North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Stephen Sadler" <Docshiva@Docshiva.org>]

Alan,

 

I don’t feel at all combative.  I’m a word guy.  I think to the general public prune means dried plum.  I think, as I said at first and all along, that some people also use it to mean fresh plums that can dry whole without fermenting.  I think such users commonly identify such plums by their shape and firmness.  You asked for references, and I sent them.  Like I said, I like words, and researching usage is pleasurable.

 

I believe our state produces more French prunes than Japanese plums, although I don’t think that’s linguistically relevant.  The growers of the two varieties of fresh crops call themselves prune or plum growers to differentiate themselves.  The products are priced and processed differently, and growers of each work with different coops, sellers, and processors. 

 

Hereabouts, I usually see fresh Japanese plums labeled plums or labeled by variety, and elongated European prune-plums called prunes or fresh prunes.  Most people commonly seem to call fresh plums of any type plums, and dried ones prunes.  I’m a little more aggie than most, and am one of the large minority that call fresh prunes prunes.

 

Wasn’t the question just whether the word prune is ever used to mean a fresh plum?  Clearly, it is.

 

~ Stephen

 

From: nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:nafex-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Alan Haigh
Sent: Sunday, September 21, 2008 9:00 AM
To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [NAFEX] prune definition

 

To Stephan and anyone else still interested in this discussion.

You misunderstand my intentions and assertions.  After you presented your dictionary definitions I did not question the correctness of those definitions just where the usage was being employed.  I never assumed that my belief that this usage was limited to the less knowledgeable public was correct, which is why I asked for input from other members.  I was obviously trying to communicate my own uncertainty.

I find your tone unnecessarily combative and can only assume that my original posting appeared the same to you for which I apologize.

As far as commercial growers in CA and how they use the word prune, I suspect that the reason for it is that the vast majority of their product has been used for drying.  If their product was primarily used fresh they might have a different usage.  California's fresh crop of plums is primarily Japanese types, I believe, so it is logical that their usage would evolve to this shorthand.  This is just a guess, and I welcome any contradictory information.  I don't have a lot of ego investment here.  Honest!