Drying Plums And Prunes
Categories:
Fruit Growing
I have plum trees of various kinds that are loaded with fruit. I do not
know if any are of the variety used for drying as prunes: I know nothing
of the process of making or drying prunes. One man suggests that I dip
them for four or live minutes in a 3 or 4 per cent solution of lye and
then place them in the sun.
Dipping your plums is right providing they are very sweet, as they will
dry like prunes without removing the pit. If they are plums that are
commercially used for shipping, without enough sugar to dry as prunes,
the pit must be removed. Drying in this way, you do not need to use lye,
which is simply for the purpose of cracking the skin so that the
moisture can be more readily evaporated. There is no danger in using the
necessary amount of lye. Less is used than in making hominy.