Dried fruit

We prefer golden raisins to regular raisins, and sometimes I like to use craisins, dried cranberries.  So today I was reading up on the nutrition differences and similarities between raisins and craisins.  They are really pretty close, except for all the sugar that has to be added to cranberries to make them edible. I suppose craisins would be preferable to candy if you have a sweet tooth.  But then I noticed that golden raisins have sulfur dioxide added and regular raisins don't.  So I had to look that up, too.

"Sulfur dioxide might not sound good enough to eat, but this food preservative does make its way into a number of edibles, including dried fruits such as raisins, dried apricots and prunes. Sulfur dioxide is one type of sulfite, a preservative whose name might be more familiar. Even a small amount of sulfite can wreak health havoc if you're sensitive to it. If you have asthma, sulfite sensitivity or sulfite allergy, eating dried fruits might cause serious health problems, including breathing problems, life-threatening allergy-like symptoms or, in rare cases, death." 

You can buy organic dried fruit and freeze it to preserve it, because that's what sulfur dioxide is used for.

Recent research on cranberries

For about 50 years I hardly used this handy piece that came with my Revere Ware set.  Things cook quickly and you don’t get water logged, tough vegetables.

I’ve been making a bowl of steamed carrots with a handful of cranberries and a touch of honey for breakfast.  Then the remaining water also makes a good hot drink, or is good for cooking brown rice.

• Recent research has shown that it's not the acidity of the cranberries, but the unusual nature of their proanthocyanidins (PACs) that is related to prevention of UTIs.
• recent research has shown that the anthocyanin content of cranberries (the phytonutrients that give the berries their amazing red color) is increased in direct proportion to the amount of natural sunlight striking the berry. If berries floating on top of water get exposed to increased amounts of natural sunlight
• whole cranberries consumed in dietary form—in comparison with purified cranberry extracts consumed in either liquid or dried supplement form—do a better job of protecting our cardiovascular system and our liver.
• The cancer-preventive benefits of cranberries are now known to extend to cancers of the breast, colon, lung, and prostate.

From the Whole Foods newsletter, November 16, 2015