January 5, 1994

YOU may never have thought of drying fruit at home, but then you've probably never thought much about practicing alchemy, either. The two processes actually have a lot in common. Removing the moisture from fruit almost magically changes its nature, concentrating sweetness and adding deep complexities of flavor. It's as if, when the common denominator of water is removed, the core of the fruit's particular character is revealed. This culinary metamorphosis has a long history. People in hot, dry climates have been drying fruits for centuries -- from tomatoes laid out on Italian porticos to apricots drying in Iranian courtyards to chilies on tables outside Tunisian restaurants. Until recently, the primary purpose of this exercise was preservation; when deprived of its water, fruit lasts for months, making it an ideal provision for long and difficult journeys.

The peasant guerrilla army that burst into Mexican life with the New Year retreated today from this town and others it had occupied in the southern state of Chiapas as army troops moved in. Fighting continued around the city of San Cristobal de las Casas and the town of Ocosingo as rebels from the force, which calls itself the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, battled soldiers backed by planes and helicopter gunships. Military officials said at least 93 people had been killed since the rebels seized the state's second-largest city and three sizable towns just hours after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect.

MCI Communications, the company that pried open A.T.& T.'s monopoly on the long-distance telephone business more than 20 years ago, announced today a $2 billion plan to invade the local telephone market. MCI also announced a vaguely defined "vision" to team up with unspecified partners on a $20 billion effort to upgrade its long-distance network for an array of voice, video and high-speed data communications.

The American auto industry finished 1993 on a strong note with sales in December roughly 5 percent ahead of 1992 levels and overall sales for the year up about 8.4 percent. Several foreign manufacturers, including Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, had not finished tallying their numbers late today, preventing an exact accounting. However, sales analysts at the Ford Motor Company estimated total industry sales of 8.6 million cars for 1993 and 5.6 million light trucks for a total of 14.2 million vehicles, the best year since 1989 and up from 13.1 million in 1992.

Varnishing sidewalks and streets with a treacherous icy coating, a wintry blast of snow, sleet and freezing rain closed major highways, disrupted air traffic and halted trains from Boston to Washington yesterday. New York City officials deployed a rumbling platoon of plows -- 360 in all -- and spread 16 tons of salt on the streets. To make matters worse, a 115-year-old water main that burst before dawn flooded a Manhattan subway station and disrupted rush-hour service for more than 250,000 passengers. One death was reported in the city yesterday, a 47-year-old contractor who slipped and fell on the ice and hit his head against his snowplow, the police said.