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Can dried fruits replace the goodness of fresh fruits?
by Thomas Wenger
In winter, when fresh fruits on the market are very limited and at that usually imported from warmer countries, we often use dry fruits as an substitute for fresh in cooking and baking but also as edible snacks.
It raises the question if dry fruits are of equal value to our bodies than the fresh once we eat during the summer months.
Generally speaking, fruits are good for us whether they are dried of fresh. In fact, dry fruits do retain many valuable nutrients fresh fruits have. Generally dried fruits loose most of its vitamin C content along with the water that is lost during the drying process, but the loss of fibers, fruits sugars and minerals is minimal if at all even if stored for a prolonged period of time.
Taken this into account, dried fruits should be part of the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. As an general rule, 20-30 g of dried fruits can replace the values of 120 g fresh fruits.
Dried fruits have a much higher fruit sugar content as an percentage to weight, up to 70% and therefore much higher counts of calories than fresh fruits. This however might be a good thing, after a good work out, dried fruits can fast and efficiently replenish the lost energy as fruit sugars are very fast absorbed into our system and in contrary to sugars trough soft drinks or candy bars. Even at these increased values of calories, dried fruits only have half the calories than chocolate.
Dried fruits, mostly part of tail mixes, are ideal snacks to bring on hikes, long walks and or any other physical activity and will combat that little hunger or energy loss that may occur during the a long lasting period of exercise.
As good as dried fruits are for our bodies, the high fiber content in dried fruits demands that we take in the appropriate amount of water. Water makes fibers soluble in our bodies and dried fruits do not loose fibers when dehydrating but all the water the flesh usually provides.
This winter season, when the stores are filled with Citrus fruits and some winter apples and pears and important, mostly under ripe, fruits, perhaps dried mangoes, apricots, apples, pears, dates, bananas and raisins might just fill the void. From a nutrition stand point they certainly do and as cooking and baking ingredients, dried fruits are great in cakes, sauces, warming winter stews with ice cream and more. With a little fantasy and creativity in cooking and preparing dishes with dried fruits, the wait for the first fresh fruits in season in late April might just not be that long after all.
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