Fresh and Dried Fruit

The Fresh and Dried Fruit
"Fresh and Dried Fruit
By C. Claiborne Ray, The New York Times, February 8, 2005

What is the nutritional difference between fresh fruit and the same fruit dried, for example between grapes and raisins and fresh and dried apricots?

A. The values vary by both fruit and nutrient, and some vitamins are often diminished in processing, but for some valuable nutrients, fresh and dried varieties may provide comparable amounts.

For example, in a study of a new citrus fruit called Jaffa sweeties, published last year in The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, researchers concluded that the antioxidant activity of compounds in the dried fruit differed by only a percentage point or two from the activity in the fresh fruit.

The most immediately apparent difference between eating fresh fruit and dried is that the dried fruit provides more fiber for the same weight, because so much of the weight of fresh fruit is water. Dried fruit often has much more sugar, especially if sugar is added in processing. Half a sulfured, dried apricot, for example, has 1.87 grams of sugar, according to the United Stated Department of Agriculture, while half a fresh apricot has 1.61 grams.

As for vitamins, half a dried apricot provides 126 international units of vitamin A, compared with 337 international units for half a fresh apricot. Fifty Thompson seedless grapes have 27 milligrams of vitamin C, while 50 raisins made from the same species have 0.6 milligrams."

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