Almost all types of food can be dried, from meats to fruits and vegetables and even freeze-dried ice cream. This is because several different processes are used to dry foods, depending on the type of food. The most common type of dried food is dried fruit, such as raisins, because dried fruit is a quick snack that can be eaten anywhere. Dried fruit is generally very nutritious, but it is important to watch your portion size with dried fruits.
Calorie Dense
According to UCLA's Student Nutrition Action Committee, dried foods such as dried fruit are dense in calories, so they are often used in a special diet to help people gain weight. Fruits themselves are not high in calories, but the drying process takes out the liquids and makes the fruits much smaller, so most people eat a larger quantity of dried fruits than they would comparatively if the fruit were raw. Therefore, dried fruits can contribute to a higher calorie intake.
High Fiber
Dried fruits and vegetables are high in fiber for essentially the same reason why they are calorie dense, because they shrink during the drying process so you can eat more of them. For instance, a cup of grapes may have one gram of fiber, but when they are dried and become raisins, one cup of raisins has about 7 grams of fiber. Fruits and vegetables are naturally high in fiber, whether they are raw or dried.
High in Sugar
Sugar is sometimes added as a preservative and to enhance flavor when drying foods, especially fruits and meats such as beef jerky. Even if a dried fruit has no added sugar, it will be high in sugar because of the concentration of natural sugars found in fruit, also called fructose. Diabetics are often warned not to eat too much dried fruit so that their blood sugar will not rise too high.
Long Shelf Life
Dried foods--whether it is dried fruit, freeze-dried meals or dried meats--have longer shelf lives than fresh foods due to moisture removal, thereby slowing natural decay rates.
Depletion of Some Vitamins
While dried fruits are nutritionally superior to raw fruits in some aspects, such as amount of fiber, they are less nutritious than raw fruits in other aspects, such as vitamin retention. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, dried fruits become depleted of some important vitamins such as vitamin C during the drying process. Therefore, while they still have some vitamins, they may have fewer than raw fruits.
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