On the island of La Palma we have a rich and varied Christmas gastronomy, especially when it comes to sweets. Marquesotes, mantecados, almendrados, mimos, embuchados, etc. are part of our gastronomic heritage to which other foods have been added that have come to us from different places. Thus we have incorporated nougats, panettone, hallacas, etc.
All of this adds flavour and joy to a holiday season to share with the family, with a wide variety of foods to suit all tastes. However, Christmas is sometimes a time of excess, both in food and drink. Therefore, you can also consider some healthy (and sweet) alternatives for these dates.
Fruit is also present during the Christmas holidays, either in the form of dried fruit, as an ingredient in various sweets or dishes, or as candied fruit or in syrup. However, there is a healthy alternative to candied fruit or in syrup that can also be used as an ingredient in desserts or dishes: dehydrated fruit.
Fruit is already sweet in itself, it has a certain amount of sugar in the form of fructose. Like most of the food that the earth provides, fruit is a seasonal food, with different fruits being produced at different times of the year. For this reason, throughout history, human beings have sought different ways to preserve their food.
Dehydration is one of those processes that help preserve fruit by removing part of the water it contains. During this process, some of the nutrients and vitamins in the fruit are concentrated. In this way, we have foods rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins that retain many of their properties for long periods of time, and can be consumed for much of the year.
Although in principle dehydrated or dried fruit is less satiating than fresh fruit, in the specific case of plums, this need to satisfy the appetite is satisfied. These are the conclusions. According to Professor Jason CG Halford , president of the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), dehydrated plums "can induce satiety and be incorporated into weight control diets." These conclusions were also reached by a study published in 2021 in the Nutrition Bulletin of the British Nutrition Foundation under the title " Experimental studies and randomised controlled trial investigating the impact of traditional dried fruits consumed as snacks on food intake, experience of appetite and bodyweight ".
In short, there are many alternatives to enjoy these holidays, and foods based on dehydrated fruits can be very present in them.
