When Should You Add Dried Fruit To Granola?

Granola may be one of the best ways for you to enjoy a good breakfast or snack while remaining healthy, but is granola really all that healthy for you? According to Food Revolution, granola's popularity may have been born out of a health movement. Think back to the times of Woodstock when bringing all things nature and nourishing into your body was glamorized by the Hippies. But granola's health benefits are mostly linked to the ingredients included in its recipes and how you cook it.

For example, according to BBC goodfood, granola is high in iron, zinc, fiber, and magnesium, but it is also high in calories, sugar, and carbs. This is especially true for commercially produced granola that you buy in a store, which often has higher amounts of sugar than homemade granola recipes. You can make your own granola healthier by adding in the right sweeteners, like honey and fruit. But if you are making homemade granola, you should know how to do it the right way.

One of the greatest things about granola is that you can mix in just about any ingredients you want to make it exactly how you want. You can mix in nuts, fruits, chocolate, honey, maple syrup, or anything else to get the perfect granola recipe for you. You can even add granola to yogurt and milk for a healthy snack or breakfast.

Keep in mind, though, that when making homemade granola there are several steps to making it the right way. Making granola at home is generally quite easy, but it takes a little know-how. For one, you should mix the ingredients the right way. According to TODAY, you should add things like dried fruit or raisins after your granola has been taken out of the oven. The granola will still be warm, allowing the ingredients to cook a bit, but not hot enough to result in burnt fruit or chocolate, which ruins the whole batch.

Speaking of baking granola, King Arthur Baking Company says you may or may not need to use parchment paper to keep your granola mixture from sticking to the pan as it bakes, but using it does help to ensure that your granola lifts out of the pan evenly. Another way to make sure your granola comes out the right way is to spread it out properly on the pan before you put it in the oven. This is especially important if you want to make granola bars. 

You should also ensure that you don't turn the oven temperature too high when you cook the granola — it's best to follow the recipe instructions for this part so that your granola doesn't burn. The goal is to cook it slowly, stir it often in the first half of baking, and then let it sit and bake during the second half. This helps you get golden-brown clusters in your granola. After it's baked thoroughly, remove it from the oven, then add your preferred dried fruits or chocolate.