Store-bought dried apricots are leathery and dense. Freeze-dried apricots are something else: light, crisp, sweet-tart and bright orange. At about 86% water, a pound of pitted fruit dries to a little over 2 ounces.
Apricots come in a short season and a tree can drop a lot of fruit at once, which makes them a good harvest load. Ripe but firm fruit slices cleanly; very soft fruit is better pureed into apricot bites or powder.
The skins are thin and do not need peeling. NCHFP’s freezing directions heat unpeeled apricots in boiling water for half a minute so the skins do not toughen in the freezer. For freeze-drying, slicing is enough: the cut faces let the water out.
Prep and loading
- Wash, halve and pit. Remove any bruised spots.
- Slice ¼ to ⅜ inch thick. Halves can be dried skin side down, but expect a much longer cycle.
- To keep the color bright, dip slices in water with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), as NCHFP does for frozen apricots, and drain.
- Single layer, skin side down.
How to tell it’s dry
- Slices snap and the center is the same color as the edges.
- No cool or chewy spot in the thickest slice.
A steady weight only shows the drying has stopped; breaking the thickest piece is the check that counts. Neither is a safety test. Safety comes from tested prep, safe cooking temperatures where needed, complete drying and airtight packing. See what a kitchen scale can and cannot tell you.
Not sure? The weight check compares two weighings and the expected dry weight for apricots.
Problems and fixes
Centers stayed soft
Slices too thick, or halves. Cut thinner and add dry time.
Slices browned
Use an ascorbic acid dip before drying.
Sticky surface
Very ripe fruit is high in sugar. Add dry time, or puree very ripe fruit instead.
Rehydrating and storing
Rehydrate: Soak 10–15 minutes, or eat dry. By weight, 100 g of dried apricots takes back about 593 g of water to return to fresh weight; the rehydration calculator does any amount.
Store: Mylar with an oxygen absorber. Fruit keeps well; use within a few years for the best color and flavor.
Ways to use it
- Snacking
- Granola and oatmeal
- Baking
- Powder for yogurt and smoothies
How much fits per batch
At a normal single layer, apricots load at roughly 2.2 lb of fresh food per square foot of tray. That works out to:
| Machine | Fresh per batch | Dried per batch |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest Right Countertop 360 | 5.5 lb | 12.6 oz |
| Harvest Right Small | 6.6 lb | 15.3 oz |
| Harvest Right Medium | 10.3 lb | 1.49 lb |
| Harvest Right Large | 16.9 lb | 2.44 lb |
| Harvest Right X-Large | 34.4 lb | 4.96 lb |
Sources
- USDA FoodData Central: apricots, raw (water content)
- Utah State University Extension: Can I Freeze-Dry That? (2026)
- Penn State Extension: Let’s Preserve: Freeze-Drying
- Iowa State University Extension AnswerLine: Preserving by home freeze drying
Water content rounded from USDA FoodData Central (apricots, raw). Cycle times are typical ranges at default settings; thickness, load and your room change them. How we put these together.