Prune

A dried plum, popular in French cuisine as a savory ingredient, usually with game, pork and pâtés; as a sweet filling for pastry; or as a preserve. Because North Americans think of prunes primarily as a digestive aid, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reclassified them in 2000 as "dried plums", so that the unglamorous connotation might fade and give the fruit's image and producers a boost. The marketing campaign also pointed out that prunes have the highest level of antioxidants of any fruit or vegetable.

Prunes come mostly from the Agen plum, a French variety, introduced to the U.S. by Pierre Pellier in 1856. The tree was named for a French district known for its prunes, and grafted successfully to the wild American plum. California boasts more than 80,000 acres (32,000 hectares) of prune plum orchards in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, which provide 70 percent of the world's supply. See also plum.

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