Sweeten Naturally with Fruit?

Fresh fruit, certain vegetables like carrots that have inherent sweetness and dried fruit are used to sweeten or balance dishes and condiments. On occasion maple syrup is used in small quantities, but can be replaced without compromise to the taste or omitted if that suits your taste and health decisions.

Dates are high in natural sugars so work well for dessert dishes. My favorite are soft dried apricots as a sweetener for dessert dishes and to balance spicy dishes like the Moroccan Spiced Chickpeas. Dried apricots also make a good replacement for maple as in the Peach-Ginger Dressing

Fresh Jujube fruits pictured above, sometimes called Chinese Dates, are also perfect for use in both sweet and savory dishes. They taste like a cross between a date and an apple and can be found at Asian markets and at Farmers markets when they are in season starting in August.