posted on July 11, 2001 09:32:44 PM new
There have been quite a few serious threads going today, so I thought I would start one not quite so serious, hope nobody minds...
I was just snacking on some "Ripe" olives and found myself wondering are they just green olives that have hung around on the tree longer, or are they a different variety all together?
Then, I thought is a prune a regular plum that has been left on the tree till it wrinkled or is it a different variety?
How about a date. I have only seen dried dates. Can you even buy fresh dates?
What variety of grapes does it take to make raisins?
posted on July 11, 2001 09:47:39 PM new
Maybe I'll get the chance to try a fresh date someday. I'll put that on my list of "to dos".
Now about the ripe olives. If the dark ones are ripe, then does that mean the green ones are not? So when you eat the green ones, your eating something that was not quite ready to pick?
posted on July 11, 2001 09:49:19 PM new
Well I can't tell you anything about olives except I do know they take years to grow. Prunes are dried plums.....but they do not let them dry out on the tree, that would make them rot. Dates are the absolute best when they are fresh,and I have know idea about the raisins, but I do know that they are dried grapes. LOL
posted on July 11, 2001 10:00:54 PM new
No matter how young a prune may be
He's always full of wrinkles
People get them on their face
Prunes get 'em every place.
Baby prunes, just like their Dad
Wrinkled but not quite so bad
Their life's an open book,
For no matter how young a prune may be
He has a worried look!
Now every day in every way
The world is getting better
As time goes passing by
We've even learned to fly.
But pity the case of the poor old Prune
Who's always left alone,
For no matter how young a Prune may be
He has a heart of stone.
(actually, there's more lyrics but I don't remember them right off the top of my head)
posted on July 11, 2001 10:16:19 PM new
I think they pick the plums and put them on drying racks or some kind, the same as they do with apricots. If they were left on the tree they would fall off and rot on the ground. Maybe there is some other process involved in the drying out of the prune I am not certain. They must dry them out somehow but then they need that prune juice that goes in the bag with them.....hmmm maybe they don't put them on a drying rack at all.
posted on July 11, 2001 10:26:08 PM new
Well now nettak you just said something reeealll interesting. Prune juice!
If a prune is a "dried out" plum, where does prune juice come from????
I would try and find this stuff on the "information highway", but to be perfectly honest, I am not very good at getting search engines to work for me! I don't seem to be able to even make a simple search!
So, I thought I would just use AW's ROUNDTABLE as my search engine!
Oops! called a plum a plumb!!!!
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Jul 11, 2001 10:41 PM ]
"Dried plum varieties can be dried without fermenting while still containing the pits. This is not true of all varieties of plums. The California dried plum is an offshoot of La Petite d'Agen, a native of Southwest France. At maturity, it has a royal purple outer skin and amber colored flesh. ...Other commercial varieties produced in California are Imperials, Robes de Sergeant, Sugar, and other varieties, all of which constitute less than one percent of the state's production."
edited for UBB
[ edited by bunnicula on Jul 11, 2001 10:28 PM ]
posted on July 12, 2001 04:53:17 AM new
I got curious about the olives since I like to eat the ripe ones too.
Here's some of what I found out...
Cultivation and Harvest
Olives destined for the canneries are picked when they are still green, but beginning to show a little color.
Curing
Olives, as they come from the tree, are too bitter to eat without some kind of curing. There are many different methods used around the world. In California, most olives become California black ripe olives. A few become specialty olives.
Black Ripe Olives
These olives are processed in a lye curing solution that leaches the bitterness out. California Ripe Olives have a firm texture and smooth, mellow taste. Once curing is complete, a series of cold water rinses removes every trace of curing solution. During the curing process, which takes several days, a flow of air bubbling through the olives produces the natural, rich dark color. A trace of organic iron salt (ferrous gluconate) is added to act as a color fixer so the olives will have less tendency to fade after the cans are stored.
Canning is the final step. Ripe olives are canned in a mild salt brine solution and, because they are a low-acid product, are heat sterilized under strict California State health rules.
To ensure consistent quality, color, flavor and texture all canned Ripe Olives packaged in California are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. California Ripe Olives come whole, pitted, sliced, chopped or wedged. They are readily available year round in the grocery store.
Care and Storage
California Ripe Olives are packed in a light brine solution, not only to bring out the flavor of the fruit, but also to protect them in transportation. The recommended shelf life for unopened cans is 36-48 months. They may be stored at room temperature.
Once opened, store unused California Ripe Olives in their original brine in the open can and cover with plastic wrap to allow oxygen to permeate. Do not store California Ripe Olives in an airtight container as harmful toxins may develop. If the original brine has been discarded, replace with a solution of one cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in order to keep the olives wet and free from external odors. Partially used cans of California Ripe Olives may be held in the refrigerator for up to ten days.
posted on July 12, 2001 07:44:53 AM new
I used to love knock-knocks myself..drove the rest of the family nuts! Yours is a very cute one! Thanks for the smile.
Now, I had no idea my ripe olives should be stored in the brine AND not be closed in an airtight container at risk of "harmful toxins" developing.
I'm probably so full of those "harmful toxins" from all my years of improper storing, not to mention the eating, that I ought to hang one of those funky yellow warning signs on my door!
"These olives are processed in a lye curing solution that leaches the bitterness out."
I think a lye curing soulution is how hominy is made too!
posted on July 13, 2001 11:52:35 PM new
I grew up in Napa, California and we had the grand oportunity of going out in the orchards in late June to 'pick prunes' to make money for summer spending or back-to-school. They were, of course, not YET prunes, but were recognizable as different from your supermarket plums. The variety I saw the most was Santa Rosa plums. They are blush purple/red on the outside and pretty much yellow inside. Not drippy, but I wouldn't say dry either. Very sweet! Yum yum!
Anyway, I HATED picking prunes, hated hated hated. I'd rather have my fingernails ripped out. You go out and it's son-of-a-gun HOT, often over 90 degrees (f.). You bring your own lunch and drinks so you know already you don't want what's in the sack. You're issued a wooden box the same size roughly as today's cardboard fruit boxes, holds about 30lbs. You get on your knees under a tree and start picking them up. It's called manual labor. Try it sometime. You pick as fast as you can or the rest of your crew will ask the foreman to put you somewhere else. Everyone dumps their box into a huge wooden crate like thing, about 5 feet high, and six feet square. Memory a little shaky here. I think we got $12.00 to fill the thing. That is split among the 6 or 8 folks in your crew. So you see how many you can fill before lunch. So help me, after you eat, no swimming or shopping or reading, you are expected to pick some more! I'm pretty sure all day long I only made about $12.00. And I know I lowered the average for my crew. I picked two days and realized I made better money babysitting at 50 cents an hour. The year? 1966 or 67.
That was the scene in Napa shortly before the stupid wine craze really got under way. As you drove through the little valley there were miles and miles of prune plums where there are now miles and miles of wine grapes. Should never plant so exclusively...... it spreads diseases that are common to that one produce from one spot right on down the valley, wind, feet, wheels, rodents, young plant transplants, everything is a source of contamination.
posted on July 13, 2001 11:56:15 PM new
ya know every time I hear someone say "I wish all those Mexicans.........(would go home/drop dead/etc etc etc) I speak up and ask them "and you'd do that work?"
posted on July 14, 2001 09:27:17 AM newimmykidsmom-Your "plum/prune" picking story sounds just like my "cotton picking" one! We had one farmer in our area that traditional used "kids" to pick his fields even though mechanical cotton pickers were becoming the "thing". His complaint about the early models were they left too much cotton behind and you still had to have pickers if you wanted to get all the cotton! So he just had all his cotton picked by hand. Anyway, since one of his fields was located just a short distance from where I lived at the time, I decided I was going to pick cotton to make me some money and buy myself a pair of "high heels"! My mom wouldn't buy them for me 'cause she thought I was too young. Those were the days!
Anyway, I showed up and was given this huge extremely long and heavy sack and told the pay was $10 per hundred pounds! I thought I was going to get rich! I picked and picked and picked and I dragged and tugged and pulled that sack along until I just knew I had 100 lbs! I dragged it to the weighing wagon and discovered I had less than 20lbs. They went ahead and emptied it for me and I went back to picking. Now, it was August, in south Texas, so our temps were well above 90! I noticed absolutely nobody was "talking" so I began to talk just to break up the tediousness of the job. I talked and talked and picked and picked and pulled and tugged until I was absolutely positive I had a 100. Nope, not even close! I was becoming very discouraged! After my third trip to the weigh wagon and my 50th trip to the water wagon, my "bossman" said to me "Girl, if you could pick cotton like you can run your mouth you'd make some money!" He then fussed a little more about me "bothering" the other pickers and mentioned I was taking a few too many trips to the water wagon. I was very embarrassed. My younger sister had decided to pick too and by mid-afternoon on the 3rd day, she had a heat stroke. It was really bad and the farmer decided I should stop too and he carried us both home and my Mom had to rush my sister into town to the doctor. She really was very ill. She was told-no more sun! The farmer decided maybe it wasn't such a good idea for me to come back either. When all was said and done, I had made just a tad over $12!
The next year the farmer had "mechanical pickers"!
Prunes are dried plums.....but they do not let them dry out on the tree, that would make them rot. 
Dates are the absolute best when they are fresh,and I have know idea about the raisins, but I do know that they are dried grapes. LOL 
[ edited by sulyn1950 on Jul 11, 2001 10:41 PM ]
[ edited by bunnicula on Jul 11, 2001 10:28 PM ]