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 pot over low heat and simmer for 3 hours, keeping them covered and never letting them boil.
Avoid using an iron pot.
If desired, add sugar 5 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
- Dried fruit that softens slowly during gentle cooking and gives the liquid its sweetness and flavour.
The step that matters
Keep the heat low and do not boil. Boiling makes the prune skins split and the fruit break apart. A gentle simmer softens the flesh while keeping the prunes whole.
“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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