Saladitos
Encyclopedia
Saladitos are dried, salted
Salting (food)
Salting is the preservation of food with dry edible salt. It is related to pickling . It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food, and two historically significant salt-cured foods are dried and salted cod and salt-cured meat.Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially...

 plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...

s, which can also be sweetened with sugar and anise
Anise
Anise , Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor resembles that of liquorice, fennel, and tarragon.- Biology :...

 or coated in chile
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

 and lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...

.

They are considered a candy in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, though they originate from China. In Mandarin, the name for saladitos is "Suan-Mei", literally "sour plum". A common way to eat them is to take a few and stuff them into an orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....

 or lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...

, sucking the salted juice and allowing the saladito to rehydrate from the juice. Once all the juice is drunk, you eat the saladitos and discard the pits. A common misconception is that saladitos and chamoy
Chamoy
Chamoy refers to a variety of savory sauces and condiments in Mexican cuisine made from pickled fruit. Chamoy may range from a liquid to a paste consistency, and typically its flavor is salty, sweet, sour and spiced with powdered chiles all at the same time....

 are the same thing; saladitos are made from dried plums and chamoy are made from dried apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

s.

Some eat the saladito without any fruit, and discard the pit, while others rinse the saladito with water, and then eat it plain.

On some occasions, to spice up drinks, a few saladitos are put at the bottom of drinks like Sprite, or Ginger Ale or beer. Once the saladito is placed in the soda, bubbles will begin to rise immediately. The saladito adds a new and different flavor to the drink, and often is very enjoyable. In Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, a popular plum drink is made by soaking several saladitos in a pitcher of water until the plum rehydrates and flavors the water.

Recall

Although they can still be found in stores, many were recalled in October 2009 due to dangerous levels of lead.

A list of products and product photographs are available online at: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/foods/plumproductsNew.shtm
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK