What kind of plum and how do prunes?

Plums are one of the most delicious and useful fruits. They are used not only in fresh form, but also in the preparation of culinary dishes, as well as in blanks for the winter.

Dried plum or prune is a valuable low-calorie product, which has medicinal properties due to the high content of vitamins and other nutrients, especially potassium.

What kind of plum is better to make prunes?

Plums for the preparation of prunesmust meet certain requirements:

• the percentage of dry matter is about 20%;
• concentration of sugars in fruits - from 12%;
• the moisture content and acids - up to 1%;
• weight of fruits - from 30 to 40 g;
• skin color - dark blue;
• fruits have a dense intact skin, covered with a waxy coating, a small bone.

What kind of plum is suitable to make prunes?

Such varieties asMirabel, early blue, apricot-like and some others do not drybecause a good prune of them will not work.

Hungarian

Hungarian is one of the most popular and common varieties of plums for prunes. Its fruits have excellent taste, high sugar content andideal for drying.

Some varieties of Wengerka:

1. AT. italian- self-fertilized (does not require planting near the pollinating variety) mid-ripening variety. It is cultivated mainly in the southern regions, since it can freeze at low temperatures. Trees are not high, with a height of up to 5 m, the crown diameter does not exceed 6 m. Begins to bear fruit for 4 or 5 years, average yield - 50 kg of plums. Average weight of fruit is 35 g. Can not tolerate drought.
2. AT. home- Late variety, exacting to heat. Characterized by rapid growth, the average height - m. Fruiting begins from 7-8 years of cultivation. At the age of 20 years with optimal care, the maximum yield of trees reaches 150 kg. Fruit weight - about 20 g.

Hungarian is one of the most popular and common varieties of plums for prunes

3. AT. Wangenheim- an early variety, resistant to frost and disease, can grow on an insufficiently fertile soil. To increase the yield, it is recommended that the inflorescence of inflorescences be carried out. Already on the 6th year of cultivation the seedling yields 15 kg of harvest, after reaching 10 years of age and older, its average yield is 60 kg. Weight of fruit about 30 g.
4. AT. Korneevskaya- self-fertilized medium-ripening variety, well withstands frost and drought. Begins to bear fruit for 3-4 years. Fruits violet weighing up to 35 g. Trees give abundant harvests: already at the age of 6 they can make up 30 kg.

Karlishev's Renoblod

Early high-yielding variety, fruit weight about 40 g. The stone easily separates from the pulp. The crown of the tree is dense, requiring regular pruning.

Prune Adighe

Medium-late self-fertilized varietywith abundant, but periodic fruiting. Resistant to frost, drought, fungal diseases. The average weight of fruits is 40 g.

Blue bird

Mid-ripening with abundant and regular fruiting. The first fruits appear already for 2-3 years of growing the seedling. The average weight of fruits is 45 g, they have excellent taste qualities and are easily separable bone.

Trees are self-fertilized, resistant to cold and disease.

Izyum-erik

Crimean mid-late plum variety. Trees require planting near varieties of pollinators. Bring abundant harvests, at the age of 20 years - from 115 kg. Fruiting begins from 7 - 8th year from the moment of planting.

The size of the fruit is small, the shape is elongated pear-shaped, the average mass is, g. Trees are resistant to drought, they grow better on fertile water-permeable soil.

How to Dry Prunes Properly

Prunes are prepared from well ripened fruits, accumulated a maximum of sugar and nutrients. The optimal degree of maturity is the fruit that fell from the tree.

At selection for drying it is necessary to reject rotten, wormy, having damages of plum.

The process of preparation of prunes has its own characteristics. One drying of the plum of the required quality of the product can not be achieved.

In this case, the fruit will lose its juice, their flesh will become excessively hard, and the peel will not be black, but brown.

To obtain the desired productspecial preparation of berries is necessary, its stages:

1. Storage of drying drains is carried out in baskets, located in the covered areas. The maximum number of fruit placed in them should not exceed 16 kg. In this form, the fruit can be stored for up to 3 days to avoid deterioration of the plum under the influence of fermentation processes.
2. Before starting dryingthe fruits are washed thoroughlyuntil the water obtained after rinsing them becomes completely pure.
3. ThenThe plum is sorted, separating the large from the shallow, with subsequent rejection of berries, not suitable for drying.
4. Selected fruit againWash and blanch in hot water. This allows them to soften their tissues, remove the air contained in them and lead to the expansion of plum cells. In the process of blanching, oxidation elements are destroyed, with almost complete preservation of vitamins and other valuable substances.
5. To remove waxy plaque from the surfacethey are lowered for 15-20 seconds in 1% of the potassium caustic soda. At home, it is difficult to completely wash off the remains of soda from the fruit, so it is better to replace it with potash.
6. Cooling plums, and a lot of cracks are formed on their surface. They provide a slow release of moisture from the fruit, preventing skin rupture with a rapid loss of all juice, which will prevent the receipt of real prunes.

How to make prunes:

For this purpose, in production conditions,multi-tier drying cabinets or tunnel (channel) dryers.

Initially, the fruit is slightly wilted at 40-50 ° C for 3-5 hours, so that they do not burst. Then the temperature is raised and dried until the dried fruit is obtained with the required condition.

At this stage, the biochemical processes take place in the tissues of the fruits, ensuring the purchase of prunes characteristic for it with prunes.

Drying plums at home

When self-made prunesshould follow the rules of preparation and drying of plums as much as possible.

In the absence of special drying equipment, you can use an ordinary oven or dry fruit outdoors.

At home, you can dry the plums in two ways:

1. Uniformly spreading the fruits in one layer on plywood sheets or other suitable surface locatedunder the direct rays of the sun. Plums need to be turned from one side to the other to avoid the appearance of mold on them. After 5 days of drying in the sun, the fruits are transferred to the shade for final drying.
2. In ovensThe first 4 hours of juice-filled berries are kept at 45 ° C, then turning off the heat to cool the fruit for 4 hours. In the next drying step having the same duration, the temperature is raised to 60 ° C, followed by cooling. The third stage lasts from 8 to 10 hours. The drying temperature during it rises to 75 ° C. When the process is left for 3-5 minutes, you can raise the temperature to 100 ° C to give the dried fruit surface a beautiful sheen.

The prunes that have reached their readyness have a soft structure, its fabrics contain a certain amount of juice, which ensures their elasticity. But at the same time, the moisture from the dried fruit does not appear even when it is squeezed using a considerable effort.

It is used as a compound ingredient in various culinary dishes, for the preparation of sweets and confectionery.

The use of prunes prevents the development of bacteriaand can be used to prevent caries and inflammatory diseases of the gums.

It improves the digestive tract, normalizes blood pressure, strengthens the nervous system.

How to cook prunes at home: