Introduction
Without a doubt, Rabindranath Tagore can be called the 'The Indian Leonardo Da Vinci' (both known for their expertise in several fields) just as Chanakya was hailed the 'Indian Machiavelli' known for playing the political game at a level that very few in today's world can match.
The thing about the former two is that they are known as 'polymaths', a class of people (if you can call it that) that have extensive knowledge and learning in several fields.
Yet I remember this little story that I studied in school called 'Kabuliwala', written by Rabindranath Tagore, that showcases the people of Afghanistan in a different light than we're used to these days. Yes, they were known to sell 'dry fruits' then rather than peddle weapons that are acquired through dubious means these days.
The story is about a father who is far away from his daughter (and misses her terribly) and is reminded of his little daughter back in Kabul in seeing Mini, the daughter of the narrator of the story. The story progresses with the daughter and the 'Kabuliwala' who sells dry fruit, becoming friends while she gives him money to go back home to see his daughter from the amount of money her parents have set aside for her marriage. Quaint, but it always brings a lump to my throat…
However, I'm reminded of this touching story whenever anyone refers to dry fruits every time… and it's no different this time either!
Dry Fruits
Popular choices include dates, raisins, almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts and prunes among a host of other nuts and fruits that you will find in products such as cereal, trail mix and so on and so forth.
Apricots, cherries, tomatoes, strawberries, pineapples, persimmons, pears, peaches, papayas, mangoes, kiwi-fruit, figs, cranberries, bananas and apples are also dried as well.
Why people choose to dry fruit is purely for preservation purposes since the water has been removed from the fruit (causing it to shrink), and also eliminating the chance of bacteria and mold spoiling the fruit.
How to dry different fruits
There are three methods to dry fruits namely:
1) Naturally, by drying them in the sun, and is even used today in many countries.
2) Oven drying
3) Food dehydrator (Electric)
If one wants to dry fruits, then it normally takes about 12 to 48 hours for the water to be removed from the fruit using any of these methods. What also occurs during this process is that Vitamin A & C is lost due to the presence of heat and air.
Of the three methods provided above, the first one requires temperatures above 100 degrees F for at least three days in a row in order to be able to dry the fruits properly, and that might not be a given if you are living in a cold region.
With the second method, you have to 'air' the dried fruits and also need an oven that can reach temperatures of atleast 200 degrees F and above. Not only is this method not efficient when it comes to using energy but also results in fruits losing the flavor as well.
The third method is normally considered the best method of drying, with both the disadvantages of the second method eliminated which allows one to dry the fruit at low temperatures while maintaining its flavor, where one has to just use a fan to maintain air circulation and heat during the drying process.
In Closing
It wouldn't be wrong to assume that Kabuliwala in the story used the first method of drying fruits in the sun (with delightful results, of course) yet with the options to dry fruit these days, one can still get the same taste and flavor that one might reminisce about times when everything was much simpler and presumably better back in the 'good old days'.
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I agree with you that the best method of drying is using food dehydrator.