Can someone tell me how prunes came to be so loathed in the States? Is it their association with (ahem) digestion? The elderly?
I love prunes, and they enjoy a far better reputation in France. The best come from Agen, in the southwest. Unlike the little pellets that are sold under the public relations motivated moniker of “dried plums” in the US, Agen prunes are tender and moist, the plum flesh concentrated to sticky gold.
Prunes loom large in some of my favorite Paris treats. There is the pruneaux ice cream at Le Bac à Glaces, soft and smooth with the natural invert sugar that the prunes lend. There is a strong baba à l’Armagnac at La Cerisaie with a prune so plumped with booze that it almost resembles a fresh plum. (Proving once again that what grows together goes together, prunes and Armagnac are a fantastic combination.)
And then there is the verrine de glace aux pruneaux caramelisée (I think I got that right) at Le Comptoir, ice cream and drunken prunes topped with a layer of créme brulée. I don’t care if it is served in a trendy glass. It is delicious.
I wanted to order it the other day, as a matter of fact, but the friend with whom I had committed to sharing dessert said “I’m not really big on prunes,” at which point I just shook my head and sighed.
So tell me, because I really don’t understand, what’s not to like about prunes?
Oh–you’re in prune heaven, lucky you! And I have no answer for you about the war on prunes. If you figure it out, I hope you’ll fill in all of us!
It is really odd that prunes get such a bad rap stateside, I love them. All those desserts are screaming out to me, especially that baba!
This is one more reason for liking the French.
Cheers from a fellow prune lover!
Glad to hear from a few fellow prune lovers. No one from the anti-prune brigade has spoken up, so the mystery remains.
I think you were correct when you connected the dots b/w prunes and digestion. It seems that the only time prunes were brought up in my house is when a person was having a particular health “problem”. Never mind the fact that they are quite delicious. And I do eat them even if I’m feeling good
But I do find them as they are in the States, a little too sweet. Maybe I need to explore prunes more when I get back to France? Perhaps I’ll lose that bad memory of my mother ordering me to eat a prune.
Prune lovers unite! I am so with you. It’s disappointing and frustrating the label that is attached to prunes in the States. What a PR coup some agency must have had years and years ago. The association worked (um, literally) and no one looked back. I remember trying to explain this to a group of French adults years ago, that I was almost embarrassed to admit liking prunes in the US, and they were absolutely flustered – simply couldn’t understand what I was saying.
Pruneaux d’Agen are truly a world away, I always stock up when I’m in France – love to add them to fruit salads. And cook them in tagines too. And I don’t think I’d mind having them in the desserts above either!!
PS – I assume you know (and love) D’Artagnan’s French Kisses, non? Prunes marinated in Armagnac and filled with foie gras mousse. Miam miam!
Kara: I can relate to that memory…
Kerrin: Uh, no I am not familiar with the French Kisses — not D’Artagnan’s, anyhow — but they have been put at the top of my “must try” list.
I love prunes! I think that most people haven’t even tried them and the don’t like them because maybe they don’t like the way they look?