How to Rehydrate Dried Fruit

Using dried fruit in recipes is a wonderful way to add a distinctive taste to dishes. Often you must rehydrate fruits before you can cook with them, or you'll have dry, chewy pieces.

Things You'll Need

• Small bowl
• Hot water
• Wine, white or red
• Liqueur

Instructions

1. Examine the dried fruit for any bad pieces. Checking for bad spots before cooking them is always a good practice. Cut the fruit into small pieces as is appropriate for your recipe. It also creates greater surface area so that the rehydration is a bit faster.

2. Take a small bowl and add the fruit to it. Measure enough water, wine or liqueur to cover the dried fruit. Warm the liquid portion in the microwave or a warm-water bath before adding the fruit. It will help the fruit to absorb the liquid.

3. Allow the fruit to rest in the liquid for about 1 hour prior to removing the fruit and adding it to your recipe. The amount of alcohol in the fruit is negligible and will probably be burned off while cooking.

Tips & Warnings

• Using wine and liqueurs to soak your dried fruit give you a new dimension to add to your cooking. The mixture of flavors that can be created depends only on your creativity.

Resources

• Dried fruit put to good use