Apricot (canned)

Why apricot (canned) is rated high

Canned apricots are high FODMAP, and the main driver is sorbitol, the sugar alcohol apricots carry naturally and keep right through canning, with excess fructose adding to it. The low serve is small: about 1½ tablespoons (20g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, so the climb is short and an ordinary bowl of fruit is well past the low rung. Canning does not add sorbitol and it does not remove it, but it does move some of it: sorbitol is water-soluble, so part of what was in the fruit ends up in the liquid around it, which is why what you do with that liquid is the most useful decision on this page.

What changes your risk

• Drain and rinse, do not drink the liquid Sorbitol is water-soluble, so some of it leaches out of the fruit and into the canning liquid. Draining the fruit properly and rinsing it changes what actually reaches the plate. It does not turn a high food into a low one, but spooning the syrup over the fruit puts back exactly what draining removed.
• What it is packed in Fruit packed in its own juice or in pear or apple juice brings extra load from the packing medium itself. Packed in water is the version worth reaching for, and even then the fruit still carries its own sorbitol.
• Serving size, with a short climb About 1½ tablespoons (20g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, so the gap between a spoonful and a heavy helping is narrower here than it is for most fruit.
• Stacking with other sorbitol foods Sorbitol adds up across a meal. Apricots alongside pear, plum, peach, nectarine, cherry or anything sweetened with sorbitol, xylitol or maltitol builds a load that no single serving on its own explains.
• Drying concentrates it further Dried apricots are not a lighter alternative to canned. Drying removes water and concentrates everything left behind, so the same sorbitol arrives in a far smaller amount of fruit.

Swaps

For that soft, sweet, spoonable fruit in a bowl or over porridge, drained canned mandarin segments and drained canned pineapple both fill the role without the sorbitol, and fresh oranges, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries or cantaloupe work where you want something brighter. Canned peaches, canned pears and canned plums are not the fix, since they are driven by the same sorbitol as apricots, and dried apricots are a heavier version of the same problem rather than a lighter one. If you want the fruit for sweetness in a crumble or on yoghurt, maple syrup over low FODMAP fruit gets you there more reliably than reaching for another stone fruit.

How to lower the load

Read the front of the can before the back: look for apricot halves in water rather than in syrup, in juice, or in pear or apple juice, since the packing medium is a choice you make at the shelf and cannot undo at home. Tip the whole can into a sieve, let it drain properly rather than briefly, then rinse the fruit under running water and let it sit a moment before serving, so the liquid is gone rather than clinging. Never spoon the syrup back over the fruit or into a smoothie, and do not use it as the liquid in a cake or a jelly. Once open, store the drained fruit in a container rather than in the can with its liquid, so it is not sitting back in what you just poured away. Portion it out in the kitchen rather than bringing the bowl to the table, because the level moves from low to high quickly here.

Common questions

are canned apricots high fodmap

Yes. Canned apricots are high FODMAP overall, driven mainly by sorbitol. About 1½ tablespoons (20g) is low, larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high.

is apricot high in sorbitol

Sorbitol is the main group behind the rating for canned apricots. It is present naturally in the fruit and stays through canning, which is why the level climbs quickly with the serving.

does draining canned apricots help

It genuinely helps, because sorbitol is water-soluble and some of it leaches into the canning liquid. Drain well and rinse, and never spoon the syrup back over the fruit. Draining does not make an ordinary helping low FODMAP.

what can i use instead of canned apricots

Drained canned mandarin segments or drained canned pineapple fill the same soft, sweet role, and fresh oranges, kiwi, strawberries or cantaloupe work alongside them. Canned peaches, pears and plums carry the same sorbitol, so they are not a swap.