What You Should Do If Your Dried Fruit Is Too Hard

Whether you eat it in trail mix, use it as a topping for yogurt or oatmeal, or enjoy it by the handful straight out of the bag, dried fruit can be a delicious (and nutritious) snack. Mangos, apples, apricots, grapes — almost every fruit can be dried and turned into a sugary sweet treat that's packed with antioxidants and vitamins. But while you expect your dried fruit to be, well, dried, what do you do if you reach into the pantry and find your raisins have taken that to a whole new level and turned into a hardened, a-little-too-shriveled mess?

Before you toss all of that perfectly good fruit into the trash, wait. There is an easy hack that could restore your dried fruit to its perfectly chewy state. Not only does it require very little effort (and very few materials), it also doesn't take more than 15 minutes from start to finish. Here's how to make that dried fruit worth eating again.

According to Kitchn, reviving overly dried fruit is incredibly easy. Place your fruit in a bowl, then pour in boiling water so that all of the fruit is covered. Let the fruit soak for ten to 15 minutes in the water before straining and getting rid of the water. Voila! Your dried fruit should now be softer and plumper. I.e. you'll be able to enjoy it without breaking a tooth or gnawing on something totally flavorless.

You can also use this trick on dried fruit that hasn't passed its peak yet, too. Kitchn also recommends soaking any dried fruit that you're using in a dish that doesn't require cooking (like on top of a salad) because the process gives the fruit better flavor and a juicier texture. And if you do plan on cooking the fruit in a recipe (like in a bread or muffin), pre-soaking it can help prevent it from absorbing too much moisture while baking or, worse, drying out even further.