A large bag of Agen Prunes, Chewy, dried fruit, full of Flavour.

More about the Agen Prunes....

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 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 Plum Tree Orchard at
Domaine du Garinet

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.

Links to Recipe Ideas for Agen Prunes.

*** Rick Steins Rabbit with Agen prunes and polenta
*** The Agen Prune recipe website
*** Delia Smiths Prune and Apple Galettes
*** Gordon Ramseys Apple, Prune and Butterscotch Compote
*** John Burton Races Roast Duck with Agen Prunes
*** Prune, Tomato and Feta Salad
*** Prune Sauce for Turkey