In a recent initiative to bring a renewed spark to the historically unglamorous prune, Sunsweet, along with the prune growers of America have re-dubbed this oft-maligned dried fruit as: “dried plums.”

I, for one, have always enjoyed the prune, regardless of any connotations to “regularity” and geriatrics it may carry.

I mean, they’re chewy, moist and mainly, they’re really sweet. What’s not to like? I have never understood the commonly held distaste for prunes and raisins (or shall I say “dried grapes?), an aversion that seems not to exist for their dried fruit brethren, such as apricots, apples and mangoes. Perhaps it’s a visual thing? Dark and wrinkly = bad? Me, I’ve always been more stimulated through my palate than through my eyeballs (a quality that allowed me to begin a life-long romance with canned smoked oysters at the tender age of nine, by the way).

In any case, when asked to review this newly introduced individually-wrapped prunes/dried plums, I thought: “Hey, free prunes. Why not?” No need to twist my arm.

Although I hate to encourage excessive packaging, I do like the idea of being able to throw a couple-few of these in my bag or glove compartment to munch alongside my toasted almonds during moments of low blood sugar-induced road rage. These ones were as moist and sweet as any I’ve had, although while eating one, I realized I actually prefer an un-pitted prune; it’s nice to have a little something to suck on after the fruit is all gone. This, of course, is personal preference. Dried plums, it is very worth noting, carry TWICE the amount of anti-oxidants as raisins, which are already fairly high in anti-oxidants, themselves. The Sunsweet website provides a chart with which to compare the overall nutritional content of prunes vs. a variety of fresh fruits. For example, ounce for ounce:

Antioxidants: Apple 734 / Prune 2,428
Dietary fiber: Apple .7 grams / Prune 2 grams
Zinc: Apple .01mg / Prune .12mg zinc

The table also compares levels of calcium, copper, magneseum and various vitamins.

I wag the prune/dried plum flag only in the spirit of vindication. In other words, I have nothing to gain, financially, from its rising status. With that said, I’ll leave you with a final plug, this one taken straight from the Sunsweet website; “Move over fresh fruit, it’s time the once humble prune takes its rightful place as nature’s ultimate convenient and nutrient-packed snack.”

Apx $2.35 for 7oz (apx. 20 prunes)

Photo courtesy of sunsweet.com