Low pressure causes ice crystals to rapidly sublime, turning them straight from solid ice into water vapour. How about freeze-drying?įreeze-drying involves first freezing a fruit and then placing it in a vacuum under very low pressures. This means a 30g serve of dried apricots can contain over 5% the daily recommended intake of iron you would need to eat 175g of fresh apricots to get the same amount. Drying increases levels of some vitamins and minerals, again through the effect of concentrating the nutrients when water is lost. So, if you are trying to watch your weight, it would be sensible to watch your serve sizes of dried fruits.īut it’s not all bad news for dried fruit. from Dried fruit can also be six times higher in energy than their fresh equivalents, due to a concentration effect through the removal of water. Although the World Health Organisation does not classify dried fruit as something we should limit in the diet.ĭried fruit, like these dried apricots, contain higher sugar levels than their fresh equivalent. This is why some have described dried fruits as like sugar bombs. For example, apricot sugar levels rise from 9.5% when fresh to 54.2% when dried. How does drying affect fruit?ĭrying (losing water) concentrates the fruit’s sugar dramatically. However, the effect of ice crystals damaging cells during freezing soft fruit can lead to the fruit turning to a mush and then water soluble vitamins and minerals leaking out. Thawing should not lead to significant nutrient loss. This is mainly linked to the relatively short period of heat treatment used to blanch food before freezing compared to longer heat treatments for canning. How does freezing affect fruit?įreezing tends to involve minimal processing, with only brief heat treatment before freezing to stop enzymes breaking down the fruit that would otherwise lead to spoilage and flavour changes.įreezing generally is a good way to preserve nutrients compared to other methods like canning and refrigeration. While some people say fructose is worse for you than other sugars, there is limited evidence for this. Sucrose (normal table sugar) makes up most of the rest. Generally, the most common sugar in fruit is fructose, typically making up 40-55% of the sugar in most fruit. The type of sugar in fruit can also vary according to the type of fruit and also how ripe it is. why some fruits are forever doomed to be called veggies These include mango (14% sugar) and jackfruit (19%). Some are very low in sugar, like cranberries (3.5% sugar) and blackberries (1.5%).īut some tropical fruit contain surprisingly high levels. Nutrients include vitamins, minerals, fibre and bioactive nutrients (often pigment compounds known as polyphenols and carotenoids).įruit also contains sugar, and the content can vary considerably. The idea that fruit is good for you is largely based on the fact that many fruits have a low energy (calorie) content and are packed with nutrients. So, when it comes to eating healthily, which fruit is best? And how do these fruit products compare? What’s in fruit? Then there’s the range of fruit products you can buy – including traditional dried fruits and the newer freeze-dried products.

Freeze dried fruit cocktail