Fruit+drying+TB

=FRUIT DRYING AND YOU= .

= = = = =Fruit Drying=

Have you ever eaten fruit? Of course you have. Don't say you haven't. But have you eaten dried fruit before? Dried fruit makes a healthy meal. Because fruits are dehydrated at a low temperature rather than cooked, the nutrients are not degraded, so you're getting the most out of your fruit. And that is good. Drying your own fruit is also cheaper than buying dried fruit-and a whole lot cheaper than buying organic dried fruit.

(How to Dry Fruit) Na2SO3+ 2HCl --> 2NaCl(aq) + H2O + SO2 (chemical equation) Sulfur an odor that is also caused by a lit match is caused by sulfur dioxide, a gas that is used to preserve the color of dried fruits. This gas is produced in a double displacement reaction between sodium sulfite and hydrochloric acid. The fruit is exposed to the gas, which is absorbed into the skin of the fruit, or the meat of the fruit. When you open the box for the first time, some of that gas has escaped and the smell of the fruit might not escape your nose.

**Step 1: Locating your fruit**
Most fruits can be dried easily, but whatever you choose, be sure the fruit is ripe (but not over ripe!) and in good condition. You can dry apples, pears, apricots, bananas, peaches, berries, cherries, or any fruit that you want.

**Step 2: Prep**
Wash or peel fruit, then pit or core them. Slice your fruit to any thickness you want but remember the longer it is the longer it'll take you it to like, dry.

**Step 3: Steaming and Squeezing**
Steaming fruits before you dry can speed up the process—3-5 minutes will do it. You can also get them ready by letting them hang out in a bowl of lemon water—squeeze one lemon into 12 cups of water—for a just a few milliminutes.

**Step 4: Drying and Dehydrating**
Line a baking sheet with parchment and place slices of fruit on the sheet, making sure the pieces of fruit aren't touching each other. Place trays of fruit into the oven and turn on the oven to 90°F to 150°F. Then just sit back and wait, as it will take many hours for the fruit to dry. Resist all urges to turn up the heat—you don't want to cook the fruit, just dehydrate it. Test the fruit every so often to see if it's ready-fruits should be chewy, not squishy, and if it's crunchy—well, you've gone a bit too far.

**Step 5: Sitting and packing**
Once the fruit is out of the oven, let the dried fruit sit out overnight ( or at least 12 hours) before packing it away in containers.

**Step 6: Chill OUT...**
It's a good idea to freeze the fruit for several days in a deep freezer (not a refrigerator freezer, as they're not quite cold enough), or heat the fruit in an oven at 175°F for 10-15 minutes to zap any insect eggs that may be living in the fruit. And just like that, you have your own dried fruit.

** Sodium Sulfite (Na2SO3) - **
Sodium sulfite is created by putting together sodium carbonate with sulfuric acid. It's used for many things and can be very useful. The chemical equation is Na2CO3 + H2SO3 --> Na2SO3 + CO2 + H2O.

**Hydrochloric Acid (2HCl) -** Hydrochloric acid is a monoprotic acid. It actually is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water. It is a highly corrosive acid with many industrial uses. Hydrochloric acid can be used to prepare salts. These are called chlorides and one example is sodium chloride.

(This is the end result in dried fruit)

(This is an oven that is used for fruit drying)

In conclusion, drying fruit is indeed much more healthy than store bought, packaged, processed fruit. Dried fruit has absolutely no preservatives, and can help with self-confidence. Drying fruit is also very cheap, and only takes patience and fruit. Those are the two basic things needed to dry fruit. Of course, the taste has a slight difference but it is still the same fruit, just dried. Dried fruit is a healthy snack for any member of the family; grandpa, dad, your small screaming child. Drying fruit is a process of dehydration and using a gas known as sulfur dioxide. This gas preserves the color of the fruit, so it does not lose anything. Na2SO3 This part of the equation, which explains sodium sulfite (salt) The reason this is used for fruit drying is because it preserves the color in fruit

CHEMISTRY IN EVERYDAY LIFE.
Chemistry is everywhere. It makes up a lot of the things you see, hear, touch, smell, and taste.

Sources: Google.com (images) Fruitdryinginfo.com Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid