January is California Dried Plum Month, so let’s take a look at some fun facts about this healthy food:
- Prunes are simply dried plums – nothing more, nothing less.
- Prunes have a bad rap for being associated with “old age”, and all that stuff about irregularity. That is why the California prune growers persuaded the FDA to allow the use of the alternative name of “dried plums” to get away from the old prune associations.
- California prunes are made from one special variety of plum – the Petit d ‘Agen.
- 99% of the US supply and 40% of the world’s supply of prunes are produced in California.
- 80% are grown in the Sacramento Valley, and the remaining 20% are grown in the San Joaquin Valley.
- A prune plum tree can produce fruit for over 30 years. Mature trees can produce 150-300 pounds of prune plums per year.
- Prunes are allowed to fully ripen before they are picked. Once picked, they are cleaned, graded, and stacked on rolling shelves to be dried. These shelves remain in climate-controlled tunnels until the prunes are dried to exacting levels.
- Prunes are a good source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, copper, and potassium. They also have important levels of soluble fiber and antioxidants.
- Prunes can last in your pantry for about 6 months. When stored in a sealed container in your fridge, they can last for up to a year.
Have you considered adding prunes to your favorite dishes? How about cooking a pot roast with red wine and prunes? Or, roasting fillets of pork with prunes and apple? Those dishes sound so good, and I’d love to join you for dinner!
