Turkish Dried Fruit

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, October 6th, 2011

The other day I tried something truly amazing: Turkish dried apricots. I’m a big dried fruit fan, and have tried almost every kind of dried fruit at least once, but these I had never seen. They weren’t bright orange like your typical dried apricots, but a dark brown color. And they didn’t taste as tart as your average dried apricot; they were much denser and had richer, almost chai-like spice flavor to them.

Have you ever wondered why all dried fruits seem to be Turkish? Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or any of your other trendy markets always seem to sell such worldly items such as “Swiss Muesli” or “Turkish Apricots.” Dried fruit has its origin in Mediterranean areas because that’s where the raw fruit such as apricots, grapes, dates and figs would grow and dehydrating them was the earliest form of food preservation.

Dried fruits and nuts play a big part in Turkish culture, including ancient village festivals, weddings and other celebrations. You can read more about the cultural significance here.

Dried fruits are particularly great as we move past the ripe summer season and into fall and winter. While fruit imported from seasonal harvest-heavy regions tend to be more expensive, dried fruits are more available and economical.

You can buy them at your local Harris Teeter or Whole Foods.

-Julia Harbo

Tags: apricots, dried fruit, Gut Check, Harris Teeter, julia harbo, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, nova magazine, Turkey, turkish, turkish apricots, Whole Foods