Agen Prunes are a real treat. If it's been a while since
you last tried Prunes, then be prepared to be converted, we certainly
were.
Their true title is Pruneaux d'Agen. What is so different about these
dried Prunes? Well, the Plums are dried to become prunes or pruneaux
in French.
The plum variety is Prunier d'Ente which has been grown and
developed in the South West of France for many centuries.
It has the right balance of sugar/acidity and strength of skin to be dried
without splitting. The result is a chewy, dried fruit which is a real
taste sensation and which naturally will make up part of your recommended
5-a-day Fruit and Veg intake.
Agen
Prunes, Pruneaux d'Agen from the South West of France
Unfortunately this year
we do not have any stock of Agen Prunes due to a spring frost in 2008
destroying the harvest, fingers crossed for 2009.
Agen Prunes - 500g Bag
A large bag of Agen Prunes, Chewy, dried fruit, full
of Flavour.
The Plums are grown on the property of Domaine du Garinet in the South
West of France. Each year in January the plum trees are pruned to reduce
excess growth and let the light in, and to remove any shoots that are
growing vertically up or down. Fruit which is hanging from horizontal
branches does not get damaged by knocking against the branch. The aim
is to have a good crop of medium to large sized plums rather than an
enormous number of small ones. The small prunings are chopped up in
situ and left as a mulch to improve the soil quality. The large prunings
are burnt but nothing is wasted, a local potter likes to have the resulting
ash to make her glazes!
The Plum Tree Orchard
at Domaine du Garinet
The trees begin to flower in April and, if conditions are favourable,
fine weather will bring the bees and reduce the chance of a late frost
which can seriously reduce the crop. Summer hailstorms are also a worry
because the hail stones can damage the fruit and leave the prunes with
a small scab which affects their appearance but not their eating quality.
The Plums are harvested in August once they have become a beautiful
purple and have begun to fall. Large nets are placed under the trees
to catch the plums, which are gently shaken to encourage the ripe ones
to come down.
Some years they all come at once and at other times a second pass is
needed a week or two later.As the Plums are being collected from the
nets, they are sorted out to disregard any unwanted small, misshapen
or split ones. As soon as the plums are collected they are taken off
to be dried. The plums are tipped into a water bath to be washed, and
the leaves which float to the top can be removed.
The Blossom of
the Plum Tree
They then pass up a moving
belt where they are automatically graded and fall onto large wire-mesh
trays one layer deep. These trays are piled up on trolleys which are wheeled
into the oven tunnels. They stay in the heated tunnels for about 24 hours
by which time the plums are fully dried and will keep for a year or more
in the right conditions. Sometimes some of the sugar will come through
the skin and give the prunes a white crystaline appearance. This is harmless
and will disappear if you decide to rehydrate the Prunes. Prunes from
Domaine du Garinet are packaged in their fully dried form without preservative.
If you prefer to rehydrate them and not to eat them fully dried, then
there are different
ways to do this. At Domaine du Garinet the Prunes are steamed in small
batches for
about 30-45 mintues so that they are then delicious to eat just as they
are.
They can also be softened by simmering them for up to 10 minutes or
soaking them in hot tea, fruit juice or wine, perhaps with a little
sugar or honey added or you can use a microwave sprinkle with liquid,
cover and cook at 100% power for about 2 minutes.
