Dried fruit

Dried fruit
Dried fruit and nuts on a platter
Origin	Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, India (specifically South India)
Use	Preservation of fruit for sweeteners or snacks
Production	Earliest: Dates and raisins Biggest modern: Raisins
Nutrition	Dried fruit have most of the nutrition value of fresh fruit

Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized because of its sweet taste, nutritive value, and long shelf life.

In the early twenty-first century dried fruit consumption is widespread. Nearly half of the dried fruits sold are raisins, followed by dates, prunes, figs, apricots, peaches, apples, and pears.^[1] These are referred to as "conventional" or "traditional" dried fruits: fruits that have been dried in the sun or in heated wind tunnel dryers. Many fruits, such as cranberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and mango are infused with a sweetener (e.g. sucrose syrup) prior to drying. Some products sold as dried fruit, like papaya, kiwifruit and pineapple, are most often candied fruit.