Dehydrating Plums

For great prunes, start by dehydrating plums! It's funny how a lot of people don't know what prunes really are (dehydrated plums!) – but the cat is out of the bag now! :-)

Plums ... Posing as Prunes!

Plums are a great source of carbohydrates, and a decent amount of dietary fiber too and when dried as prunes, they are famous for their aid in our digestive-systems! Just eat two or three a day and you'll be f-i-n-e !

According to Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, from About.com Home Cooking, prunes have a bad rep with younger folk, and the prune industry got together and re-named the prunes — hence the name change from prunes to 'dried plums'!

Dehydrated plums make great for snacks, muffins, cookies, breads, and granola.

Plums Nutrition Info.

Plums are high in vitamin A, followed by and vitamin C, vitamin K, Folate, and Choline.

In the mineral department, plums are high in Potassium, followed by Phosphorus, Magnesium, Calcium, Fluoride, and a trace amount of Iron.

They also contain Omega-6 fatty acids too.

Dehydrating Plums is Easy for Tasty Prunes

Wash the fresh plums, slice in half, remove the pit, and pop the back* to expose more of its surface to the air. Slice into quarters if desired.
Place them on your food dehydrator trays with the cut-side up to prevent drips on the lower trays!
Turn on your dehydrator and set the temperature between 125°F and 135°F (or per your food dehydrator's instructions).

*NOTE:
"Pop the back" simply means to turn the fruit inside out after slicing in half, best done by using your thumb to push the skin side inwards.

Plums Are Ready:

Drying time: between 12-30 hours and the plums will be leathery in consistency when dried. See important notes from Beverly and Don, below.
Remember to rotate your food dehydrator trays, for even drying.

A Note from Beverly in Washington State:

Beverly, from Washington State, wanted to add this when she was dehydrating plums:
They dried way faster than stated above, which was 22-30 hours:
in 16 hours at 72% humidity and 135°F degrees, my prunes/plums were almost
to the point of "brittle!" My plums were small ~ this is perhaps a factor as well.

I will shorten the drying time to 12 hours for the next batch.

A Note from Beverly
in Washington State:

Beverly, from Washington State,
wanted to add this when she
was dehydrating plums:
They dried way faster than stated
above, which was 22-30 hours:
in 16 hours at 72% humidity
and 135°F degrees,
my prunes/plums were almost
to the point of "brittle!"

My plums were small ~ this is
perhaps a factor as well.

I will shorten the drying time to
12 hours for the next batch.

Don Hendricks on Plum Trees:

NOTE: Don Hendricks posted this great information: My "plum" tree
is a Stanley Prune tree – although it is a variety of plum, it is an Italian PRUNE -
it's where prune juice comes from – not all varieties will dry into a prune!

Don Hendricks
on Plum Trees:

NOTE: Don Hendricks posted this
great information: My "plum" tree
is a Stanley Prune tree –
although it is a variety of plum,
it is an Italian PRUNE -
it's where prune juice comes from –
not all varieties will dry into a prune!