Nearly half of dried fruits sold are raisins, followed by dates, prunes, figs, apricots, peaches, apples, and pears.

Many fruits, such as cranberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and mango are infused with a sweetener (e.g., sucrose syrup) prior to drying.

Traditional dried fruits such as raisins, figs, dates, apricots, and apples have been a staple of Mediterranean diets for millennia.

Drying or dehydration was the earliest form of food preservation: figs, dates or grapes which fell from the plant and were sun-dried may have been consumed by early hunter-gatherers as edible and more long-lasting and sweeter.

These clay slabs, written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylonia, were inscribed in cuneiform; these were about diets based on grains, vegetables, and fruits such as dates, figs, apples, pomegranates and grapes.

[citation needed] In addition to appearing in wall paintings, many fig specimens were found in Egyptian tombs as funerary offerings.

[citation needed] Ancient Romans consumed raisins in large quantities and at all levels of society, including them as a key part of their common meals, along with olives and fresh fruits.

Having dried fruits was essential in ancient Rome as these instructions for housekeepers around 100 BC tell: "She must keep a supply of cooked food on hand for you and the servants.

They were rubbed with spices such as cumin, anise, fennel seeds or toasted sesame, wrapped in fig leaves and stored in jars.

[citation needed] Dried fruit is produced in most regions of the world, and consumption occurs in all cultures and demographic segments.

For example, in golden raisins, dried peaches, apples, and apricots, sulfur dioxide is used to keep them from losing their light color by blocking browning reactions that darken fruit and alter their flavor.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that one out of every hundred people is sulfite-sensitive, and about 5% of asthmatics are also at risk of suffering an adverse reaction.

Consequently, the FDA requires food manufacturers and processors to disclose the presence of sulfiting agents in concentrations of at least 10 parts per million.

[17] Traditional dried fruit has a low to moderate glycemic index (GI), a measure of how a food affects blood sugar levels.

Dehydration methods help to prevent food from spoilage and to maintain it for a longer period of time while keeping it suitable for consumption.

However, there are many disadvantages associated with it, such as the longer time required to dry, the hot climate and daylight, and risk of invasion by animals and unwanted microorganisms.

Despite its poor re-hydration properties and shrunken appearance, this process requires a short period of time along with controlled humidity and heated air.

Foods that contain adequate amounts of water are very easy to work with and will maintain their initial shape after the freeze-drying process is complete.

In addition, the boiling point of water is lowered under vacuum, causing a high temperature inside the dried particles on the surface of the product.

Vacuum microwave not only dries the mango quickly, it also reduces the amount of fibers and microorganisms present in the pulpy part of the fruit.