7 Dehydration of Fruits The United States is by far the largest producer of dried fruits, raisins and prunes being the most important tonnage-wise, with figs, apples, apricots, peaches and pears followingin order of tonnage produced Other countries with a substantial export trade in dried fruits are Greece(producing 90 percent of the worlds currant supply), Iran, Turkey, Portugal, Iraq, Algeria, Australia, Argentina, Egypt and South Africa. Of the above, the Middle East countries are particularly importantin the drying of grand dates. Sun drying has always been important as a drying technique for fruit and it is still carried on extensively, other than for apples, prunes and some pes ofraisin. With cut fruits, particularly apricots, pears and peaches, it has ong been considered that using solarenergy to remove the water from these fruits produces a superior quality to that obtained by artificial drying, and in a dry harvesting season there are cost advantages, which have been critically pin-pointed since the fuel crisis in the 70s However, reliance on sun drying brings the risk of inclement weather at harvest time and the difficulty of maintaining a high degree of sanitation in the process. Consequently processors have made considerable efforts to improve quality in artificial drying, particularly with cut fruits, (apricots, peaches and pears)by introducing the Dry-Blanch-Dry method to which detailed reference is made in the process data on apricots which follows7 De hyd ration of Fruits The United States is by far the largest producer of dried fruits, raisins and prunes being the most important tonnage-wise, with figs, apples, apricots, peaches and pears following in order of tonnage produced. Other countries with a substantial export trade in dried fruits are Greece (producing 90 percent of the world's currant supply), Iran, Turkey, Portugal, Iraq, Algeria, Australia, Argentina, Egypt and South Africa. Of the above, the Middle East countries are particularly important in the drying of figs and dates. Sun drying has always been important as a drying technique for fruit and it is still carried on extensively, other than for apples, prunes and some types ofraisin. Withcut fruits, particularlyapricots,pearsand peaches, it has long been considered that using solar energy to remove the water from these fruits produces a superior quality to that obtained by artificial drying, and in a dry harvesting season there are cost advantages, which have been critically pin-pointed since the fuel crisis in the 70's. However, reliance on sun drying brings the risk of inclement weather at harvest time and the difficulty of maintaining a high degree of sanitation in the process. Consequently processors have made considerable efforts to improve quality in artificial drying, particularly with cut fruits, (apricots, peaches and pears) by introducing the Dry-Blanch-Dry method, to which detailed reference is made in the process data on apricots which follows. I69