This is a great winter fruit dish, using fruit that was harvested and then dried while in season.  Hoşaf is considered a drink, a dessert or a side. It can be made with a variety of fruits such as dried raisins, apricots, plums, pears, cherries, etc.  My father-in-law used to drink it in the summer when he was young, before soft drinks were popular. This drink is incredibly refreshing in the summer and a nice treat with or after dinner.   This is also traditionally served as a side with börek.

Ingredients:

4 cups of Dried fruits (mostly Apricots but it is nice to add dried plums)
8-10 cups of water
1 cup of sugar *Optional (add as much or little as you like)

Directions:

Rinse fruit thoroughly.
Bring 8-10 cups of water to a roiling boil.
When it is boiling add the dried fruit to the water (and sugar if using) and shut off the heat.

Let the fruit sit in the water until the water cools. Once the water has cooled, place the pot in the fridge. Let it sit a few hours, a day is better, before  eating the hoşaf. The longer the hoşaf sits the tastier it becomes.

I prefer a main component of apricots with some plums thrown in, the apricots release their sugar more than the plums do so you end up with a sweeter juice. I do not usually add sugar.