Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: October 18, 2022 | 
| 中文
A variety of dry fruits and nuts
Dried fruits are fruits that have been preserved by dehydrating or drying to concentrate the flavor or sweetness and to extend the shelf life. Types of dried fruits that form a popular winter snack across cultures are dates, apricots, raisins, coconut, figs, plums and berries. By drying methods, the bulk of the fruit’s original water content is removed either naturally, by sun drying or artificially, by using specialized dryers or dehydrators. The rich range of dry fruits in our dietary culture also extends to various stone fruits and nuts, including almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, peanuts and cashews. Considered to be a superfood, the growing population of health-conscious consumers has propelled the dried fruits and nuts market exponentially. A good source of proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, dry fruits and nuts are considered a good replacement for high-calorie snacks. The global dried fruits market size was estimated to be at USD7.79 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow to USD10.14 billion by 2026.
A dry fruit and nuts seller in Quetta
Perhaps none of the dry fruits have garnered so much appreciation as the king of the nuts’ basket, the almond, called badam in Urdu. It was popularized as a royal snack and for cooking by the Mughal emperors. Ken Alba, a professor of history at the University of Pacific, while elaborating on the cultural and nutritional value of almonds writes, “This is a story of almonds and the passage of ideas eastward along the various routes that have come to be known as the Silk Road. While we normally think of exotic goods traveling westward, there was also a significant trade in the other direction, to China and south to India. Both the almond and ideas about how to use them made this journey. For example, a Chinese pharmacist will explain that among the various properties of almonds, they suppress coughs and are useful for treating lung ailments. This is the same advice offered by the Greek physician Galen of Pergamum nearly two millennia ago. A practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine in India would suggest that almonds are fattening and serve as an aphrodisiac, but can be difficult to digest, again echoing ancient Greek medical ideas. These similarities are no coincidence. Despite the very different structures of these three medical systems, almonds were employed in similar ways in each.” Believed to have a common ancestor with peaches, believe it or not, almonds actually belong to the rose family and are also distantly related to plums, cherries, and apricots. Archaeologists have found that wild almonds were eaten even 8,000 years ago. They figure prominently in some preparations made by 12th-century Arab physicians and pharmacologists, such as Al-Samarqandi, for bronchial problems, gall and kidney stones, cancer, asthma, indigestion, water retention, peptic ulcers and as a laxative. Almond oil is believed to promote hair growth and prevent dryness, while its leaves are still used in cosmetics and soaps.
Almonds
Perhaps a second close in supremacy is walnut, called Akhrot in Urdu. Walnuts too have a rich history dating back thousands of years with walnuts known to be one of the oldest tree foods known to man, dating back to 7000 B.C. Romans called walnuts ‘Jupiter’s royal acorn’. An article on walnut tree cultivation in Spain is included in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century book on agriculture. In 2020, world production of walnuts in-shell was 3.3 million tons, with China contributing 33% of the total followed by the United States, Iran, and Turkey. Walnuts, without shells, are 4% water, 15% protein, 65% fat and 14% carbohydrates, including 7% dietary fiber. It is believed that walnuts reduce the risk of heart disease and fight oxidative damage, decrease inflammation, nourish beneficial bacteria in the stomach, support weight control, control type-2 diabetes, nurture the brain, and the polyphenols in walnuts reduces the risk of certain cancers.
Walnut (akhrot)
Perhaps no other dry fruit is as prized in modern times as the pine nut, or chilgoza, as it is called in Urdu. In Pakistan, the trees which produce pine nuts are found in the upper regions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Northern Areas, and Kashmir. Chilgoza or pine forests can stand prolonged drought, high winds, and severe winter cold. It comprises about 18 percent of the coniferous forests of Pakistan. Interestingly, Pakistan’s pine nut has the biggest kernel size in the world. It is not only eaten as dry fruit, but also forms part of traditional dishes like pilaf and some desserts. Fanciest of all nuts, smaller, cuter, with a sweet, subtle flavor, even a small portion of deshelled pine nuts can cost a fortune because pine nuts take up to three years to mature and can be quite a challenge to harvest. Of the 115 species of pines, globally, only about 18 produce nuts fit for human consumption. Humans from the paleolithic period are known to have consumed pine nuts with accounts of Roman soldiers carrying it as a superfood during raids on Britain, over 2,000 years ago.
Chilgoza (pine nut)
Cashews or Kaju as it is called in Urdu, is native to Iran and Afghanistan. Cashews are imported to Pakistan as they are not grown locally. Famous worldwide for their delicate flavor, they are also believed to possess exceptional health benefits as they contain heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, linked to decreased cardiovascular disease risk. Like all nuts, cashews provide an excellent source of protein, vital for rebuilding muscle tissue and creating new cellular compounds. In addition to containing high amounts of copper, cashews are a great source of zinc, a mineral essential for developing immune system cells.
Roasted and salted cashew nuts
The pistachio, called pista in Urdu, is a member of the cashew family. Its tree can grow up to 30 feet in height and originates from Central Asia, including present-day Iran, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Archaeologists believe that pistachio seeds were a common food as early as 6750 BC. So far, the earliest evidence of pistachio consumption goes back to the Bronze Age of Central Asia, and comes from Djarkutan, modern Uzbekistan. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were said to have contained pistachio trees. In the 19th century, pistachio trees were cultivated commercially in parts of the English-speaking world such as Australia, New Mexico, and California. In 1904 and 1905, David Fairchild of the United States Department of Agriculture, introduced a hardier variety to California from China, but it was not promoted as a commercial crop until 1929. The pistachio tree has a long life and may live up to 300 years. The trees take approximately seven to ten years to reach significant production. Peak production is reached at around 20 years. Nutritionists believe that pistachio consumption lowers blood pressure and the risks of heart disease. In Pakistan, there have been promising experiments of growing pistachio in the vast but dry and arid plateaus of Upper Chitral, with nearly a cent percent success rate. The tree requires very little water and agriculturalists believe that Balochistan too has a great potential for pistachio farming, but due to a lack of knowledge, local farmers only concentrate on traditional crops.
Pistachio or Pista
Pakistan has been exporting dried fruits and nuts in sizeable quantities. In 2020, Pakistan exported USD 16.4M of dried fruits, making it the 24th largest exporter of dried fruits in the world. The main destinations of dry fruit exports from Pakistan are China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. For local consumers, time to indulge in stocking up on this superfood to munch and enjoy with family with the arrival of winter.
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