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You can’t beat good quality fruit bread made with wholesome organic ingredients. Bread that’s lush with plump dried organic fruit and baked to perfection is nearly everyone’s favourite mid-morning snack in my house. When I’m baking, the aroma from this fruit bread permeates every corner of the house and is enough to bring everyone into the kitchen to find out what’s going on. What’s that good smell? And then of course, “Who’s having the first slice?” plays out. It’s a running joke in my house. Drawing on the famous comedy sketch, “Who’s on first base?”, our very own version takes place just before I cut the first slice of fruit bread. Laughter and mirth follow. But the funniest thing of all is that I don’t even remember...

Not everyone enjoys dried fruit. But I do. Don’t get me wrong; given the choice I’ll usually reach for a fresh organic apple in preference to the dried alternative. But there are times when dried fruit comes in handy. One example that springs to mind is when I’m out hiking or tramping. Generally speaking, when I’m out hiking - usually in mountainous terrain - the last thing I want to be doing is carting around bulky provisions. Instead, I want food that’s light, nutritious, calorie dense and – if at all possible – tasty. Dried fruit fits the bill. Drying fruit is an ancient tradition. The Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Persians used drying techniques to preserve highly perishable foods such as grapes, prunes and figs. According...