Pakistan is blessed with a
diversity of climatic and soil conditions in its several regions from extreme
cold to extreme hot, mountainous and hilly to riverine and desert plains. This
enables the country to grow an amazingly large variety of trees, plants, shrubs
and vines that bear fruits of many kinds.
Winter in Pakistan has always had its own charm and attraction, although in
several cases it becomes unbearable but still people do have a pleasant time in
winters. They wear warm clothes and eat hot items like soup, coffee, boiled eggs
etc. Winter brings its fruits like orange, pomegranate, pear and guava. The
people of our country are diehard fans of dry fruits which are found in huge
amount especially in winters where nuts and other dry fruits become the
traditional eating component in winter. People don’t use dried fruits much in
summers. There are numerous types of dried fruits. They usually grow in hot
areas like Quetta.
Dry fruits retain most of the nutritional value of fresh fruits. The specific
nutrient content of the different dried fruits reflects their fresh counterpart
and the processing method. In general, all dry fruits provide essential
nutrients and an array of health protective bioactive ingredients, making them
valuable tools to both increase diet quality and help reduce the risk of chronic
diseases.
In its purest form, dried fruit is just fresh fruit with the water removed.
Dehydration, in fact, causes some nutrients to become more concentrated. Dry
fruits do not only have a good taste, they have many benefits as well. Almonds
are jam packed with essential fatty acids, fibers and proteins. Almonds are
really effective in treating acne. This dry fruit makes excellent face packs as
well. For dry hair, one can use almond oil to add luster and shine. Walnuts are
one of the healthiest nuts which are full of good fats and nutrients. Walnut, if
used in the form of oil, contains linoleic acid, which prevents wrinkles and
fine lines. There is a myth about cashew nuts that they are unhealthy since they
contain a lot of fats. But in reality, cashew nuts when eaten in moderation
actually help you lose weight. It also helps protect cracked heels and nourishes
them. Pistachio oil has demulcent properties, which basically means that they
help making skin smooth.
With the start of winter season, the demand for dry fruits has started to
increase but the prices of dry fruits, which were already beyond the reach of
the common man, have increased considerably in the city markets. The shopkeepers
and dry fruit vendors have been charging exorbitant rates for dry fruits as
there is no mechanism to control the prices of such items. A vendor said dry
fruit dealers have stored large stocks of dry fruits with them to cause a
shortage in the market and later to increase the prices for profit. But a
blessing like dry fruits should be available in the market at reasonable prices
so that people could enjoy the tasty dry fruits in cold weather and could also
get nutrition’s which are important for a human body.