Difference Between Prune and Plum (With Table)

As a dietary source, fruits contain lots of carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Fruits are always good for health and provide lots of energy to fight common diseases. For this reason, mankind had domesticated fruit plants before grains. According to various historic findings, plum fruit was one of the first plants that humans domesticated for harvesting.

Fruits also contain nutrients properties when dried. Many people often interchanged the words prune and plum. These two words are not the same and there are lots of differences between these two things.

Prune vs Plum

The difference between Prune and Plum is that the prune is a dehydrated European plum fruit that contains lots of vitamin B1, B2, B6, K, and dietary minerals and used for sweet & savoury dish preparation, while the plum is a fresh fruit that belongs to the Rosaceae family group which is enriched with vitamin C and often used for raw consumption.

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Parameter of Comparison	Prune	Plum
What is it	Dehydrated European plum fruit.	A fresh fruit that belongs to the Rosaceae family group.
Types	Dried prune plums, Dried Mirabelle, and Sour prunes.	cherry plum, Japanese bush cherry, Italian plum, Chinese plum, American plum, Black plum, Flatwoods plum, etc.
Texture	Parched and rubbery.	Squashy and luscious.
Commonly used for	Sweet and savoury dish preparation.	Raw consumption.
Calorie	300 calories/100 gm.	46 calories/100 gm.
Nutrients	A Large amount of vitamin B1, B2, B6, K, and dietary minerals.	Enriched with vitamin C.

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The dehydrated fruit of Prunus domestica (European plum) is called prune. Unlike fresh plum fruit which is used for raw consumption, prunes come from freestone cultivars. The benefit of using freestone cultivars is that the seed can be easily removed before the dehydrating process begins. Currently, the United States is the largest producer of prune.

Due to dehydration, the texture of prune becomes chewy and sticky. Also, it tastes sweeter than fresh plum fruits. Prunes contain enormous health benefits. Around 7% of its weight contains dietary fiber. For this reason, it provides laxative effects to the stomach. Every 100 grams of prune contains around 300 calories energy.

Various scientific journals have established the fact that prunes effectively helps normal bowel function in those patients who suffer from constipation. Prunes also contain a large amount of vitamin B1, B2, B6, K, and dietary minerals.

Commonly there are three types of prunes available in the market, these are dried prune plums, Dried Mirabelle, and Sour prunes. Most of the time prunes are used in sweet and savoury dish preparation. The shelf life of prunes is long. With proper packaging they last years. For this reason, they remain available in the market all the time.

It is a fresh fruit that belongs to the Rosaceae family group. The shape of this fruit is a roundish oval shape, and the size of this fruit remains in between 2 to 7 centimetres. Generally, this group of fruits grows on medium-sized trees. Farmers often trim these trees and keep their height in between 5 to 6 meters long.

Many scientists believe it is one of the first fruit plants that human species domesticated. However, the origin of this fruit plant is a debatable subject in the scientific community. Early species of this plant can be found in East European and Caucasian mountains, Iran, and the eastern part of Asia.

When a plum fruit matures it develops a waxy coating around it. It is a natural defence mechanism against insects. The centre of this fruit contains a heart pit which is the seed of this fruit. There is a soft edible fruit flesh surrounds this heart pit. A thin skin membrane surrounds the outer layer of the fruit. The texture of this fruit is soft and juicy and sweet.

In the world there are many varieties of plum fruits are available. Some of these common verities are cherry plum, Japanese bush cherry, Italian plum, Chinese plum, American plum, Black plum, Flatwoods plum, etc.

Plum fruits are also a great source of nutrients. Most plum fruits contain around 87% water and 11% carbohydrates. The containment of fat and protein is less than 2%. It is also enriched with vitamin C. 100 grams of plum fruits contain only 46 calories energy.

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Both prune and plum taste great. Many people love sweet & sour dishes made by prunes and many people prefer to eat plum raw. Both of them contain a high level of vitamins and minerals and provide lots of dietary benefits. Vitamin C enriched plum fruit builds immunity against common diseases like flue and low blood pressure, while prunes deliver good results against hypertension, cholesterol, and constipation problems.

Due to dehydrated properties, the shelf life of prunes is long and in the market, it is available throughout the year. However, plum is fresh fruit and its shelf life is very short. For this reason, it is a seasonal fruit.

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References

1. https://www.sid.ir/en/journal/ViewPaper.aspx?id=210509
2. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf034858u

Last update on 2021-12-05 / Amazon Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API