Dehydrated Rehydrated

He’s been coming home with dried figs lately. Dried dates too. Dried apricots as well, which I like fresh, dried or rehydrated… yum. Figs and dates though, they’re not your usuals. Not like apricots, or even apples or raisins and sultanas (what is the difference there except size? Never did find out).

Anyway, it had me remembering my (our!) first encounters with fresh dates and fresh figs. Wee stories attached there.

The figs, we were in southern Spain. Wee place, end of season, empty and almost closed. God knows what lockdown looks like there but surely even worse. Not that it wasn’t lovely, it was. Just… deserted. No cash dispenser, no restaurants and no shops except one tiny grocery kind enough to cash a cheque. Phew.

Walking back to our lovely digs from a saunter to the beach (only a few minutes walk away) we passed an old man lugging a bucket stuffed with… what the hell is that? Looks like wee dods of jam, duly being followed by the odd inquisitive insect. He sees us looking and reaches one of the dods to us… oh, it’s figs! A whole bucket of freshly picked figs, some a tad overripe and bursting, hence the dods of ‘jam’.

We ask how much for a couple, his index finger indicates 1 euro and he smiles toothlessly at us. Okay, dear, but worth it for a taste. We nod and offer the money… he nods and hands us the bucket. He meant 1 euro for the bucket load! We gave him more money, he reluctantly but finally, happily took it. Was more than he thought he’d get and we were certainly pleased enough so, everybody happy.

So now here we were, with a shitload of fresh, never-going-to last-long, figs. From zero to 120 in a heartbeat. We indulged, sure we did, but there’s only so many fresh figs… delectable little pots of jam as they are… that anyone can take. As we headed further up the road, we passed three rucksacks outside the grocers. More late tourists, hah. We left them eating from the bucket full of figs as they sat at the kerb. They were well chuffed.

Dates now. Don’t know about you but the only dates I’d ever seen were those hard lumps of toffee-like things in a long, rounded oval box at Christmas. Who knew they were actual dried fruits? I never did! Then we went to Egypt. Fabulous holiday, Nile cruise, bus trips to all the monuments, plus a week in a resort… but I digress. Dates.

Now, they do warn you, don’t drink the tap water, don’t take ice in your drinks, don’t eat fresh fruits as they’ll have been rinsed off in water. But then they passed around a tray of real, fresh dates on a bus trip. I couldn’t have passed it off, I just couldn’t. Smarty Pants did, hmph. Well, he missed the delights. So this is a fresh date? Wow. Bares only a very vague resemblance to a Christmas date, and the taste is just heaven. I may have had three. I may have paid for every one with one hour on the loo – boy, was I sick. Worth it though.

And now these dried affairs. Now, apricots, I’d always enjoyed a chew at them and had also discovered, not that long ago, that if you steep them in water, they plump up. Also delish. These dried figs and dates though, had never tried rehydrating them and wasn’t that enamoured of them straight out the pack, dry. I’ve since found Medjoul dates (since being in Egypt) and they are just fabulous, sort of semi-dried, still plump and yummy - especially coated in chocolate. So these were more like the Christmas dates only loose. Edible at a push, but hard. Stones already removed. I decided to soak them, see how that went. Same with the figs… still jammy, tasty, but not attractive to eat at all. Soak.

Well, the jury is still out. A skin sloughs off the dates when soaked, looking decidedly unattractive as it floats there, but the dates are more edible, have to say. If I can avoid the skin, doable. Figs, definitely plumper but the skin on them is a bit tougher. Very sweet and edible if you keep your eyes shut and avoid the sight of what you drag your teeth through, and the wee stub where it was attached to the tree. How else do you describe the contents of a fig though? It’s nature’s ready-made jam! You don’t normally eat spoonful’s of jam so, you’d best not eat too many figs. Both dates and figs (Egyptian water notwithstanding) are good for the old (ahem) movements, so moderation is key I suppose. The water you soak them in turns to a lovely syrup too… also best in moderation.

So, every day a school day eh? I had at one time intended buying a hydrator, to make dried strips of chicken for the dog, initially. But those things are expensive and have to run for days too. I tried drying tomatoes in the oven a couple of times (Spanish and Italian holiday influences seep through at intervals) - both times unmitigated disasters - so I would still like to get one some day but, not happening. Don’t need it for the dog any more so it would be hard to justify the purchase, other than for flowers… and tomatoes. I think I had the oven on low for like three days at my dried tomato attempt. Can’t be doing that for half a dozen toms haha. Sure it should be easier though!

Probably for the best, cheaper too in the long run, just to buy dried and then rehydrate. Anyone reading this has a foolproof, inexpensive tip for dyhydrating tomatoes, I'd be glad to hear it. Also, let me know what you think of dates and figs. Dried or otherwise.