Stewed Pruneaux De Tours, or Tours Dried Plums
Ingredients
Directions
Place 1 lb. dried plums in a pot with 1/2 pint water and 1/2 pint light claret (or 1/4 pint water and 1/4 pint port wine).
Bring to a simmer and cook until the plums are at least half-done.
Add 4 oz. sugar to the pot.
Continue simmering until the plums are tender, about 1½ hours (or 2 hours or more if sugar was added).
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Dried plums (in the method)
- Provide the main fruit, which softens and becomes tender during slow simmering.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps sweeten the syrup that forms as the plums cook.
- Claret or port wine (in the method)
- Adds aroma and flavour to the cooking liquid, with a light acidity and depth.
The step that matters
Adding sugar after the plums are half-done. Sugar added early can toughen the fruit skins and slow softening, so the plums are added to the pot only after they have partly cooked. Simmering gently, rather than boiling hard, keeps the plums intact while they soften.
“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.
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