B&R Farms California Blenheim Dried Apricots
$9.99 + $5 shipping
CONDITION: Dried
PRODUCT: 1 Sun Blend 2.0 lbs bag California Blenheim Dried Apricots

Product website

So how much wine can I squeeze out of these puppies?

These look darn good. Are they organic?

k1avg wrote:So how much wine can I squeeze out of these puppies?

Apricot Amarone? WIN!

I'm assuming these contain the preservative Sulfur Dioxide (or some sort of similar sulfur-based agent) to retain the orange color?

It gives me shortness of breath, so I'd like to know.

Preservative free perhaps? I know they usually list the sulfur if it is in the ingredients because of sensitivities...

jaykid007 wrote:These look darn good. Are they organic?

Hi, I work at B & R Farms. I may be a bit biased, but I believe they are as good as they look and no, they are not organic.

$13.75 + shipping for a 1lb bag on their website, so this is less than half the price. Good deal.

http://www.brfarms.com/products/8

the woot is a better deal than blenheim's on amazon.

woot!

Two versions of this at Amazon, one for $6.95/lb with $11 shipping to the East Coast for two pounds worth (and not eligible for Prime), and one for $8.00/lb with $9 shipping (also not eligible for Prime), which makes it a wash at $25 either way.

So basically, you're saving ten bucks here.

brfarms wrote:Hi, I work at B & R Farms. I may be a bit biased, but I believe they are as good as they look and no, they are not organic.

Wow, thanks for the fast reply. They do look really good.

thericochet wrote:I'm assuming these contain the preservative Sulfur Dioxide (or some sort of similar sulfur-based agent) to retain the orange color?

It gives me shortness of breath, so I'd like to know.

Yes, they have been smoked with sulfur dioxide. I believe the average range of sulfur content is between 1300 to 1600 parts per million (ppm). We get them tested at an independent lab for verification. My recommendation would be either let them "breath" for a bit, they will darken as the sulfur dissapates or we also offer unsulfured but you'll need to call us on the 800 number (not on our website) and we'll be happy to send them out.

brfarms wrote:Hi, I work at B & R Farms. I may be a bit biased, but I believe they are as good as they look and no, they are not organic.

So would you recommend eating all two pounds at once or spreading consumption over a few days?

brfarms wrote:Hi, I work at B & R Farms. I may be a bit biased, but I believe they are as good as they look and no, they are not organic.

They are, however, all natural.

.got the answer

Well, I love apricots, I guess I am going to have to pull the trigger even though I just bought the The Touch of Satan (1971)woot today too.

Shipping smartpost -- should arrive just in time for Christmas gifting.

k1avg wrote:So would you recommend eating all two pounds at once or spreading consumption over a few days?

It depends on your "constitution" but unless you enjoy spending a lot of time in your restroom, I would not recommend eating them all in one day...I'm just saying

Per ounce this is just as good a price shipped as pretty much any of the others you'll buy in the store (at least if you by 3). We buy dried apricots regularly, so this is definitely worth trying.

And considering that it takes 6 lbs of fresh apricots to make 1 lb dried, it comes out to being equal the best sale prices (in the midwest) for a lb of fresh apricots. And I don't have to go through the extra work, time, and electricity to dry them myself.

Woot!

brfarms wrote:Yes, they have been smoked with sulfur dioxide. I believe the average range of sulfur content is between 1300 to 1600 parts per million (ppm). We get them tested at an independent lab for verification. My recommendation would be either let them "breath" for a bit, they will darken as the sulfur dissapates or we also offer unsulfured but you'll need to call us on the 800 number (not on our website) and we'll be happy to send them out.

I assume it doesn't affect the taste and is harmless. 1300 to 1600 ppm sounds very microscopic.

brfarms wrote:Yes, they have been smoked with sulfur dioxide. I believe the average range of sulfur content is between 1300 to 1600 parts per million (ppm). We get them tested at an independent lab for verification. My recommendation would be either let them "breath" for a bit, they will darken as the sulfur dissapates or we also offer unsulfured but you'll need to call us on the 800 number (not on our website) and we'll be happy to send them out.

Does that mean we can get our wine.woot orders shipped as the unsulfured variety? Because I would very much like to have that done and would be very willing to call the number.

TooOldForThis wrote:Shipping smartpost -- should arrive just in time for Christmas gifting.

Haha, so mean.

Picked up 3 as end-of-the-semester gifts for some Professors I feel I need to sweeten up before grading our Finals and Term papers.

Speaking of sweetness, what is the Sugar content in these? I checked on the website and it doesn't have it listed there either.

shelldav wrote:They are, however, all natural.

yes, just the apricots, nothing but the sulfur dioxide as a preservative, which I understand is an approved form of preservation by California Organic Farming, per one of our cookie companies that uses our apricots.

And for another $155, you can get the carving set on sellout and slice these paper thin for your hors d'oeuvres.

You can cook with dried apricots too:

Southernfood Apricot Recipes

Dried apricot Recipes

Cooks.com

jaykid007 wrote:I assume it doesn't affect the taste and is harmless. 1300 to 1600 ppm sounds very microscopic.

I personally can't taste the sulfur although, with our larger bags (5 lbs) when you open them you can smell it a tiny bit. I may just be immune to the smell at this point, but yes, we try to keep the sulfur as low as we can. I mostly can smell/taste the apricot itself, especially since the Blenheim is known for it's rich flavor.

brfarms wrote:It depends on your "constitution" but unless you enjoy spending a lot of time in your restroom, I would not recommend eating them all in one day...I'm just saying

Yes, I imagine that would probably be a violation of due process.

curtisuxor wrote:Haha, so mean.

Mean, but true. Depending on where you are, I would not expect them in less than 3 to 4 weeks. I think I've seen posts were smartpost orders have taken 5 or 6 weeks.

I, myself, don't generally need things in a hurry, so I don't pay a lot of attention to how long they take. Others care more, and can give you a better answer.

Here's my favorite way to serve dried apricots with wine. Makes a great desert as well.

thePenrod wrote:Does that mean we can get our wine.woot orders shipped as the unsulfured variety? Because I would very much like to have that done and would be very willing to call the number.

We've arranged for the Sun Blend grade of Blenheim for this specific order. This is our first time with Wine.Woot so I think you'll need to ask them about the particulars. I'm not sure of what the correct protocol is.

TooOldForThis wrote:And for another $155, you can get the carving set on sellout and slice these paper thin for your hors d'oeuvres.

Well then since I have the carving set I better pick up some of these.

Yum

curtisuxor wrote:Haha, so mean.

Picked up 3 as end-of-the-semester gifts for some Professors I feel I need to sweeten up before grading our Finals and Term papers.

Speaking of sweetness, what is the Sugar content in these? I checked on the website and it doesn't have it listed there either.

That is a great question. I'll need to get back to you on that. There is some nutritional information on our website: www.brfarms.com under the FAQ section. I'll repost when I find out more.

Lately, I've been enjoying dried apricots with blanched almonds and a drizzle of truffle honey. Easy and sooooo good!

jaykid007 wrote:I assume it doesn't affect the taste and is harmless. 1300 to 1600 ppm sounds very microscopic.

1300 to 1600 ppm in air will kill you instantly if you breath it, but I'm confident there's not enough in these apricots to cause any problems.

Funny thing about sulfur dioxide. If you can smell it, you can get away from it without any lasting problems. At high concentrations, it burns out your sense of smell before you know it's there.

And, on that happy note...

tytiger58 wrote:Well then since I have the carving set I better pick up some of these.

Yum

I have a random collection of "good enough" knives. Are the Shuns really that much better? I find myself so tempted...

brfarms wrote:That is a great question. I'll need to get back to you on that. There is some nutritional information on our website: www.brfarms.com under the FAQ section. I'll repost when I find out more.

PS: The Blenheim is probably one of the highest sugar content apricot varieties. Since their skin is so thin (they bruise easily) and they are very high in sugar when fresh, they rarely make it to even local farmers' markets. They have a shelf life of only about 3-4 days until they get mushy, that is why they are great for drying.

What does the packaging look like? I'm thinking Christmas presents for some family members.

How dry are these?

A couple of decades ago, dried apricots were always tough and chewy (but very tasty - usually they were Turkish). Recently, I've come across some that tasted juicy - they even leave some sticky goo on your hands. Where would these fall?

brfarms wrote:yes, just the apricots, nothing but the sulfur dioxide as a preservative, which I understand is an approved form of preservation by California Organic Farming, per one of our cookie companies that uses our apricots.

The only problem with sulfur, is that you can't share with your birdy pets.