The Dried Fruit Cowboys Commonly Ate On The Trail

If you are a "Yellowstone" fan or have just watched a few episodes, it is easy to see why the cowboy lifestyle is so hard to resist. Of course, cowboys of the Old West weren't always noshing on steaks and drinking beer like those at the Dutton Ranch. In fact, fresh food was a luxury. There was no popping into the grocery store every other day. So, what did cowboys eat? They relied on dried fruits, with dried apples topping the list of what might be in their saddlebags to nibble on. 

If you've never had dried apples before, they are slices or pieces of apple with the moisture removed through sun-drying or a low-heat dryhouse method. Farmers would use their tart apples for this staple by leaving apple slices out for a few days until they became dry and leathery. In contrast, if they used a dryhouse, a small structure with a rock furnace that would burn at a low temperature to preserve fruit, it would take just a day. The bite would become chewy and crispy, and the taste would be tangy and a little sweet as the sugars concentrated. Apples were less perishable in this state, making them a perfect snack on the open range.

Of course, while apples were the go-to dried fruit for cowboys, it was largely dependent on the fruit available in the regions they frequented. Other dried fruits — including apricots, cherries, peaches, prunes, and raisins — found their way into saddlebags. Beyond being easy to preserve, dried fruits, apples or otherwise, are full of nutrients. This snack contains the same vitamins, minerals, and fiber as regular fruit, along with potassium, iron, and other nutrients. However, because the sugars concentrate during the drying process, dried fruit is higher in calories and sugar.

Whether cowboys knew it or not, there was also another benefit to eating dried fruit. Eating it dried allowed for greater fruit consumption and, in turn, resulted in a better diet and richer nutrient intake. If you want to borrow a page from the cowboys' eating manual, the simplest way to dry fruit without a dehydrator is in the oven. This is a low-and-slow process, so plan for anywhere from seven hours to overnight. That said, eating dried fruit can be unhealthy if you have certain conditions like diabetes. If this is a concern, consider chopping up the dried fruit and adding it sparingly to your homemade granola or yogurt parfait.