contain sulfur dioxide, which is a preservative that helps inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold. Although most healthy babies are not sensitive to this chemical supplement, it can cause a painful reaction in children with asthma.

Adults

Doctors recommend using dried apricots and apricot to people suffering from anemia and dystrophy. Dried fruits help with high blood pressure, prevent the occurrence of edema in people with heart disease and kidney failure, and are a good diuretic.

• The effect of consumption of dry apricots on the female body:
• It allows you to maintain good physical shape, to make a figure slim and fight obesity.
• Helps remove poisons, radionuclides and toxins from the body. The antioxidants contained in the product are an anti-cancer agent.
• Prolonged use lowers the amount of bad cholesterol, that is, reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and stroke. The walls of the capillaries strengthen and become more elastic.
• It does not allow constipation to occur, since pectin, which is part of dried fruits, contributes to the gentle cleansing of the intestines.
• Thanks to the diuretic effect, it helps to remove excess fluid, which solves the problem of edema.
• Eating 100 grams of fruit per day will help cope with anemia.
• Helps with severe menstrual bleeding. Normalizes the functions of the reproductive system. When used regularly, it prevents and treats infertility.
• Strengthens nails, teeth, hair and bones. Moisturizes the skin, which becomes smooth and supple. Hair becomes healthy, natural shine appears.
• It has a positive effect on the functioning of the endocrine glands and urinary tract. Improves immunity.

Important! Consumers need to remember that the less bright the color of dried apricots, the more it is useful for the body. Natural dried apricots have a gray-yellow or brown color, and a delicious orange color indicates the addition of sulfur dioxide to the product.

Like most dried fruits, dried apricots have a high sugar content compared to fresh fruits. That is why their it is undesirable to eat with diabetes. It should also be remembered that it is easy to eat a large number of dried fruits, because fructose does not signal the human brain about satiety and the person does not notice how many calories (kcal) consumed.

• The effect of dried apricots on a man’s body:
• High amounts of magnesium and calcium support the heart and help prevent muscle cramps.
• Dried fruits contain calcium and fats, so testosterone should not support bone tissue, but is aimed at the functioning of the reproductive system.
• Intestinal function improves, due to which blood circulation in the pelvis returns to normal. For the male body, this serves as an exceptional prevention of urological diseases (impotence, prostatitis).
• Helps normalize blood pressure. The nicotinic acid found in dried apricots cleanses the blood vessels.
• Fiber activates blood circulation in the genitals, thereby improving and stabilizing their functioning.

Dried apricots are very useful for pregnant women and nursing mothers. The body benefits from dried fruits are very great, but they need to be eaten in doses not exceeding the recommended amount so as not to harm health.

• The benefits of dried apricots for pregnant and lactating mothers:
• has a general strengthening effect, supports the work of internal organs, thereby contributing to the development of the fetus;
• increases the protective properties of the body;
• helps to combat the common problem of pregnant women - anemia;
• saturates the body with vitamins, which is very useful in winter;
• helps to cope with toxicosis;
• thanks to a laxative effect, it eliminates constipation;
• promotes normal acidity in the stomach;
• returns to normal blood pressure;
• strengthens hair and teeth, which suffer greatly during pregnancy;
• facilitates swelling due to diuretic properties.

Useful combination of dried apricot with other products

Dried apricots can be combined in common dishes with various types of cereals (rice, oatmeal), honey, milk, cream and sour cream. They also go well with other dried fruits such as prunes, dried cherries, bananas, apples or pears. These products complement each other with the taste and beneficial substances contained in each of them.

Did you know? The apricot fruit tree is a relative of the beautiful rose bushes, as botanists relate it to the Pink family.

Rules and regulations for use

Due to the fact that the stomach digests dried fruits for a long time, they should not be consumed in large portions. The maximum number of fruits per day should not exceed 100 g. Dried apricots stimulate the intestines, improve digestion, and have a diuretic effect. These properties of dried apricots are important for those people who want to lose extra pounds.

Popular medical recipes using dried apricots:

1. A mixture of dried apricots, prunes, raisins and walnuts will increase resistance to infection. It is necessary to mix all the ingredients so that the total mass does not exceed 200 g, 200 g of honey is added there. Use the product in the cold seasons of 2-3 tbsp. spoons per day.
2. From constipation. 200 g of dried fruit pour 1 liter of boiling water, then leave overnight in a sealed container for swelling and infusion. Use on an empty stomach for 30 days.
3. The recipe for the Olympians. 5 pieces. dry apricots and 1 prune cut into strips, and then mixed with honey. The mixture is eaten at bedtime for 40–45 days. The tool relieves pain in the spine and strengthens the intervertebral discs.
4. Vitamin Blend 200 g of dried apricots, honey, nuts and one fresh lemon are passed through a meat grinder. Take the mixture half an hour before meals, 1 tbsp. spoon twice a day. The mixture is stored in a refrigerator in a sealed glass container.
5. Nourishing mask. In a blender, grind 50 g of dried apricots, 1 tbsp. l cottage cheese and 1 teaspoon of cream. The crushed ingredients are mixed and applied to the face and neck for 20-25 minutes. After time, the mask is washed off with warm water. As a result, the skin becomes supple and shiny.
6. To eliminate toxins or lose weight. During the day, 200 g of dried apricots are eaten, divided into 5-6 servings. During the same time, it is imperative to drink at least 3 liters of liquid (water without gas, tea without sugar).

How to Dry Apricot at Home

To make home-made dried fruits better than purchased, you need to pay attention to some nuances: choose the right fruits, prepare them for drying and dry, following the rules of preparation.

Grade selection

For the preparation of dried apricots, apricot varieties with large, juicy and sweet fruits are chosen. The peel of the fruit should not have stains and rot. The fresher the fruit, the sweeter they will be dried. Also a very important condition is the dry separation of the seeds from the apricot pulp. For the preparation of apricots, medium and small apricots are chosen, since the fruits will be dried together with the seed.

Preparation of the product for drying

First of all, the fruits are washed thoroughly in several waters, then allowed to drain, after which the fruits are laid out on a cloth to dry. The dried apricots are gently divided into slices and freed from seeds. In this form dried apricots. Fruits intended for making apricot are only washed and dried. The stone must remain inside the apricot intended for making apricot.

Drying technology

Apricots can be dried by several methods, all of them are time-tested and are suitable for preparing dried fruits. Options for drying apricots at home:

1. In the sun - this is done in the same way as our grandmothers did. Halved and seedless fruit is placed on a cloth or paper and dried in the sun. A huge advantage of this method is that you can dry a large number of fruits at once. The disadvantage of this method is that dust can get on the drying or insects sit down, so dried apricots need to be covered with gauze during drying.
2. In the oven - baking paper is placed on a baking sheet, on top of which the halves of apricots are laid out. The fruits are dried in the oven at 80–90 degrees for several hours. More precisely, the cooking time cannot be indicated, since it depends on how large the fruits are dried. The disadvantage of this method is that you cannot simultaneously dry a lot of dried apricots, not more than a few kilograms, which will fit on 2-3 baking sheets. The baking sheets are periodically interchanged, the lower ones are set up, and the upper ones are moved to the lower part of the oven.
3. In an electric dryer - this is the most convenient way, since in the dehydrator the fruits are treated with warm air at a constant temperature, there is no dust, a fairly large number of apricots can be processed at a time. The downside of the electric dryer is that the appliance consumes a lot of electricity.

Dry Apricot Storage Tips

For long-term storage, dried fruits are placed in tightly closed jars, where they can be stored for a year and a half or longer. They can also be stored in paper or cloth bags in a dry, well-ventilated place.

Dried fruits have a very beneficial effect on human health, as they contain a large amount of nutrients and vitamins. Dried apricots can be prepared on their own, in which case the hostess will be sure that her family will enjoy pure organic products.