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37-525: A prune is a dried plum , most commonly from the European plum ( Prunus domestica ) tree. Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. A prune is the firm-fleshed fruit (plum) of Prunus domestica varieties that have a high soluble solids content, and do not ferment during drying . Use of the term "prune" for fresh plums is obsolete except when applied to varieties of plum grown for drying. Most prunes are freestone cultivars (the pit
74-506: A 2012 review by the European Food Safety Authority . The report also demonstrated that prunes effectively contribute to the maintenance of normal bowel function in the general population if consumed in quantities of at least 100 grams (3.5 oz) per day. Prunes are 31% water, 64% carbohydrates , including 7% dietary fiber, 2% protein , and less than 1% fat . Prunes are a moderate source of vitamin K (57% of
111-415: A cider-like alcoholic beverage known as plum jerkum is made from plums. Dried, salted plums are used as a snack, sometimes known as saladito or salao . Various flavors of dried plum are available at Chinese grocers and specialty stores worldwide. They tend to be much drier than the standard prune. Cream, ginseng , spicy, and salty are among the common varieties. Licorice is generally used to intensify
148-727: A distinct subgenus by some authors In certain parts of the world, some fruits are called plums and are quite different from fruits known as plums in Europe or the Americas. For example, marian plums are popular in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, otherwise also known as gandaria , plum mango , ma-praang , ma-yong , ramania , kundang , rembunia or setar . Another example is the loquat , also known as Japanese plum and Japanese medlar, as well as nispero , bibassier and wollmispel elsewhere. In South Asia and Southeast Asia, Jambul ,
185-513: A diverse group of species, with trees reaching a height of 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) when pruned. The fruit is a drupe , with a firm and juicy flesh. China is the largest producer of plums, followed by Romania and Serbia . Japanese or Chinese plums dominate the fresh fruit market, while European plums are also common in some regions. Plums can be eaten fresh, dried to make prunes, used in jams , or fermented into wine and distilled into brandy . Plum kernels contain cyanogenic glycosides , but
222-481: A fruit from tropical tree in family Myrtaceae , is similarly sometimes referred to 'damson plums', and it is different from damson plums found in Europe and Americas. Jambul is also called as Java plum , Malabar plum , Jaman , Jamun , Jamblang , Jiwat , Salam , Duhat , Koeli , Jambuláo or Koriang . Drupe In botany , a drupe (or stone fruit ) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp , or skin, and mesocarp , or flesh) surrounds
259-467: A fruit having the structure and texture of a drupe, but which does not precisely fit the definition of a drupe. The boundary between a drupe and a berry is not always clear. Thus, some sources describe the fruit of species from the genus Persea , which includes the avocado , as a drupe, others describe avocado fruit as a berry. One definition of berry requires the endocarp to be less than 2 mm ( 3 ⁄ 32 in) thick, other fruits with
296-436: A loanword from an unknown language of Asia Minor . In the late 18th century, the word plum was used to indicate "something sweet or agreeable", probably in reference to tasty fruit pieces in desserts , as in the word sugar-plum. Plums are a diverse group of species. The commercially important plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) height. The tree is of medium hardiness. Without pruning,
333-435: A natural waxy surface that adheres to the flesh. The plum is a drupe , meaning its fleshy fruit surrounds a single hard fruitstone which encloses the fruit's seed. Japanese or Chinese plums are large and juicy with a long shelf life and therefore dominate the fresh fruit market. They are usually clingstone and not suitable for making prunes. They are cultivars of Prunus salicina or its hybrids. The cultivars developed in
370-431: A single shell (the pip (UK), pit (US), stone , or pyrena ) of hardened endocarp with a seed ( kernel ) inside. Drupes do not split open to release the seed, i.e., they are indehiscent . These fruits usually develop from a single carpel , and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries ( polypyrenous drupes are exceptions). The definitive characteristic of a drupe is that the hard, woody ( lignified ) stone
407-420: A stony endocarp being drupes. In marginal cases, terms such as drupaceous or drupe-like may be used. The term stone fruit (also stonefruit ) can be a synonym for drupe or, more typically, it can mean just the fruit of the genus Prunus . Freestone refers to a drupe having a stone which can be removed from the flesh with ease. The flesh is not attached to the stone and does not need to be cut to free
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#1732772729578444-714: Is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus . Dried plums are often called prunes , though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are likely to have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans, with origins in East European and Caucasian mountains and China . They were brought to Britain from Asia, and their cultivation has been documented in Andalusia , southern Spain . Plums are
481-465: Is also widely cultivated. In Russia, apart from these three commonly cultivated species, there are also many cultivars resulting from hybridization between Japanese plum and myrobalan plum, known as Russian plum ( Prunus × rossica ). When it flowers in the early spring, a plum tree will be covered in blossoms , and in a good year approximately 50% of the flowers will be pollinated and become plums. Flowering starts after 80 growing degree days . If
518-418: Is derived from the ovary wall of the flower . In an aggregate fruit , which is composed of small, individual drupes (such as a raspberry ), each individual is termed a drupelet , and may together form an aggregate fruit. Such fruits are often termed berries , although botanists use a different definition of berry . Other fleshy fruits may have a stony enclosure that comes from the seed coat surrounding
555-479: Is easy to remove), whereas most plums grown for fresh consumption are clingstone (the pit is more difficult to remove). Prunes are 64% carbohydrates, including dietary fiber , 2% protein, a rich source of vitamin K , and a moderate source of B vitamins and dietary minerals . The sorbitol content of dietary fiber likely provides the laxative effect associated with consuming prunes. More than 1,000 plum cultivars are grown for drying. The main cultivar grown in
592-431: Is known as scarification . Typical drupes include apricots , olives , loquat , peaches , plums , cherries , mangoes , pecans , and amlas (Indian gooseberries). Other examples include sloe ( Prunus spinosa ) and ivy ( Hedera helix ). The coconut is also a drupe, but the mesocarp is fibrous or dry (termed a husk ), so this type of fruit is classified as a simple dry, fibrous drupe. Unlike other drupes,
629-533: Is recorded in medieval monasteries in England. A garden with 'ploumes' and 'bulaces' is referred to by Chaucer. The cultivation of plums increased during the 17th and 18th centuries. During this period greengages were given their English name and the Mirabelle plum became firmly established. Advances in the development of new varieties in England were made by Thomas Rivers . Two examples of River's work are
666-590: The Daily Value , DV) and a moderate source of several B vitamins and dietary minerals (4–16% DV). Prunes and prune juice contain phytochemicals , including phenolic compounds (mainly as neochlorogenic acids and chlorogenic acids ) and sorbitol . Prunes are used in preparing both sweet and savory dishes . Contrary to the name, boiled plums or prunes are not used to make sugar plums , which instead may be nuts, seeds, or spices coated with hard sugar, also called comfits . Plum A plum
703-469: The Food and Drug Administration to call prunes "dried plums". Due to a perception that prunes relieve constipation (perceived as derogatory ), some distributors stopped using the word "prune" on packaging labels in favor of "dried plums". Prunes contain dietary fiber (about 7% of weight) which may provide laxative effects. Their sorbitol content may also be responsible for this, a conclusion reached in
740-565: The US are mostly hybrids of P. salicina with P. simonii and P. cerasifera . Although these cultivars are often called Japanese plums, two of the three parents ( P. salicina and P. simonii ) originated from China and one ( P. cerasifera ) from Eurasia. In some parts of Europe, European plum ( Prunus domestica ) is also common in fresh fruit market. It has both dessert (eating) or culinary (cooking) cultivars , which include: In West Asia, myrobalan plum or cherry plum ( Prunus cerasifera )
777-420: The United States is the 'Improved French' prune. Other varieties include 'Sutter', 'Tulare Giant', 'Moyer', 'Imperial', 'Italian', and greengages . Fresh prunes reach the market earlier than fresh plums and are usually smaller in size. The great majority of commercially grown prune varieties are self-fertile and do not need separate pollinator trees. In 2001, plum growers in the United States were authorized by
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#1732772729578814-459: The attention of animals as a food , and the plant population benefits from the resulting dispersal of its seeds . The endocarp (pit or stone) is sometimes dropped after the fleshy part is eaten, but is often swallowed, passing through the digestive tract , and returned to the soil in feces with the seed inside unharmed. This passage through the digestive tract can reduce the thickness of the endocarp, thus can aid in germination rates. The process
851-558: The coconut seed is so large that it is unlikely to be dispersed by being swallowed by fauna , but it can float extremely long distances—across oceans. Bramble fruits such as the blackberry and the raspberry are aggregates of drupelets. The fruit of blackberries and raspberries comes from a single flower whose pistil is made up of a number of free carpels. However, mulberries , which closely resemble blackberries, are not aggregate fruit, but are multiple fruits , actually derived from bunches of catkins , each drupelet thus belonging to
888-466: The flavor of these plums and is used to make salty plum drinks and toppings for shaved ice or baobing . Pickled plums are another type of preserve available in Asia and international specialty stores. The Japanese variety, called umeboshi , is often used for rice balls, called onigiri or omusubi . The ume , from which umeboshi are made, is more closely related, however, to the apricot than to
925-416: The fruit will no longer be edible. Plum is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera , including November moth , willow beauty and short-cloaked moth . The taste of the plum fruit ranges from sweet to tart; the skin itself may be particularly tart. It is juicy and can be eaten fresh or used in jam -making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine . In central England,
962-727: The hexaploid European plum ( Prunus domestica ) and the diploid Japanese plum ( Prunus salicina and hybrids), are of worldwide commercial significance. The origin of P. domestica is uncertain but may have involved P. cerasifera and possibly P. spinosa as ancestors. Other species of plum variously originated in Europe, Asia and America. Sect. Prunus ( Old World plums) – leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers 1–3 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed Sect. Prunocerasus ( New World plums) – leaves in bud folded inwards; flowers 3–5 together; fruit smooth, often wax-bloomed Sect. Armeniaca ( apricots ) – leaves in bud rolled inwards; flowers very short-stalked; fruit velvety; treated as
999-412: The oil made from them is not commercially available. In terms of nutrition , raw plums are 87% water, 11% carbohydrates , 1% protein, and less than 1% fat. They are a moderate source of vitamin C but do not contain significant amounts of other micronutrients . Plums are likely to have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found in
1036-524: The plum production is used to create a similar brandy, called țuică . As with many other members of the rose family , plum kernels contain cyanogenic glycosides , including amygdalin . Prune kernel oil is made from the fleshy inner part of the pit of the plum. Though not available commercially, the wood of plum trees is used by hobbyists and other private woodworkers for musical instruments, knife handles, inlays, and similar small projects. In 2019, global production of plums (data combined with sloes )
1073-644: The plum. In the Balkans , plum is converted into an alcoholic drink named slivovitz (plum brandy, called in Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin or Serbian šljivovica ). A large number of plums, of the Damson variety, are also grown in Hungary, where they are called szilva and are used to make lekvar (a plum paste jam), palinka (traditional fruit brandy), plum dumplings, and other foods. In Romania, 80% of
1110-399: The seed, but such fruits are not drupes. Flowering plants that produce drupes include coffee , jujube , mango , olive , most palms (including açaí , date , sabal and oil palms ), pistachio , white sapote , cashew , and all members of the genus Prunus , including the almond , apricot , cherry , damson , peach , nectarine , and plum . The term drupaceous is applied to
1147-642: The stone and must be cut to free the stone. Clingstone varieties of fruits in the genus Prunus are preferred as table fruit and for jams, because the flesh of clingstone fruits tends to be more tender and juicy throughout. Tryma is a specialized term for such nut -like drupes that are difficult to categorize. Hickory nuts ( Carya ) and walnuts ( Juglans ) in the Juglandaceae family grow within an outer husk; these fruits are technically drupes or drupaceous nuts, thus are not true botanical nuts . Many drupes, with their sweet, fleshy outer layer, attract
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1184-419: The stone. Freestone varieties of fruits are preferred for uses that require careful removal of the stone, especially if removal will be done by hand. Freestone plums are preferred for making homegrown prunes , and freestone sour cherries are preferred for making pies and cherry soup . Clingstone refers to a drupe having a stone which cannot be easily removed from the flesh. The flesh is attached strongly to
1221-530: The trees can reach 12 metres (39 ft) in height and spread across 10 metres (33 ft). They blossom in different months in different parts of the world; for example, in about January in Taiwan and early April in the United Kingdom. Fruits are usually of medium size, between 2–7 centimetres (0.79–2.76 in) in diameter, globose to oval. The flesh is firm and juicy. The fruit's peel is smooth, with
1258-477: The varieties Early Rivers and Czar. Both are still esteemed. The fame of the Victoria plum , first sold in 1844, has been put down to good marketing rather than any inherent quality. The name plum derived from Old English plume "plum, plum tree", borrowed from Germanic or Middle Dutch , derived from Latin prūnum and ultimately from Ancient Greek προῦμνον proumnon , itself believed to be
1295-400: The weather is too dry, the plums will not develop past a certain stage, but will fall from the tree while still tiny, green buds, and if it is unseasonably wet or if the plums are not harvested as soon as they are ripe, the fruit may develop a fungal condition called brown rot . Brown rot is not toxic, and some affected areas can be cut out of the fruit, but unless the rot is caught immediately,
1332-773: The wild, only around human settlements: Prunus domestica has been traced to East European and Caucasian mountains, while Prunus salicina and Prunus simonii originated in China. Plum remains have been found in Neolithic age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs. According to Ken Albala , plums originated in Iran . They were brought to Britain from Asia. An article on plum tree cultivation in Andalusia (southern Spain) appears in Ibn al-'Awwam 's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture . Plum cultivation
1369-740: Was 12.6 million tonnes , led by China with 56% of the world total (table). Romania and Serbia were secondary producers. Raw plums are 87% water, 11% carbohydrates , 1% protein , and less than 1% fat (table). In a 100-gram ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -ounce) reference serving, raw plums supply 192 kilojoules (46 kilocalories) of food energy and are a moderate source only of vitamin C (12% Daily Value ), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table). The numerous species of Prunus subg. Prunus are classified into many sections, but not all of them are called plums. Plums include species of sect. Prunus and sect. Prunocerasus , as well as P. mume of sect. Armeniaca . Only two plum species,
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