Jamie, here's a funny story. When our kids were in their early teens, someone gave us a decent-size container of homemade fudge sauce. My wife and I liked to scrape out a spoonful after dinner. To prevent our kids from finding our stash, I labeled the container Prune Compote. It was effective for quite a while, until one decided to see exactly what "prune compote" was. We still make references to it 30 years later.
I suddenly got hungry for the leathery dried prunes in my fridge while reading this engaging account of the elegant pruneaux au vin of France and their rich and delicious history. It really is a far cry from the stewed prunes my dad ate so religiously every morning (for medicinal reasons!). I can only imagine how delicious they would be with ice cream, whipped cream or even pound cake! Thank for another excellent piece, Jamie!
My poor Mom used to tuck a box of prunes into my suitcase when I went on long visits with friends as a child! It was mortifying. One great benefit was I eventually developed a deep overriding love of prunes. Can’t wait to try! Amazing history!
Growing up I only heard about prunes from elderly relatives because they had "health" problems.
As an adult I worked in food service at a VA hospital. Prunes were served warm to patients with "health" problems. I finally tried some. Boy, was I surprised by how good they tasted. Granted they were just plain, but after reading your article I can't wait to try your recipe. Love reading your food history writing. Thank you for lessons and recipes.
Thank you once again, Jamie. Another fun culinary history tour and perhaps an explanation of why prunes, in some form or other were always somewhere in my father and his siblings daily diets.
I understood Daily prune consumption as a routine of his father handed down from his Spanish grandfather. My grandfather and all of his children lived to near or beyond 100, so perhaps there were some health benefits after all.
Unfortunately prunes were never so elegantly prepared as you described. Had they been, perhaps I would have continued the tradition.
Jamie — I just adore your writing style! You bring this knowledge out in full color and brevity to keep readers like me engaged in full. I have already planned on making Chicken Marbella this weekend and just bought my prunes yesterday for this. Having been a chef for the majority of my life, I love seeing how the sausage is made and I have literally seen this process from slaughter through to casing and cooking. The proverbial sausage with this, for me, is the medieval cooking of plums — oven specs, pan and utensil specs, fire (wood types, amounts, etc.), time and just the kitchen generalities involved. I’ll google it. Thanks for the article!
Jamie, here's a funny story. When our kids were in their early teens, someone gave us a decent-size container of homemade fudge sauce. My wife and I liked to scrape out a spoonful after dinner. To prevent our kids from finding our stash, I labeled the container Prune Compote. It was effective for quite a while, until one decided to see exactly what "prune compote" was. We still make references to it 30 years later.
I suddenly got hungry for the leathery dried prunes in my fridge while reading this engaging account of the elegant pruneaux au vin of France and their rich and delicious history. It really is a far cry from the stewed prunes my dad ate so religiously every morning (for medicinal reasons!). I can only imagine how delicious they would be with ice cream, whipped cream or even pound cake! Thank for another excellent piece, Jamie!
My poor Mom used to tuck a box of prunes into my suitcase when I went on long visits with friends as a child! It was mortifying. One great benefit was I eventually developed a deep overriding love of prunes. Can’t wait to try! Amazing history!
This is lovely though, to be fair, the less I'm reminded of my dad's stewed prunes the better.
Growing up I only heard about prunes from elderly relatives because they had "health" problems.
As an adult I worked in food service at a VA hospital. Prunes were served warm to patients with "health" problems. I finally tried some. Boy, was I surprised by how good they tasted. Granted they were just plain, but after reading your article I can't wait to try your recipe. Love reading your food history writing. Thank you for lessons and recipes.
Thank you once again, Jamie. Another fun culinary history tour and perhaps an explanation of why prunes, in some form or other were always somewhere in my father and his siblings daily diets.
I understood Daily prune consumption as a routine of his father handed down from his Spanish grandfather. My grandfather and all of his children lived to near or beyond 100, so perhaps there were some health benefits after all.
Unfortunately prunes were never so elegantly prepared as you described. Had they been, perhaps I would have continued the tradition.
Jamie — I just adore your writing style! You bring this knowledge out in full color and brevity to keep readers like me engaged in full. I have already planned on making Chicken Marbella this weekend and just bought my prunes yesterday for this. Having been a chef for the majority of my life, I love seeing how the sausage is made and I have literally seen this process from slaughter through to casing and cooking. The proverbial sausage with this, for me, is the medieval cooking of plums — oven specs, pan and utensil specs, fire (wood types, amounts, etc.), time and just the kitchen generalities involved. I’ll google it. Thanks for the article!
Now I'd like you to write about the Prunes of Tomorrow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5NxG_rr5aU&t=2s