Dried apricots for the health of adults and children: medicinal properties, calorie content, benefits for weight loss

Varieties

Dried apricots are obtained by drying apricot halves in the sun or in special electric dryers. Depending on the variety, size of the fruit and drying method, the process of obtaining a tasty and nutritious product takes from 6 to 14 days.

During the production process, dried apricots do not lose their valuable qualities. On the contrary, the amount of minerals in dried fruits is slightly higher compared to fresh fruits. All types of dried apricot fruits have similar characteristics, and their main difference lies only in the method of preparation:

• dried apricots - individual halves of apricot, dried without pits;
• apricot – small-fruited varieties, dried whole without removing the pit;
• kaisa – large whole apricot fruits from which the seeds have been removed before drying.

Apricots are used mainly for making compotes; kaisa has a higher price. But dried apricots pleasantly combine an appetizing appearance, an affordable price and beneficial properties.

Rules for selecting and storing dried apricots

Our ancestors prepared dried apricots very simply. They selected healthy fruits and dried them in the sun. It took 7 days to obtain the original product. Dried apricots are prepared in a similar way today.

To prepare 1 kg of organic dried apricots, you need 6 kg of fresh apricots. Unlike light translucent dried apricots, this dark variety costs several times more.

Sun-dried dried apricots

If the dried apricots look appetizing, very soft, clean and juicy, then there is no doubt that they have been treated with sulfur dioxide and other chemicals.

Eating such fruits in large quantities is dangerous. Accumulating in the body, they can cause harm.

Without exception, all dried dried apricots are also exposed to chemicals. Without them, it simply cannot be stored, as it will dry out.

Sugar

The amount of sugar in dried apricots is different. Moreover, a sweet product is not always the healthiest. For example, sour dried fruits have a healing effect, in particular, they can reduce migraines.

If a package of dried fruit says “sugar dried apricots,” this does not mean that the product itself is very sweet. The manufacturer simply soaked the dried apricot with glucose syrup or sprinkled it with powdered sugar. Of course, any child would be happy to eat such a dessert, but the benefits from it will be much less than from ordinary dried apricots.

Chocolate

Chocolate dried apricots are a Turkish variety of dried apricot, but they have nothing in common with chocolate except color. According to the manufacturer, it is prepared without the use of any preservatives.

Features of choice

Natural dried apricots may vary in color. There are yellow and dark brown varieties, as well as all shades in between. The taste of this product is sweet and sour, but not cloying. It is largely determined by what type of apricot was used for drying. The technology for producing dried apricots is important.

Asian is sweeter than products from the northern regions. It is bright with a rich taste. However, the best and healthiest is the one made from southern apricots.

To buy a truly useful product, you need to adhere to the following rules:

• There is no need to buy large dried apricots. The too bright color of dried fruit should alert you. If it is orange or bright red, then the manufacturer did not skimp on its treatment with chemicals.
• Shiny dried apricots are not the best choice. The most harmless thing the seller could do was coat the dried fruits with vegetable oil. It is worse if the fruits have been treated with paraffin or other substances foreign to the human body.
• You should not buy fruits that have a sweet or wine smell. They are either spoiled or have been treated with chemicals. The “correct” dried apricots smell like apricots.
• It is not recommended to buy dried apricots cut into 2 parts. Most likely, it was made from spoiled fruits.
• You should not stock up on dried apricots in large quantities. Dried fruits store better.

If you purchased dried apricots that are rich orange or yellow in color, you do not need to throw them away. To rid dried fruits of sulfur compounds, it is enough to keep them in a preheated oven for about a minute.

Vitamin and mineral composition and nutritional value

When drying fresh fruits, the mass of the final product decreases by 3-4 times. But all the valuable substances remain inside the dried pulp:

• vitamins: A, B₁, B₂, B₅, C, PP;
• minerals: iron, iodine, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus;
• organic acids;
• carotene;
• pectins;
• natural sugars: glucose, sucrose, fructose.

The nutritional value of dried apricots is presented in the table:

The BJU ratio given in the table varies depending on the method of production of dried fruits and the variety of apricots used for drying.

The calorie content of dried apricots is 215-232 kcal per 100 g of product. This figure is one of the lowest compared to other popular dried fruits. The average weight of one dried half is 5-8 g, so 1 piece contains about 11-18 kcal.

The small amount of calories contained in dried apricots allows you to use it when losing weight: for snacks between main meals, as a dessert for tea or coffee, for fasting days or a short-term mono-diet.

Calorie content per 100 grams in 1 piece

Dried apricots contain high levels of potassium. For this reason, it is often prescribed for use in diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

In addition, the dried fruit contains many vitamins, minerals, and beneficial components that are required for the normal functioning of the body. The dried fruit contains iron. It is required for reduced hemoglobin and protects against anemia.

The table below shows the content of BJU per 100 grams.

How many calories are in dried apricots per 100 grams? The average nutritional value is 210–220 kcal. Dried fruit contains a lot of carbohydrates, so it is often used for snacking; it saturates with energy and satisfies the feeling of hunger for a long time.

Many people are often interested in how many calories are in 1 piece of dried apricots. But to answer this question, you should first find out the weight of one dried fruit; on average it is 5–10 grams. It follows from this that the nutritional value of the berry can be in the range of 10–15 kcal.

Health benefits of dried apricots

Due to the content of a large amount of vitamins and minerals, dried apricots have a beneficial effect on health:

• regulates blood pressure;
• improves the functioning of the heart muscle;
• increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood and prevents the development of anemia;
• prevents the leaching of potassium from the body, which is inevitable when taking diuretics;
• helps cleanse the liver;
• improves intestinal function, stimulates the exit of feces from the intestines and serves as a means of preventing constipation;
• helps remove waste, toxins, radionuclides, heavy metal salts and other harmful substances;
• lowers the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood;
• improves the functioning of the visual organs;
• strengthens the immune system;
• is a means of preventing urological diseases in men (prostatitis, impotence).

Dried apricots are beneficial not only for internal organs: the vitamins and minerals contained in dried fruits help strengthen hair and rejuvenate the skin.

To treat various pathologies, it is enough to eat only a few halves of dried apricots a day. Recommended doses are presented in the table:

Nutritionists advise eating dried apricots in the first half of the day: after the main meal for dessert, as an additive to porridge or as a light snack when you feel hungry.

How to prepare dried apricots yourself?

To dry apricot fruits yourself, you need to find a clean place with direct access to sunlight. This could be a balcony or a rooftop.

Procurement stages:

1. Wash the collected fruits, cut them into 2 parts and remove the stone.
2. Place the apricot halves in a well-ventilated place.
3. Place them on a wire rack and leave them in the sun.
4. Place indoors overnight.

After two weeks, the apricots will dry out and turn into dried apricots. Another drying option is to string the fruits on a thread or stick. In this form they can be dried even without the sun, just in a well-ventilated area.

[Video] an easy way to make dried apricots at home:

Dried fruits for pregnant women

During pregnancy, a woman's body lacks many vital substances. Dried apricots help replenish the deficiency of vitamins and minerals, and also improve the well-being of the expectant mother:

• helps replenish iron reserves in the body and prevents the occurrence of iron deficiency anemia, which can develop during pregnancy;
• has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system of the mother and fetus;
• has a mild laxative effect and prevents the development of constipation;
• saturates the body with iodine and normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland;
• slightly reduces high blood pressure;
• supplies the brain with essential glucose and fructose.

Dried apricots can replace sweets and, when consumed in moderation, do not allow a woman to gain excess weight.

How to use it correctly?

Chocolate dried apricots, like any other dried fruits, are served with tea as a sweet. In addition, it can be consumed with nuts. In combination with honey, cocoa or various spices, you can prepare delicious homemade sweets, the main difference of which is the great benefit of each component included in their composition.

Dried apricots can be used to prepare vitamin drinks and compotes. It is worth remembering that during cooking many useful components disappear. To prepare a healthy drink, you need to pour thoroughly washed dried fruits with hot water and let it brew for 30 minutes.

Dried dried apricots can also be added to cottage cheese, porridge, desserts, baked goods and fruit salads. This is a very useful vitamin supplement for the whole family.

Dried apricots for children

Dried apricots can be given to a child only from the second year of life and provided that the baby is not prone to allergies. Children with individual intolerance to various foods are allowed to introduce dried fruits into their diet only after reaching 3 years of age.

The first time, the dried apricots need to be ground to a puree and given no more than half a teaspoon. If unpleasant allergy symptoms do not appear, the amount of dried fruits can be gradually increased and increased to 50 g per day.

For children aged 1-2 years, it is recommended to add dried apricots to porridge or curd desserts. Starting from 3 years old, it is useful to give dried fruit compote to children. The calorie content of this drink depends on the amount of sugar used in preparation. In the classic recipe, prepared from 2 liters of water, 250 g of dried apricots and 100 g of granulated sugar, the calorie content usually does not exceed 40 kcal per 100 g.

general information

What it is

Dried apricots are dried halves of apricots from which the pit has previously been removed. Should be distinguished from other dried fruits obtained from the same fruit:

• apricot - dried whole small-fruited apricot along with the pit;
• kaisa - dried whole apricot without pit (it is removed in advance through a recess made where the stalk is attached);
• Ashtak is a dried whole apricot, from which, before the drying process, the pit is carefully removed, and the kernel is removed from it and then put back into the fruit.

For weight loss, it is better to choose dried apricots, since other dried fruits obtained from apricots no longer have such a wealth of beneficial properties and have a higher calorie content.

Production process

Drying apricots is a production process in several stages:

1. Fresh, selected, large apricots are cut into halves.
2. A bone is removed from each.
3. Next, the fruits are dried in the sun in places specially equipped for this. Duration - 6-8 days.

When the fruits get exposed to moisture during this process, they darken. To get 1 kg of dried apricots, you need about 4 kg of fresh ones. The uniqueness and value of this product is that during the production process it retains most of the vitamins and microelements.

Chemical composition

If we talk about what vitamins and other useful substances dried apricots are rich in, it’s easier to name those that are not in it. This is another undoubted advantage for losing weight: if you include it in your diet, you don’t have to worry about vitamin deficiency. The body will receive everything it needs. Especially the heart, because there is so much magnesium here!

Compound:

• vitamins: A, B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9, C, E, H, K, PP, beta-carotene;
• macroelements: potassium, calcium, silicon, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine;
• trace elements: aluminum, iodine, boron, vanadium, iron, cobalt, lithium, manganese, copper, molybdenum, nickel, rubidium, selenium, fluorine, chromium, zinc;
• omega-6 fatty acids;
• starch and dextrins.

Thanks to such a rich chemical composition, dried apricots turn out to be a very healthy product.

The nutritional value

The calorie content of dried apricots per 100 grams is 241 kcal. Proteins - 3.39 g; fat - 0.51 g; carbohydrates - 62.64 g.

If you know how much one dried apricot weighs, you can calculate the nutritional value individually. Approximately (if you take a medium-sized dried fruit) there are 7 grams in one piece. So the calorie content of dried dried apricots per 1 piece. is about 16.8 kcal. Proteins - 0.24 g; fat - 0.04 g; carbohydrates - 4.47 g.

Using simple calculations, it turns out that 100 grams of dried apricots is approximately 14 pieces.

Origin of name. The word is borrowed from the Turkic language, where “kurägä” is translated as “dried apricots”.

Vitamin mixture with dried apricots

For medicinal and preventive purposes, it is recommended to combine dried apricots with other healthy products: walnuts, prunes, raisins. To prepare the vitamin mixture, you need to take 200 g of the listed ingredients, add 3-6 tbsp. l. natural honey and 1 lemon.

Composition of vitamin mixture with dried apricots

The process of preparing this dish is simple:

1. Cut the lemon into small pieces, remove all the seeds at the same time.
2. Heat the walnut kernels in the oven or in a dry frying pan.
3. Remove pits from prunes.
4. Pour boiling water over dried fruits, drain the water after 10 minutes and dry the products with a towel or cloth.
5. Mix all ingredients in a blender or pass through a meat grinder.
6. Add honey and mix thoroughly.
7. Transfer the finished mixture into a dry sterile jar, close the lid and store in the refrigerator.

The calorie content of such a vitamin supplement is 350 kcal per 100 g. Adults are recommended to eat 1 tbsp daily. l. mixtures, children - 1 tsp. The daily norm should not exceed 5-6 tbsp. l. (approximately 125-150 g) of the finished product.

Recipe for delicious dried apricot compote

The average energy value of compote without sugar is about 25 grams per 100 grams.

To prepare 1 liter of compote, you will need the following components:

• dried apricots - a glass of 200 grams;
• water – 1 liter.

Preparing compote is quite simple, it consists of the following steps:

• The first step is to rinse the dry fruits with cool water. During storage in warehouses, they can become dirty and covered with dust.
• Next, the washed fruits should be placed in a container and filled with water.
• The pan needs to be put on fire.
• After the mixture boils, it should be left on low heat for 10 minutes.

The finished compote should cool to a warm state. Then it should be put in the refrigerator for 5–7 hours, it should brew. If you like a sweeter compote, then you can add a little sugar to it, but if you prefer sour drinks, then you can add a few drops of lemon juice. To prepare compote, you can use other dried fruits - prunes, dried apples, raisins.

Possible harm

It is not recommended to use dried apricots for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - stomach or duodenal ulcers. The product can be harmful to patients with diabetes, because dried apricots contain a large amount of glucose. Such patients should consult a doctor and consume dried apricots in doses, not exceeding the permitted daily intake.

Individual intolerance is also a contraindication to eating dried apricots. The product itself rarely causes allergies, but sulfur oxide and other preservatives used to process dried fruits can accumulate in the body and provoke the development of serious pathologies. However, the occurrence of severe allergic reactions is likely only with prolonged consumption of dried apricots, kaisa, apricots and other types of dried fruits.

The bright orange color of dried apricots is a sign of treatment with sulfur dioxide

Fiber stimulates intestinal motility, so excessive consumption of dried apricots can cause digestive upset. It is this property of dried fruit that is used in the treatment of constipation. If you do not exceed the daily norm of 100-150 g, determined for a healthy adult, then you don’t have to worry about diarrhea and bloating.

How many calories are in dried apricots?

There is a widespread belief that dried fruits are a sweet treat, so the calorie content of dried apricots is considered high. Indeed, the fruit contains a lot of glucose, but despite this, dried apricots promote weight loss, no matter how strange it sounds. Italian nutritionists have proven that dried fruits in small quantities help reduce appetite.

How many calories are in dried apricots? 100 grams of product contain more than 274 kcal. If we compare the energy potential of fresh apricots, the difference is huge: 100 g contains only 45 kcal. Many people believe that dried fruits are a sweet and high-calorie delicacy that can be harmful in the fight against extra pounds. This is not entirely true; dried fruits do contain quite a lot of calories. Dried apricots, paradoxically, can help those losing weight.

If you want to improve your well-being with dried fruits rich in vitamins, focus your attention on dried apricots. However, this does not mean that you can eat dried apricots as much as your heart desires. Excessive consumption of dried fruit leads to indigestion, since a large amount of fiber is contained in the fruit. It is useful to eat no more than 3-4 pieces of dried apricots per day, the calorie content of 1 piece of which will not cause harm to the body. If you count in grams, then it is recommended to eat no more than 100 g of product per day.

Dried apricots are used in various dishes as a necessary, specific ingredient. The sourness of dried apricots, whose calorie content is problematic for those losing weight, makes meat, fish or salads piquant, delicious and, of course, very healthy.

In order to get the maximum nutrients from sunny dried fruit, you need to know which fruits to choose when purchasing. Dried apricots, dried in the correct way while preserving all the vitamins, should have a slightly brownish tint. If the dried apricots are a rich orange color, most likely you are dealing with preservatives and dyes inherent in the product. Properly dried apricots should not have a noticeable shine. The calorie content of 1 piece of dried apricots will not count against the nutritional value of the product if it is properly manufactured.

Dried fruits for weight loss

Despite the fact that dried apricots contain a lot of complex carbohydrates, their benefits for weight loss are undeniable. Dried halves of apricots quickly dull the feeling of hunger if they are gradually dissolved in the mouth. By consuming dried fruits with tea or coffee, you can easily give up sweets and other sweets that are harmful to your figure: such a replacement will allow you to lose 1-2 kg in just a month.

Nutritionists recommend having a fasting day on dried apricots once a week. The daily diet should contain:

• 2 cups dried fruits;
• filtered or still mineral water;
• green or herbal tea without sugar.

The liquid can be drunk in unlimited quantities, but the dried apricots must be washed the day before and soaked overnight in water. In the morning, the apricot infusion should be drunk on an empty stomach, and the entire volume of dried fruit should be divided into 5-6 equal portions and eaten at regular intervals throughout the day.

Fasting days spent in this mode promote gentle weight loss. But it’s better to spend them on your day off, when you don’t have to go to work or school, since eating an increased amount of dried fruit can have a laxative effect or provoke flatulence.

Features of use during weight loss

Dried apricots are high-calorie foods, so their consumption during weight loss should be limited. But you shouldn’t completely remove it from the menu; it contains many vitamins, useful components, and minerals that are necessary to strengthen the immune system and maintain the body’s microflora.

Dried apricot can be used as a substitute for sweets. It can be an excellent addition to tea; it can be consumed instead of sweets, sugar, and cakes.

It is worth noting! When losing weight, you can eat up to 5-6 berries per day. If dried fruit is consumed in unlimited quantities, this may negatively affect the figure.

Use in cooking

Dried apricots in chocolate glaze are considered a very tasty dessert, but they should be consumed in strictly limited quantities. In addition, there are quite interesting and original recipes with the addition of dried dark apricots. Very tasty candies are made from dried apricots, pine nuts and chocolate.

Porridge with the addition of dried apricots can also be useful, as it has a positive effect on the digestive system. It is worth noting that this is a sweet product, so when adding it to various dishes, you need to significantly reduce the amount of sugar consumed.

To get maximum benefits without harm to health, you need to choose only a high-quality natural product from a trusted manufacturer. The taste and aroma of dried apricots must be as natural as possible, without excessive sweetness. If you wish, you can prepare dried fruits yourself, as there are many different recipes.