For a student dinner, check ordinary dried fruit before looking for a specialist reduced-fat product: Sainsbury's Seedless Raisins list less than 0.5g fat per 100g, while Whitworths Favourites Fruit & Nut Mix lists 15.1g per 100g. Choose by the ingredients and nutrition label, then consider whether the pack size suits how often you cook with it. A mixed-fruit pack may work for baking, but check for candied or sweetened ingredients if you want a simpler addition to dinner.
If you add dried fruit to couscous, rice dishes or baking, choose a pack size you are likely to use and check whether the ingredients suit the dish. Plain raisins and mixed fruit need not contain the same ingredients.
Plain raisins and fruit-and-nut mixes are different choices. Compare the fat declaration per 100g and look for nuts in the ingredients rather than relying on the words “dried fruit” on the front.
Read the current packet when nuts or sulphites matter to you. Whitworths lists almonds, cashews and sulphur dioxide in its Favourites Fruit & Nut Mix, while the Food Standards Agency notes that sulphites are also used in some dried fruits.
For a low-fat dinner ingredient, identify the type of product first, then compare its ingredients and nutrition label on the same per-100g basis.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Fat content | Compare fat per 100g and read the ingredients for nuts. Sainsbury's Seedless Raisins list less than 0.5g fat per 100g; Whitworths Favourites Fruit & Nut Mix lists 15.1g per 100g. | I want dried fruit as a low-fat addition to dinner, rather than a fruit-and-nut mix with a different fat content. |
| Pack size | Check the pack weight, storage instructions and how often you expect to use it. Compare like-for-like products when choosing between pack sizes. | A larger pack makes sense for me only if I will use it in several meals. |
| Added ingredients | Read the full ingredients list and the sugars declaration. Sainsbury's Mixed Dried Fruit contains candied peel made with glucose-fructose syrup; its Seedless Raisins list raisins and high-oleic sunflower oil. | For a simple addition to couscous, I would choose differently than for baking with mixed fruit. |
| Allergens | Check the current packet for declared allergens, including nuts and sulphites where relevant. GOV.UK explains how allergens are identified in prepacked-food ingredients lists. | If an ingredient matters to me, I need the declaration for the particular pack I am buying—not an assumption based on the product name. |
A mix can include nuts as well as fruit. Whitworths Favourites Fruit & Nut Mix lists almonds and cashews and declares 15.1g fat per 100g.
If you want a low-fat fruit ingredient, check the ingredients and fat per 100g before substituting a mix for plain dried fruit.
Sainsbury's Mixed Dried Fruit includes candied peel containing glucose-fructose syrup, whereas its Seedless Raisins list raisins and high-oleic sunflower oil.
Choose according to the recipe and whether you want candied ingredients, not simply the words “dried fruit” on the packet.
Sainsbury's low-fat Seedless Raisins list 69.3g sugars per 100g; its Mixed Dried Fruit lists 67.7g per 100g. The fat declaration answers a different question from the sugars declaration.
Check both lines and decide how much dried fruit the dish calls for.
Nuts occur in some fruit mixes, and the Food Standards Agency identifies sulphur dioxide or sulphites as ingredients used in some dried fruits.
When an allergy or sensitivity is relevant, use the current packet's ingredients and allergen information to assess that specific product.
These examples show why the product label matters more than the brand name alone; they do not describe every product each brand makes.
Tesco Groceries lists Seedless Raisins in its dried-fruit category.
Its Seedless Raisins and Mixed Dried Fruit illustrate two different ingredient choices.
M&S lists raisins and other dried fruits for cooking and snacking.
Whitworths offers raisins as well as fruit-and-nut mixes.
These packs offer raisins, sultanas, prunes and figs to consider as ingredients for student meals. Check each product's current label for fat, sugars, added ingredients and allergens before choosing.
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A 500g raisin pack to consider when you use dried fruit in several meals. Check the current nutrition and ingredients label for the details that matter to your dish.
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A 500g sultana option for dishes that call for dried fruit. Compare its ingredients and per-100g nutrition declaration with other packs you are considering.
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Pitted prunes provide a different dried-fruit flavour from raisins for cooking. Check the current ingredients list if you want fruit without other added ingredients; the product information also identifies low-polymer isomaltose.
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The 100g pack is a smaller option if you need raisins for a particular dish. Check the current label for ingredients and nutrition rather than assuming it matches a larger raisin pack.
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A 175g fig pack to consider when a recipe calls for figs rather than raisins. If nuts or peanuts matter to you, check the current packet's allergen information before use.
No specialist label is needed to compare the products: Sainsbury's Seedless Raisins list less than 0.5g fat per 100g, and M&S Raisins list 0.4g per 100g. Read the ingredients as well as the fat declaration, because a fruit-and-nut mix can be a substantially different product.
Choose plain raisins when you want the simpler ingredient profile shown by Sainsbury's Seedless Raisins; choose mixed fruit when its blend suits the dish. Sainsbury's Mixed Dried Fruit includes candied peel made with glucose-fructose syrup, so check the ingredients if you want to avoid added sweetening ingredients.
Check the ingredients and allergen information on the current packet for the particular product. Whitworths Favourites Fruit & Nut Mix lists almonds, cashews and sulphur dioxide, and the Food Standards Agency notes that sulphites can occur in dried fruit.
No: fat and sugars are separate entries on the nutrition label. Sainsbury's Seedless Raisins list less than 0.5g fat and 69.3g sugars per 100g, so check both declarations when deciding how much to add to a meal.