Prunes are made from which dried fruit?
And the answer: plums.
Put simply, a prune is a dried plum and a common snack around the world. Plums are the fruit of a tree from the Prunus family, which also includes cherries, peaches, apricots, and almonds.
Plums – and their dried counterpart, the prune – are impressively high in nutrients, making prunes and plums popular and healthy snacks across the world. Interestingly, though, prunes offer somewhat different health benefits due to the lack of water in their fruit. A plum’s high sugar content allows it to be dried without fermentation, so the drying process is about as simple as it gets: natural drying, sun drying, or dehydration. Not only do dried plums retain fiber from its original form, but it also contains more of a sugar called sorbitol than fresh plums. Sorbitol is an unfermentable sugar that increases our levels of helpful intestinal microorganisms, so basically prunes do a little bit more for us with a little bit less.
Though, that's not to say plums aren't doing anything for themselves. Plums are an excellent source of vitamins C, A, and K, while still containing some of that helpful fiber. Plums can relieve indigestion and provide antioxidant help for ailments like osteoporosis and diabetes – their low glycemic index can actually help control your blood sugar.
Fun fact!
The plum is the Serbian national fruit. In the Balkans – especially in Serbia – plums are converted into an alcoholic drink named slivovitz. Šljivovicais (the Serbian name) is the national drink of Serbia, and has been in domestic production for centuries.
