Healthy norsk

This article needs more medical references for verification or relies too heavily on primary healthy norsk. Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Today, dried fruit consumption is widespread. Dried fruits retain most of the nutritional value of fresh fruits.

The specific nutrient content of the different dried fruits reflects their fresh counterpart and the processing method. Traditional dried fruit such as raisins, figs, dates, apricots and apples have been a staple of Mediterranean diets for millennia. The earliest recorded mention of dried fruits can be found in Mesopotamian tablets dating to about 1500 BC, which contain what are probably the oldest known written recipes. The date palm was one of the first cultivated trees.

It was domesticated in Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago. Harvesting grapes, many of which would be dried into raisins. Figs were also prized in early Mesopotamia, Palestine, Israel, and Egypt where their daily use was probably greater than or equal to that of dates. As well as appearing in wall paintings, many specimens have been found in Egyptian tombs as funerary offerings. Grape cultivation first began in Armenia and the eastern regions of the Mediterranean in the 4th century BC.

Raisins were produced by drying grapes in the hot desert sun. Very quickly, viticulture and raisin production spread across northern Africa including Morocco and Tunisia. From the Middle East, these fruits spread through Greece to Italy where they became a major part of the diet. Ancient Romans consumed raisins in spectacular quantities and at all levels of society, including them as a key part of their common meals, along with olives and fresh fruits.

Figs in the basket, Pompeii: Dried figs were very popular in ancient Rome. Having dried fruits was essential in ancient Rome as these instructions for housekeepers around 100 BC tell: “She must keep a supply of cooked food on hand for you and the servants. She must keep many hens and have plenty of eggs. She must have a large store of dried pears, sorbs, figs, raisins, sorbs in must, preserved pears and grapes and quinces. Figs were also extremely popular in Rome. Dried figs were added to bread and formed a major part of the winter food of country people.

CATEGORIES Mediterranean Recipes