# Dried Fruit in Long Term Storage



## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

I love dried fruit. I would rather eat that than candy.

I'm looking at some sources for bulk dried fruit. I was wondering if anyone knows about how to store dried fruit long term.

At the LDS cannery, we were putting dried apple slices in the cans, and they say they last 30 years in a sealed can with an oxygen absorber.

Anyone know if that would be the same for, say, dried papaya or dried pineapple or dried mango? Could I just throw them in a Mylar bag with an oxygen absorber and then open them up in 20 years and eat them?


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I don't know about 20 years, but if the fruit is dried completely and sealed properly you should get at least 5 years... but I'm not expert on this one.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

Tacitus, this was something I have been pondering since early summer. The apples at the LDS center were always one of their higher priced items and I had set some goals for basic foods first such as wheat, beans, rice and oats that I wanted to attain before buying a bunch of apples. I have some fruit trees and thought that fruit is something I will more easily grow or find after SHTF. 

Since we can no longer check out canners from the LDS storage center, I considered my options. I also thought about more variety since the LDS center only has apples. 

We have a local store that has bins of food to scoop out and bag up as much as we want. Stores such as this will either sell you a full bag of whatever they can get if they have it, or you can usually order from them. For me, Sprouts is the store where I have gotten 25 # bags of lentils, etc. A Whole Foods, while pricier, is an option. In the South West, we have Sprouts. They have loss leaders and I watch for those. You can typically get a 10% discount for buying a bag of something (commonly 25lbs., but not always). You may have some better options in your area.

There are several options for storage. With these things, I now put them in quart canning jars with an oxygen absorber. I figure that is about the best I can do for preserving them and keeping them in a smaller access size. I think that dehydrated fruit could be bagged and sealed in mylar with an oxygen absorber, such as gallon size, and then into 5 gallon buckets. 

I also get bagged dried fruit from Sam's and Costco. There are several varieties and you have probably seen them: apples, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, mango, papaya, and raisins. I keep several of these in 5 gallon buckets.

I also have some canned fruit.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I just(3 or 4 days ago) opened a bucket that contained vacuum sealed bags of fruit I dried at least 4 years ago. 

Some of the peaches darkened a little but other than that it was all like I just dehydrated it. The bucket contained peaches, apples, cantaloupe, cranberries and pears.

I know this doesn't address "Long Term" storage but up to 4 years, its still good!


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## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

Can any one comment on the differences between natural dehydrated (like is done at home--the first image below of "natural dehydrated pineapple") and the "dried fruit" you can buy in the store which has added sugar (sometimes?) and is more like candy? I wonder what the different processes are for those. I will have to do some research.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

I think much of the dried fruit from the stores is cooked before dehydrating.

I've dried quite a bit of canned and fresh fruits, the canned comes out more like the commercial "stuff".

I wouldn't be surprised if the canned fruit that is nearing its expiration dates or wasn't/couldn't be sold is dehydrated, bagged and put out for sale. The fruit canned in heavy syrup may be the source for the dried fruit that seems to have more sugar added than candy.



Tacitus said:


> Can any one comment on the differences between natural dehydrated (like is done at home--the first image below of "natural dehydrated pineapple") and the "dried fruit" you can buy in the store which has added sugar (sometimes?) and is more like candy? I wonder what the different processes are for those. I will have to do some research.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*Sugar is a preservative*

A number of years ago when I was trying to low-carb, no sugar, I noticed that all the dried fruits in the store had sugar. My friend told me it was a preservative and then told me that there had been some chemical that had been used for a while but was no longer used due to health concerns, and instead, sugar is used as the preservative. I will visit with him and update this information.

I'll bet Davarm is correct about some of this, but there are many sources of dried fruit from all over the world.

I decided to copy and paste this Wikipedia article about dried fried without the images (sorry Tacitus!) but I kept the captions from them. The link is here if someone wants to view the images.

One of the more interesting points in this article, that I did not realize is that dried fruit retains almost all of its nutritional value, making it awesome for food storage. :2thumb:

Dried fruit has been something that I have not always been able to eat, and part of that may be due to preservatives or the potential for fruit not being completely dried and therefore the potential of mold. (Migraine material!). The texture has been a part of this. But I am going to revisit dried fruit and keep trying it.

Have you noticed that banana chips seem to be fried? Someone at the LDS Storage Center pointed that out to me. I have some in my FS. I am not someone who fries much, and the concern about the oil going rancid is a concern.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_fruit



> Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (December 2012)
> 
> ...


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

weedygarden said:


> Have you noticed that banana chips seem to be fried? I am not someone who fries much, and the concern about the oil going rancid is a concern.


That is correct. 
I wonder if you kept them in an oxygen-free environment (purged with nitrogen or carbon dioxide) if they would keep longer.


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

*Long term food storage??????????????*

All depends on the fruit and storage conditions, back in my Army days we kept everything in underground bunkers, constant temperatures and humidity control,air circulation .The military loves apples, they last forever, long storage requires constant rotation and monitoring in order to control spoilage with that been said you will see very little on the dry tropical fruit for long term storage. Can goods or in liquid is another matter.
Here is some information on the subject .
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry.html
http://www.family-survival-planning.com/long-term-food-shelf-life.html
Ps.I have dry mango in my refrigerator now from 5 years ago, sweet like candy.


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