Making Fig "Raisins"

Last night we talked about how to know when figs are ripe and then showed you how we freeze them individually and store in gallon sized freezer bags for use later. Tonight we'll show you how we make fig raisins.  They're not really raisins, of course, but that's what I call them.  They're just really dried figs.  We dry them in our dehydrator.

After washing the fat figs and cutting the stems off, we cut them in half.

Figs on the half-shell

Then we start loading the figs in the trays in the dehydrator, face down.  They are plump and heavy.

Loading figs in the dehydrator

We load tray after tray, stacking them layer upon layer...

Finally, we have all the trays filled with fat figs and it is ready to put the top on, plug in the dehydrator and get things going.  We set the temperature to the 140 degree setting and turn it on.  The smell coming out of the hole on the top is a warm, moist, sweet fragrance.

Ready to start it up

After 12 hours I pulled the top off and checked them.  Most of the moisture is gone. To ensure that I had them dried enough, I dried them for two more hours.

Looking pretty dry

After allowing them to sit for a bit, I pulled them off of the racks of the dehydrator and loaded them up in bags for snacking on later.  I think we got four or five quart bags and we stored some in the pantry and some in the fridge.

Snack Bags

Here is a handful of chewy, fig raisins.  They are delicious.  All of the moisture is gone and what you are left with is concentrated sweetness.

Dried Figs

The flavorful dried figs are shelf stable and we'll be able to enjoy the flavor for a while, stretching out the harvest.  Fig Raisins are a great, healthy snack that we all enjoy.

Ready to pop in my mouth

I found an interesting recipe that uses dried figs and if it turns out good, I'll share it and review it in a future post.  Fig raisins, or dried figs are an all-natural that are easy to prepare and easier to eat!