I know how you feel. Once those dog days of summer have
come and gone leading to the changing of leaves then the chill of winter, you
sometimes get that craving to bite into a fresh vine ripened peach. Or dig in
to a bushel full of ripe red cherries. But alas, last season’s bounty has come
and gone and the upcoming season is months away… Heck, those fruit trees are
still bare in winter’s hibernation. But you can still partake in fresh fruit…
kind of. How about the bagged variety that’s simply missing a little moisture?
A Little Past
Fresh
Okay, I’ll admit that dried fruit is a little more than
just fresh fruit without the water. The appearance, texture, flavor and even
aroma changes when fresh fruits are dried. The first time I caught a whiff of
dried peaches, the first thing that came to mind was “where’s the Dr Scholl’s
deodorant”! Of course I’ll also come clean about the fresh variety too. I don’t
really care for them! My first experience with a tree ripened peach was at the
Marin Farmer’s Market many years ago. I mean, fruit isn’t supposed to explode
like a water balloon. And then there’s that liquid that runs down your arms
dripping off of your elbow on to your shorts and footwear. That eventually
dries leaving a sticky, sticky mess. Till today, I would rather purchase a
stone hard stone fruit from the supermarket than risk watery sticky mess again.
Which never happens with dried.
A Longer Shelf
Life
Along with its limited season, fresh fruit also has a
limited shelf life. You can refrigerate it upon purchase (required in the 50th
where ambient summertime temperatures can reach 100 degrees in a closed house)
but even then you’ll only extend the effective life of that peach or pear
another week or two until you discover that you’re either refrigerator-drying
your fruit or creating another compost pile in your produce bin.
With the dried variety, the season is year round and
they’re readily available at any supermarket, not just the gourmet markets. And
once you open the package, tightly seal and they’re good for weeks either at room
temperature or refrigerated.
But what about the
added Sulfites?
The lighter colored dried fruit usually do have sulfites
added to preserve their light color. Brown dried peaches, apricots or apples
aren’t bad, they simply look bad so if you suffer from asthma or have a sulfite
intolerance but don’t mind brown dried fruit, simply indulge in sulfite free
fruit. The USDA requires sulfur/sulfite to be listed on the ingredients if it
exceeds 10 parts per million. However many manufacturers also label as
sulfur/sulfite free if none is added – since sulfur is naturally occurring,
it’s hard to be totally devoid of sulfites. But since I personally don’t have a
reaction to sulfites, I purchase the variety with sulfites just for the appearance.
And in any case, most of my sulfite consumption comes from wine.
Also Plays Well
with Heat
Since vine ripened fruit is primarily meant to consume
early, as is, they’re not great cooking companions. In fact, the fresh fruit
used in many baked items whether they’re pies or cobblers use slightly
under-ripe fruit because the reduced moisture level won’t make your pastry
crust soggy. But along with consuming as is in trail mixes and granolas, dried
fruit also takes to heated applications just as well. For starters they bring
intense fruit flavors to the party and while these flavors aren’t the same as
the fresh tree-ripened variety, they are more complex as they simply aren’t
just another sweet flavor sensation. And during moist cooking they also absorb flavors
from the surrounding liquid. And cooked fruit always is a great dancing partner
with roasted poultry or pork.
My favorite cooking application with dried fruit is
compotes. Basically it’s rehydrating the fruit with flavored liquids along with
herbs and spices and a touch of extra sweetener. The basic sweet compote can
function as a side to roasted poultry or pork or used as a topping on frozen
yogurt, ice cream or pound cakes. The sweet fruit flavors and accompanying acid
perfectly balances a buttery pound cake or rich dairy based frozen dessert. In
fact, I add leftover compotes to my morning weekday oatmeal.
The following compote performs those very functions,
great as a side to an opening cheese course, as a side to a savory course, as a
topping to the dessert course or simply with your morning oatmeal or yogurt.
Gingered Fig,
Peach and Apricot Compote
¾ cup dried peaches, roughly chopped
¾ cup dried figs, roughly chopped
¾ cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 12-ounce bottle strong ginger beer or ale
1 cup Riesling or Moscato
¼ cup honey
1 piece peeled fresh ginger about thumb size
1 star anise
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Add all ingredients to a saucepan, bring to a boil then
reduce heat to simmer. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes until the liquid develops a
syrupy consistency.
The next compote can play differing supporting roles
depending on whether you add the optional ingredients – without makes it more
dessert like, with makes it more savory… unless you like cooked onions in your
dessert…
Cherry, Prune and
Pear Compote
2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt to taste
¾ cup dried sour cherries, roughly chopped
¾ cup pitted prunes, roughly chopped
¾ cup dried pears, roughly chopped
Fresh ground black pepper (optional)
½ cup cooked onions (optional)
Add all ingredients to a saucepan, bring to a boil then
reduce heat to simmer. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes until the liquid develops a
syrupy consistency.
Best of All Worlds
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