Dried Apricots

Name: Dried Apricot — the dried fruit of the apricot tree, Prunus armeniaca, a close relative of the peach, plum, and cherry. Most commercially dried apricots, including this entry, are treated with sulfur dioxide (“sulfured”) during drying to preserve their orange colour.

Description

The apricot tree was first domesticated in China and reached the Mediterranean and Middle East in antiquity, where it has since become one of the region's signature fruits; today Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iran are among the leading producers. The fresh fruit is a small, downy drupe with a single flat stone, ripening to a rich yellow-orange flesh that is fragrant, juicy, and quite perishable.

Because fresh apricots spoil quickly and their season is short, drying has long been the main way to make the fruit available year-round, whether laid out in the sun in traditional production or dried commercially with heat. Sulfuring the fruit before drying, standard practice for most dried apricots sold today, keeps the familiar bright orange colour that untreated fruit loses as it darkens toward brown during drying.

Main nutrition value

Per 100g, dried apricots (sulfured):

Dried apricots are exceptionally high in potassium — 1160mg per 100g, among the highest of any dried fruit — and are a strong source of iron and fiber, with a meaningful amount of vitamin A carried over from the fruit's beta-carotene.

How best to be consumed

A small handful (around 30-40g, roughly 6-8 halves) is a sensible serving given how concentrated dried apricots are in both sugar and potassium compared with the fresh fruit. They work well eaten on their own, chopped into porridge, granola, or salads, or simmered into savory stews and tagines, a traditional pairing that plays off their tangy sweetness.

Overconsumption could cause…

Their concentrated natural sugar means eating dried apricots by the cupful rather than the handful can meaningfully raise calorie and sugar intake, worth watching for anyone managing blood sugar or weight. Because most dried apricots are treated with sulfur dioxide to preserve their colour, they can also trigger reactions in people sensitive to sulfites, including some individuals with asthma; unsulfured (naturally dark brown) apricots avoid this but are more perishable and less widely available.

GroupsDried FruitsRose family (Rosaceae)High fibreLow fatLow sodiumRich in potassiumDried

Made fromApricot

Related foodsDried AppleDried PeachDried PearDried CherriesDried PrunesDried Figs

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Apricots, dried, sulfured, uncooked (FDC ID 173941), 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173941/nutrients Encyclopaedia Britannica — apricot: https://www.britannica.com/plant/apricot