Pitted Prunes

History

The plum, a particularly ancient fruit introduced to Europe about 20,000 years ago, is native to Eurasia and North America. The first evidence of its presence in Italy dates back to the first century CE, when Pliny The Elder, a Roman writer, admiral and naturalist, cited it in his “Naturalis Historia”. It was the Ancient Greeks and Romans who first introduced the plum, via the Silk Road, to the Mediterranean world around 150 BCE.

The Romans planted several varieties of plum trees (including the Saint Antonin variety, also called the Maurine, which produces a small dry blue plum that is small in size but which is undoubtedly the oldest and most widespread) in Gaul, in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonense, which extended as far as the modern-day Quercy, near Agen.

Later the Knights of the First Crusade brought them all over Europe around 1200 A.D.: first in France, then in Germany, and finally in other regions. In the twelfth century, upon their return from the Third Crusade, the Benedictine monks of Clairac Abbey in the Lot valley (between Agen and Villeneuve) struck upon the idea of grafting the new Damas plums they had brought from Syria onto local varieties.

A new variety was created, called Prune d’Ente (from the French ‘enter’ meaning ‘graft’). When gold fever hit California, many emigrated to the young American state to seek their fortune. As well as gold, they found fertile valleys that helped to realize the pioneers' dreams. Louis Pellier, a French winemaker, purchased land near Mission San Jose in 1850, giving it the name “Pellier's Gardens”. Here he planted his first orchard, grafting the Petite d'Agen variety — one of the most valuable anywhere and originating from his native France — onto on the local wild plum.

In doing so, he gave birth to the world's largest area of plum cultivation, in which California still leads today. The plum also plays a leading role in one of the twelve classic volumes of the botanical literature by Luther Burbank, the most famous American pomologist, titled “Small Fruits”, where, in volume IV, he talks about the European plum, Prunus domestica, and its native ancestor from the Caucasus Mountains, near the Caspian Sea.

Burbank proved that the plum was considered a staple food by Tatars, Mongols, Turks and Huns. Today, it is grown all over the world. In Italy, it is found mainly in Emilia-Romagna and Campania but orchards in some areas of Trentino (Dro-Basso Sarca) is worthy of being mentioned.

Source:

Nutspaper, 1/2018

Properties

According to our analyses, 100 g of pitted prunes contain:

• Potassium (384 mg — 19% of NRV)
• Vitamin K (26 µg— 35% of NRV)
• Fibre (8.4 g)

Dose recommendations

Each pack of 1 kg of pitted prunes contains about 34 servings of 30 g. The beneficial effect of Vitamin K is obtained through a daily intake of approximately 43 g of product.

Individual needs will vary according to age, gender, weight and physical activity. A varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are the basis of your well-being.

Please note: Pitting is carried out via an automated process and so some fruit may occasionally contain whole or partial pits.

Affordable price

Affordable price means to us offering our clients pitted prunes with no added sugar - containing only natural sugar - that everybody can enjoy.

On one hand, we want to place the right value on raw materials in order to obtain a quality product by paying our farmers a fair price; on the other hand, we want to fulfil your needs when it comes to pricing.

We establish fair long-term relationships with our producers to avoid race-to-the-bottom pricing and that are based on trust as part of our efforts to offer you the finest and most natural product.

Not only that: by choosing large packs of pitted prunes, you are also contributing to the reduction in the use of plastic.

Storage

You can store pitted prunes in cool, dry places away from heat and moisture. Here are 4 useful tips:

• The best way to store pitted prunes is in a refrigerated environment. Nuturally Pitted prunes can also be stored at room temperature during the winter season due to low temperatures. During summer, however, it is advisable to store the product in the refrigerator or in the coolest possible environment as increased temperatures could encourage decay.
• The ideal container for the storage of pitted prunes is glass. Indeed, because of its composition it is impervious to chemical agents and gases, and, as it has excellent insulation properties, it holds the initial temperature for longer than other materials. It is even better if the glass is coloured: using coloured glass blocks the entry of certain wavelengths of light (including ultraviolet), and thus certain nutritional and organoleptic characteristics remain unaltered.
• The type of closure of the container is also important as an airtight cap ensures that the food is protected from excessive contact with oxygen, that is fundamental for aerobic bacteria.
• The best kind of storage environment is one which is well ventilated because ventilating the premises keeps internal humidity under control, which otherwise could escape from windows, thereby guaranteeing the right balance to lessen the onset of mould.