GIVE SUMMER THE BIG CHILL WITH DRIED FRUIT FREEZES

from the July 1986 "Drying Times "

by Barb Moody

When the weather gets hot, cool off with a dried fruit freeze. These delicious frozen treats look like milk shakes and taste like milk shakes. But look twice, they aren’t as decadent as they appear. Made with skimmed milk, fruit juice and dried fruit, Fruit Freezes are low in fat and contain only natural fruit sugars. Best of all, Fruit Freezes are incredibly easy to make.

Creating a Fruit Freeze

Soak your favorite dried fruit in a complimentary fruit juice. Proportions aren't critical. A good rule of thumb is to use an equal amount of liquid and dried fruit. Soak several hours or overnight. The fruit should be completely softened.

Spoon fruit and juice mixture into plastic ice cube trays and freeze. You can make several batches of different flavored cubes and store them in plastic bags. These frozen fruit cubes may be stored indefinitely.

To make your fruit freeze, pour 1 cup of low or non-fat milk into a blender. Add 2 or 3 frozen fruit cubes. Blend until thick. If you prefer an extra thick shake add another frozen fruit cube.

It is as simple as that. Now, all is left is to enjoy your shake.

Favorite Frosty Combinations

1 cup dried whole raspberries, 3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup dried sliced strawberries, 1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup dried whole blueberries, 1 cup apple juice
1 cup dried peach slices, 1 cup apricot juice
2/3 cup papaya pieces, 1 cup pineapple/coconut juice
1 cup dried banana slices, 1 cup pineapple juice

Once you have the basic idea of a fruit freeze, let your imagination go. Mix and match flavors, use yogurt instead of milk, add nuts, spices, etc.