Using fruit as a healthy substitute in cooking

Being an avid user of Twitter I tend to be logged on to the site all day every day.  I find it a fascinating way to keep up with the goings on in the world.  During a regular day of being nosey and seeing what everyone had to shout about I noticed a tweet that took my interest.  It mentioned that fruit can be used as a substitute for certain ingredients in baking.  This struck a particular chord with me because here at Simply Nectar we know only too well that fruit can be used instead of sugar.  Simply Nectar drinks don’t contain any refined sugars.  If the drinks need sweetening at all we just add a dash of grape juice.  That is all they need.   Knowing this I was then intrigued to find out more about other ways fruit can be used to sweeten products and what else it can replace.  My curiosity encouraged me to delve deeper into the subject and this is what I found out.

Fruit can be used to replace artificial sugars and sweeteners in most recipes.  You can swap about half a cup of fruit for one cup of sugar.  It can be used in all forms too – from liquid to solid.  Fruit juice – such as Simply Nectar (of course!) – can be used to add sweetness to food.  If you want to juice your own fruit then you can obviously do this but make sure you use the fruit pulp as well as the juice because this can thicken as well as sweeten.  Another thick liquid you can use is apple sauce.  This can be used as a healthy replacement to butter and oil as it has similar properties to these ingredients.  It allows the finished product to retain its moisture so deducting oil or butter from the recipe won’t dry it out.

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Purees are also a good way to add sweetness and the trusty apple can be used once again.  An apple puree will work especially well in many baked goods.  Pear and prune puree can also work well as they can replace a significant amount of sugar in cake mixtures in particular.  You can even play around with sweet vegetable purees like pumpkin, sweet potato or butternut squash.  They all add nutritional benefits.  You could try using the purees with spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg.   You can make your own puree or sauce by simmering one cup of water with around a quarter of a cup of fruit for about an hour.

Image courtesy of Bill Longshaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

As well as pureeing the fruit, you can use overripe fruits such as pears, bananas, figs and mangoes.  If you drain off the excess juice from these fruits then you can usually use an equal ratio of fruit to sugar.  Overripe fruit doesn’t just have to be added to recipes either.  Why not mash it up to form a paste which can then be used as a topping.  Smother it on toast, bagels or muffins instead of jam or chocolate spread.

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Another option is to use the zest of a lemon, orange or lime to add sweetness and enhance the fruitiness of a dish.  Dried fruits also work well.  Try fruits such as plums, apricots, raisins and cranberries.  When fruit is dried it retains its natural sugars and so can provide bursts of sweetness if used in baking.  Take caution though.  Dried fruit is very dense so it needs to be used in small quantities in particular recipes, otherwise it may ruin the end product.  It may sink to the bottom of the mixture or not get distributed equally. 



Image courtesy of Rawich / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So there we have it; the proof that fruit can be used in lots of ways and can be used to replace many ingredients.  We all for getting rid of added sugar in food and drinks and now you can help us.  Stop including artificial sugars and sweeteners in your recipes and start using fruit.  It’s pure, natural goodness and by the sounds of it it’s also very easy to use.  Give it a try and see for yourself.

Simply fruit,

Simply Nectar

Our time at the Restaurant Show

Talk, eat, drink, repeat.  Talk, eat, drink, repeat.  Talk, eat, drink, repeat.  This is exactly what we did for three days when exhibiting at The Restaurant Show.  We talked lots, we ate lots and we drank lots.  What a good three days we had!

The Restaurant Show was held at Earls Court from 8-10 October and it saw thousands of restaurateurs, caterers, owners, chefs, sommeliers and hoteliers bounding through the doors.  They were all there to discover new products and services, taste some food and drink and make some new connections.  We managed to do exactly that and we’re pleased we could help others do that too.

We had a stand at the show along with our buddies What On Earth.  For three days we served up samples of all of our delicious nectars and juices and it seems that visitors to the Restaurant Show were pleased with our offering. They lapped them up!  Peach and Pear were certainly clear favourites.  We also stood by while What On Earth gave out tasters of yummy organic pizzas and organic desserts, which everyone seemed to wolf down.  We both seemed to feed many a hungry and thirsty mouth, including Jeremy’s!  We also managed to meet and chat to lots of new people, which was extremely exciting.  There was a real buzz around the What On Earth/Simply Nectar stand and we really enjoyed our time there.

What made our three days even better was our positioning.  Why?  Because we were directly opposite The Deli Station stand and next to the Fever Tree stand.  The Deli Station had some amazing food available and Fever Tree had some delicious soft drinks.  By offering them some of our nectars and some What On Earth food we managed to get a few lovely bits in return.  We really were eating and drinking all day long.  It was great!  Well, great for our tums but not so good for our waistlines.  Oops!

Hopefully our greed will die down a bit next week because we’re off to do ANOTHER show.  Yep, you did hear correctly.  We’re going to be exhibiting at the Independent Hotel Show next week.  Eeek, two shows in two weeks.  It’s certainly a busy time for us at the moment.

We’ll be sure to post some photos of our time at the Independent Hotel Show next week.   If you’re there come along and see us on stand IH97G…even if Jeremy does look like this!  We may even give you some free Simply Nectar and What On Earth pizza if you're lucky.

Simply exhibiting,

Simply Nectar