Barry Farm gets it's dried fruit from
multiple sources all over the country. We search out the best
possible product meeting our specifications for the best price. We
search for dried fruits that are unsulphured and "low or
no sugar added" where possible.
Following are a few things about dried
fruit that you need to know.
Natural air dried fruit without sulphur
dioxide is going to be darker, drier and possibly not as pretty as that
found in a bag at the grocery store but the flavor is still there.
So don't let the dark brown color of the fruit fool you. Sulphur
dioxide inhibits discoloration and mold growth during the drying process,
but some people are very allergic to it.
Some fruits MUST have some sugar or
glycerin infused when going through the drying process because of the low
natural sugar content of the fruit. This keeps the pieces soft
enough to chew when dried.
One reason that many naturally dried
fruits are drier or tougher is that without a preservative, they MUST have
a lower moisture content to prevent spoilage. This means that, in
some cases, you are getting Mother Nature's naturally shaped fruit
leather.
Several of our more unusual dried fruits
MUST be processed with sulphur dioxide; there's just no other way.
We have tried to be sure to list this fact on ANY fruit that is treated in
this way.
RECIPE
OVEN-BAKED
POTATOES W FRUIT
Ingredients:
2 lb Idaho potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thinly w skins on
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c dried diced papayas*
1/2 c dried diced pineapple*
1/2 c Thompson raisins*
1/2 c dried craisins*
2 c Heavy cream
Sea salt* and Black
pepper* to taste
3 T Butter
Preheat oven to
350°F. Butter inside of 8" sq casserole. Mix fruits
together.
Layer 1/5th of
potatoes in bottom of casserole. Sprinkle with 2 T parmesan cheese,
then 1/2 c fruit mix, salt, pepper and 1/2 c cream.
Continue
layering with a final layer of potatoes on top. Sprinkle top with a little
more parmesan. Dot with bits of butter and a little extra cream.
Cover
with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and bake an additional
15 min to brown on top. Let casserole sit 15 min before
serving. Cut with a sharp knife in squares to serve.
*These
items are available at www.barryfarm.com.
