The Benefits of Dried Fruit Baskets

Usually combined with varieties of nuts, dried fruit baskets have become the second most popular version of the original fresh fruit basket today. According to growers and manufacturers, dried fruit baskets have soared in recent years due to the amount of time one can take to consume the dried product and still have it taste as delicious as the day it arrived.

The most popular dried fruit baskets are composed of dried Mediterranean apricots, California pears, Middle Eastern dates and figs, as well as combinations of dried fruits such as coconut/date rolls and dried pineapple rings with a dried cherry in the middle. Another factor that has aided the dried fruit basket reach the lofty heights of success is the healthy aspect of dried fruits. The healthiest ones are sun dried, without the aid of chemical agents to speed the process or preserve the flavor and contain little or no added sugar. In addition, many distributors of dried fruit baskets follow religious food preparation mandates to make their products acceptable for use as a gift on popular religious holidays such as Passover and Ramadan.

The key to producing a quality dried fruit basket is much the same as for a fresh fruit basket. Begin with high quality fruits, grown under strict organic guidelines, picked at the peak of freshness and rushed into the drying process as quickly as possible to preserve their flavor. The additional factor, the drying process itself, must be done in a similar high quality manner to produce a finished product. If you visit a farm that specializes in high quality dried fruits, you'll learn that each fruit has its own, specific drying formula handed down from generation to generation.

When the sun is used to dry most of the fruit, not much has changed from the way it was done back in Biblical times. The changes have to do with mass production of products that stress quantity over quality. Cherries have to be pitted before they're dried so the finished product can be eaten like a raisin. Pineapples need a sugary glaze so the acidic component of the fruit does not hasten decomposition. Apricots, pears, apples and even banana slices are the driest of the dried fruits, needing no sugary coating, but must be properly ventilated during drying to remove all of the moisture. Drying fruit is an art more than a science, especially when quality is the desired result.

Fruit Baskets Info provides detailed information about gourmet fruit gift baskets, edible, dried and fresh fruit baskets, fruit baskets delivery, and more. Fruit Baskets Info is the sister site of Picnic Baskets Web.

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President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.,  Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)AP - Pushed by fellow Democrats, President-elect Barack Obama agreed to modest changes in his proposed tax cuts on Friday after inviting lawmakers to "just show me" ideas for fixing an economy shedding jobs at an alarming rate. Democratic congressional officials said that Obama aides came under pressure in closed-door talks to jettison or significantly alter a proposed tax credit for creating jobs.



Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich makes a statement  Friday,  Jan. 9, 2009 in Chicago, after he was impeached by the Illinois House on a wide array of offenses including criminal corruption and wasting taxpayers money. The two term Democrat becomes the first governor in the history of Illinois to be impeached. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)AP - Gov. Rod Blagojevich was impeached Friday by Illinois lawmakers furious that he turned state government into a "freak show," setting the stage for an unprecedented trial in the state Senate that could get him thrown out of office.



A Palestinian youth uses a sling-shot to hurl a stone from behind a burning tire barricade during clashes with Israeli troops at a protest against Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, in the West Bank village of A-Ram, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. Israeli jets and helicopters bombarded Gaza Friday and Hamas responded with a barrage of rockets on two cities as both sides defied a U.N. call for an immediate cease-fire. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)AP - Israeli jets and ground troops hammered at Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip and Islamic militants fired barrages of rockets at southern Israeli cities Friday, ignoring a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire after two weeks of combat.



Chicago Police officers investigate the scene of a five-person shooting outside Dunbar High School in Chicago, Friday, Jan. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)AP - Five people were shot as spectators left a crowded high school basketball game Friday in what police called a possibly gang-related attack that sent panicked students running into a snowy street on the city's South Side.



In this Sept. 28, 2007 file photo, former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin listens during a panel discussion, at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York. Citigroup board member Robert Rubin, who has drawn heavy criticism for his role at the embattled bank, has resigned as a senior adviser.  (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, file)AP - Officials at the embattled banks Citigroup and Morgan Stanley will negotiate over the weekend about possibly combining their wealth management businesses, a deal mostly aimed at bolstering Citi with much-needed cash.



This image taken from video, supplied by Magnolia Pictures, shows the Rev. Ted Haggard  preaching in the documentary film 'Jesus Camp'. Speaking out two years after being embroiled in a gay sex scandal, former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into 'stereotypical boxes,' but that his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever. (AP Photo/Magnolia Pictures,File)AP - Speaking out two years after being embroiled in a gay sex scandal, former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard said Friday his sexual identity is complex and can't be put into "stereotypical boxes," but that his relationship with his wife is stronger than ever.



Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas is shown in this undated handout file photo released Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 in Huntsville, Texas. Thomas, who has a history of mental problems is being treated at a prison psychiatric unit after authorities said he pulled out his only good eye and ate it.  He similarly had plucked out his right eye before his trial in 2004. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice, FILE)AP - A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it. Andre Thomas, 25, was arrested for the fatal stabbings of his estranged wife, their young son and her 13-month-old daughter in March 2004. Their hearts also had been ripped out. He was convicted and condemned for the infant's death.



This photo released by Bruce Sherman of Rockport, Texas, shows a Pine Flycatcher photographed at the Choke Canyon State Park, Texas, Jan. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Bruce Sherman)AP - Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently crossed the U.S. border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to the south.



In this Nov. 28, 2005 file photo, actor Patrick Swayze poses for the photographers, prior to the premiere of his new film 'Keeping Mum' at a Leicester Square cinema in central London. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, file)AP - Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital for observation after contracting pneumonia, A&E President Abbe Raven announced Friday at a meeting of the Television Critics Association. Swayze was scheduled to appear to discuss his upcoming drama "The Beast."



AP - Baseball authorized nearly 8 percent of its players to use drugs for ADHD last season, which allowed them to take otherwise banned stimulants. A total of 106 exemptions for banned drugs were given to major leaguers claiming attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from the end of the 2007 season until the end of the 2008 season, according to a report released Friday by the sport's independent drug-testing administrator.

Smoke rises during Israeli's offensive in Gaza, January 8, 2009. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)Reuters - Israel pressed on with a punishing Gaza offensive and Hamas sent more rocket salvoes into southern Israeli towns in a two-week-old war that continued to defy international efforts to stop it.



Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin participates in a panel discussion about Poverty Alleviation at the Clinton Global Initiative, in New York, September 20, 2006. (Chip East/Reuters)Reuters - Citigroup Inc is in advanced talks to sell its Smith Barney brokerage unit to Morgan Stanley, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday, in a move that would further dismantle the financial supermarket that has been bailed out by the U.S. government.



Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Illinois January 9, 2009, as he points to Illinois residents that he clamed have been helped by the issues that are now being used as the Illinois House voted to impeachment him. (Stephen J. Carrera/Reuters)Reuters - The Illinois House of Representatives impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Friday for abuse of power, including a charge that he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat.



US President-elect Barack Obama speaks on the economy at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. US economic conditions are Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama and a key Democratic lawmaker revealed plans on Friday to overhaul the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund as a way to aid struggling homeowners and speed the flow of credit.



Reuters - Minnesota health officials issued a product alert for peanut butter on Friday after finding a jar that was contaminated with a strain of salmonella linked to an outbreak across the United States.

Employers slashed payrolls by 524,000 in December, driving the unemployment rate to its highest level in almost 16 years, a government report showed on Friday, suggesting that the year-long recession was deepening. (Graphic/Reuters)Reuters - The unemployment rate surged to the highest in nearly 16 years last month as a deepening year-long recession forced companies to axe more than half a million jobs, government data showed on Friday.



Voters fill their ballots during the U.S. presidential election in West Hollywood, California November 4, 2008. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)Reuters - The U.S. Supreme Court said on Friday it would consider a challenge to a central provision of the 44-year-old voting rights law aimed at preventing states and local governments from making it harder for minorities to vote.



A foreclosed home is seen in Stockton, California in this May 13, 2008 file photo. A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between financial giant Citigroup Inc  (Robert Galbraith/Files/Reuters)Reuters - A top bank industry group said on Friday that it opposes an agreement between Citigroup Inc and Democratic senators that would rewrite U.S. bankruptcy law to help troubled mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure, saying it could make home loans more expensive.



A relative of Palestinian journalist Ihab al-Wihedi and his wife mourns prior to their funeral in Gaza City. Tanks and warplanes pounded Gaza on Friday after Israel defied a truce order from the UN Security Council as the death toll from the two-week-old conflict against Hamas passed 800.(AFP/Mahmud Hams)AFP - Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip was set to enter its third week on Saturday, with both sides brushing off a UN appeal to halt devastating attacks that have claimed over 800 lives.



This US Navy photo shows the MV Sirius Star as it is observed at anchor by the US Navy. Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.(AFP/NVNS/David B. Hudson)AFP - Somali pirates said Friday they had freed a Saudi-owned supertanker, whose capture nearly two months ago caused panic in international shipping and spurred the world into tougher anti-piracy action.




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