Eating Smart : Don’t Laugh at Iron- and Fiber-Rich Prunes

Prunes are, sadly, often the butt (no pun intended) of a lot of bad jokes because they are known to have an often profound laxative effect.

Although this particular characteristic of prunes is thought to be due to their impressive fiber content (largely of the soluble type, which has also been linked to lowered blood cholesterol levels), even prune juice (which has very little fiber compared with the whole fruit) can give the same results. For many years scientists sought a mystery ingredient in prunes to explain this, but the search was fruitless (pun definitely intended). The best theory floating around these days is that prune sugars have some special quality that other fruit sugars do not possess in such large quantities.

Ounce for ounce, prunes do contain more fiber than dried beans and most other fruits and vegetables. And as if that weren’t enough reason to incorporate them into a healthy diet, prunes are also rich in beta carotene and are a good source of vitamins, nonheme iron (the iron that occurs in plants) and potassium.

It turns out that California grows nearly all of the domestic crop of prunes and about 70% of the world’s supply. Prunes are certain varieties of plums that have been allowed to fully ripen on the tree until they develop their maximum amount of sweetness. Then, once they are harvested, they are dried for up to 24 hours to remove most of the water. It can take 3 or 4 pounds of fresh plums to make 1 pound of prunes.

When you buy whole prunes in the store, you should look for a tightly sealed package. This ensures that the prunes are clean and moist. If you buy them in bulk, select the prunes carefully, looking for those that are slightly moist and still have some flexibility. Their skin should be a kind of bluish black with no blemishes. They can be stored in airtight containers in a cool, dry place for up to six months. In the refrigerator they’ll last about nine months and can be frozen for about a year.

Prunes with pits are cheaper than the pitted kind but time-consuming if you try to pit them yourself. One trick is to use kitchen scissors and dip the blades in warm water between cuts to keep them from getting too sticky. If you want to plump up prunes, simmer them in an equal amount of liquid (a cup of prunes in a cup of water, wine, juice or other liquid) for about eight minutes. If you use a microwave, put them in a dish, sprinkle with fruit juice, cover and cook at 100% power for about two minutes. Just be careful not to overcook them because they will get mushy.

Prune butter can be substituted for real butter or other fat in some baked goods and can help you cut the fat dramatically. Unfortunately, substituting all of the fat can leave you with kind of rubbery muffins and such, so it is a good idea to only replace about three-quarters of the fat with prune butter.

Prune butter is available commercially but you can easily make your own by combining 8 ounces of pitted prunes (about 1 1/3 cups) with a third of a cup of water in a food processor and blending until pureed. Store it in the refrigerator and use it within two weeks.

Prunes are also wonderful in cooking poultry, beef, lamb or pork and work well in slow-cooked stews (add during the last 15 minutes). You can cut them up and add them to breads and muffins, poultry stuffing, mashed potatoes or winter squashes. Try substituting them for raisins in a favorite recipe.

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Prune juice is a more concentrated form of nutrients than most other fruit juices. It is particularly high in iron (20% of the recommended daily allowance for women in a cup of juice). That same cup of juice also contains 473 milligrams of potassium (about the same as eight pitted prunes). The downside is that the very high sugar content makes prune juice high in calories (182 calories a cup compared with 110 calories in a cup of orange juice). Prune juice is so sweet that you can use it instead of sugar in sauces and over fruit salads.