Dried fruit is a terrific snack, but cooks also use it in everything from muffins to stews.  Drying has the obvious advantage of letting us enjoy our favorite fruit when it's out of season, but it also serves to concentrate the fruit's flavor and sugar.  Since high concentrations of sugar ward off bacteria, dried fruit can last up to a year without refrigeration.

Dried banana

These usually come in two forms:  long spears, which are very sweet and best for cooking, and chips, which are fried in oil, crunchy, and best suited for trail mixes.
 

Chinese date = Chinese red date = red date = senjed = Chinese jujube (dried) = jujube (dried)

When fresh, these fruits are crisp like apples and have a mild, sweet flavor.  In the Asian, they're most often available dried.

 

Dried mango

These are sometimes coated with sugar.
 

Raisins = dried grapes

The common raisins we see on supermarket shelves are usually dried Thompson seedless grapes.  Golden raisins are amber in color and somewhat tart--many cooks prefer them over ordinary raisins for baking and cooking. 

Pineapple, dried 

These are sometimes coated with sugar.
 

Kokum = kokum ful = cocum 

This Indian souring agent is made from dried mangosteen peels.  It's often used in fish dishes.   Look for it in Indian markets.

Tamarind = asam java (Indonesian) = Asam Koh (Chinese) = Mak Kham (Thai) = Ma-ghi-thi (Burmese) = Indian date = tamarindo  

The handsome tamarind tree, commonly called the "date of India", is believed to be a native of East Africa but is now cultivated in India, South-east Asia and the West Indies. The brown fruit pods are 15 - 20cm/ 6-8 in long. Inside, the sides are surrounded by a sticky brown pulp. This does not look very prepossessing, but is one of the treasures of the  East. It has a high tartaric acid content, and is widely used as a souring agent.

Tamarind doesn't have much of an aroma, but the flavor is wonderful. It is tart and sour without being bitter, and fruity and refreshing.

Tamarind is used in many curries, chutneys and dhals and is an essential ingredient of Thai hot and sour soups. It is also one of the ingredients in Worcestershire sauce. Tamarind is available in a variety of forms. Blocks of compressed tamarind and slices of dried tamarind have been around for a while, but it is now also possible to buy jars of fresh tamarind and cartons of tamarind concentrate and paste. There is no substitute for tamarind. Some recipes may suggest using vinegar or lemon juice instead, but the results will not compare with using the real thing.

To extract the pulp, shell the pods, put them in a saucepan, then add enough water to completely cover the pulp.  Simmer for about half an hour, then strain out and discard the seeds.  It's a nuisance to do this, so many cooks simply buy the extracted pulp in bricks, jars, cans, powders, or bottles.  There's also a sweet tamarind, which looks like the sour variety and is used primarily to make drinks.