Deep thoughts regarding prunes
Posted by fufuberry on Apr 24, 2012 · Member since Jul 2008 · 1786 posts
Disclaimer: Okay, so I KNOW I could google this, but i think conversation and conjecture are much more fun (you know...like they did in the old days...before google was here) :P
So a prune is a dehydrated plum right? Right. And the idea of dehydrating something is self evident....you are de, or un, hydrating it...making it without hydration or liquid.
Sooo...how do they make prune juice? Because if it still had juice or water in it....it wouldn't be a prune, it'd be a plum... and I think that soaking a prune in water and then taking the water back out would be prune water, or why not prune milk? I mean we soak almonds to get almond milk don't we??? SO how do they get "juice" from a prune?
annnnnnnnnd discuss. :)
Well, excellent point.
I think that the dehydrating process does change the flavour etc (I mean, nosh a fresh plum and then nosh a prune, and check it empirically) and of course when they dry a lot of fruits they add sugars and stuff. So rehydrating and sqozing prunes gives a different "juice" than fresh plum juice would be. I suppose, really, they would mash or grind or something the prunes, maybe you get more fibre in the prune juice that way?
I don't actually know anything.
hmmm.....perhaps....and maybe they don't call it "prune milk" because frankly that sounds disturbingly awful....
If I'm not mistaken, prunes are made from a very specific kind of plum that is higher in fiber than other plums so prune juice is the juice of "prune plums".
Ahh prunes . . . I don't know. Personally, I make "stewed prunes" and "prune juice" the way my grandmother did. I just plop a few prunes in a container of water and wait a day for osmosis to do it's magic. She did not know how it worked. only that it did. I can not tell much difference between my "juice" and what is available comercially. The other name for prune plums is Italian plums, at least where I shop. They are dark blue and shaped more like a roma tomato than the typical spherical plum.
Yeah, here in S. Spain I can think of at least 5 different types of plums. Different size, colour, shape and totally different texture and flavour. My favourite are the Claudias, but they have a super-short season here. If I'm not mistaken in UK and US they are called "greengage" plums.
Are they still called prunes? or have they been re-branded? The large resealable bag I bought recently was labeled "dehydrated plums." I thought it might be an attempt to get away from the idea of Grandma's prune juice.
...and prune milk? sounds awful!
Ahh prunes . . . I don't know. Personally, I make "stewed prunes" and "prune juice" the way my grandmother did. I just plop a few prunes in a container of water and wait a day for osmosis to do it's magic.
Oooh. This is such a smart and yet simple idea, and I do not know why I've never done this before. I think I shall grab prunes from the dining hall and do this tonight! Thanks for sharing the idea.
Question: Do they tend to do better in the refrigerator or out, and covered or not? (I would assume covering helps concentrate the flavour, but curious what your experience has been.)