Stewed Prunes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and pick over the prunes, discarding any imperfect ones.
Soak the prunes overnight in cold water, using just enough to cover them.
Simmer
Place the prunes in a non-iron pot and simmer gently for three hours, keeping them covered. Do not let the prunes boil.
If desired, add sugar five minutes before removing from heat for extra sweetness.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Prunes
- Their natural sugars and soft flesh supply the sweetness and tender, spoonable texture of the finished dish.
The step that matters
Keep the prunes at a gentle simmer, never a boil. Boiling agitates the fruit hard, so the skins split and the flesh breaks down into mush. A gentle simmer softens the prunes slowly and keeps them whole and tender over the long cooking time.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.