Saladitos are a Mexican snack made from dried, salted plums that can be coated with other flavors. They originated in China as suan mei and can be served in a variety of ways, including with juice or salsa, mixed with other fruit, or as a coating for dried apricots. In 2009, some packaged saladitos were found to contain high levels of lead.
Saladitos are a popular Mexican snack made from dried, salted plums. Plums are often further coated with other flavors such as chili or lime. The name comes from salado, a Spanish word meaning “salty” and -ito, a suffix meaning “small.”
These fruit snacks appear to have originated in China, where they are known as suan mei or “sour plum.” The suan mei sold in Chinese groceries often taste slightly different than those in Mexican groceries. The Mexican product tends to be sweeter, while the sour taste predominates in the Chinese version. Both strains are available in the US and each has its own dedicated following.
Saladitos can be served in a variety of ways. Some saladitos come in a plastic bag filled with juice or salsa. Some shoppers drink this first and then eat the prunes, while others save the juice until last, sometimes pouring it over other fruit. Dropping one of these dried fruits into a soft drink like ginger beer partially rehydrates the fruit and alters the flavor of the drink.
Mixing saladitos with other fruit is another common method of eating them. The customer cuts an orange or lime and pushes the prune into the opening. The moisture from the fruit partially rehydrates the prune, while the salt and spice coating mixes with the juice from the fruit to create a new flavor. The consumer drinks the juice, eats the fruit and discards the prune.
Salt is the traditional coating for saladitos, but many other flavors are available. One Mexican candy brand advertises them in lemon, chili, strawberry, and orange flavors. Lime is another popular flavor and sugar coatings are also common.
Salted dried apricots also sometimes bear the label of saladitos. These are also sometimes called chamois. Mexican snack connoisseurs can become irate when one term is used to describe the other food, but in general, the label saladito commonly applies to both.
In 2009, saladitos were at the center of a health scare. The Texas State Department of Health has determined that some manufacturers’ packaged salted prunes contained high levels of lead. In one case, the level of lead in the product was over 300 times the maximum allowable amount. Shopkeepers have removed offending products from store shelves. Only a few manufacturers have shown evidence of high levels of lead; others did not, and they continue to be sold today.
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