At Steve’s PaleoGoods, we love being your go-to. Not just for portable products, but also for any questions you might have about the Paleo lifestyle. It’s been our mission to help others eat good and do good since 2007. For all of you paleo questions, needs, ideas– know that we are only an email away.
Our latest question comes from Andrew in New Mexico. He’s an avid backpacker who loads up his pack with PaleoKits for clean fuel on long hikes. Andrew also has an active toddler who scarfs down Dried Fruits like they are candy. He recently asked our Customer Service team:
Why do your Dried Strawberries, Blueberries and Cranberries have added apple juice concentrate in them?
Andrew, let us begin by saying BRAVO! We are thrilled our customers are trained to CHECK THE DECK. The only way to be sure there’s no hidden additives in your food is to check.
Our Mango, Pineapple, Goji Berries and Apples are just that, with only one ingredient in the deck. We use apple juice concentrate in a few offerings to combat the tartness of cranberries and add moisture to strawberries and blueberries.
Leave a container of berries in your fridge for too long, and you’ll see what happens to them. There’s not enough moisture in the berries to leave them edible once they are dried and apple juice concentrate preserves them safely and deliciously.
Juice from concentrate contains the vitamins and minerals found in whole fruit, and even though it lacks whole fruit fiber content, it offers nutritional value. Adding juice concentrate is a clean way to preserve fruits without adding the S-words: sugar and sulfites.
When you are checking the deck of any dried fruit, look for ingredients ending in “ose” AKA sugar. These can include dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose or sucrose. Syrup? Another popular sugar alias.
All dried fruit will have sugar content because of the naturally occurring sugar found in fruit. Food manufacturers are not required to disclose natural content versus added sugar content. Steve’s PaleoGoods is proud to disclose that we have NEVER EVER added processed sugar to our Dried Fruits.
While you are checking the deck on your dried fruit for sugar content, don’t forget to check for sulfur dioxide. It’s an agent that’s been used in the fruit drying process for years, and can trigger an asthma-like reaction in some people.
You’ll notice our Dried Strawberries are darker than their fresh counterparts because we refuse to add coloring agents. If your dried fruits look like the colors of the rainbow or a bag a candy, it’s time to check the deck for ingredients you don’t want or need.
Like all snacks, dried fruit is not created equal. When it doubt, check the deck and be sure of what you are consuming. Thank you Andrew for asking a very insightful question and for trusting us to make clean and delicious snacks for you and your family to enjoy!
If you have anything at all you’d like to ask, we are only an email away. We’d love to hear from you at [email protected].
