Mendoza prunes are sun-ripened, juicy plums that have been oven -dried to remove some of the water. They contain the same vitamins, minerals and fiber as the fresh plums with the added bonus of convenience and year -round availability.

By definition, a prune is a dried plum. All prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes. Prune plum varieties can be dried without fermenting while still containing the pits. This is not true of all varieties of plums. The Mendoza prune is an offshoot of La Petite d'Agen, a plum native of Southwest France.

A prune tree starts to bear fruit four to six years after planting and reaches its full production capacity sometime between its eighth and twelfth year in the ground. Trees will then continue to bear fruit for about 30 years.

The prune tree is deciduous and goes dormant during the winter months. At this time the grower prune each tree to regulate shape, control fruit size, and maintain a healthy growth pattern.

Blossoming usually occurs in the second to third week of September. By mid-February, the orchards are ready for harvesting, which generally lasts about 30 days. Harvest time for prune plums is full ripeness, since it is one of the few fruits allowed to fully ripen before they are picked for processing. Fruit firmness and natural sugar content determine the picking date.

Mendoza prune production is harvested by hand. and taken to our own dryers where it is washed, placed on  wooden trays and dehydrated. Then, we grade for size, inspect, and put the prunes into storage to await final processing and packaging.

Since prunes store best when their moisture content has been reduced to about 21%, they are dehydrated to this degree immediately after picking. This is what is generally referred to as a natural condition prune. They then remain in storage until they are needed for further processing. Our plant operates 50 weeks per year.

The only preservative used in processing prunes is potassium sorbate (the potassium salt of sorbic acid), which is used to protect against mold and yeast spoilage.

The majority of bulk prunes we produce are pitted with non automated machines that assure maximum control and avoid pit fragments. The prunes are re-hydrated to 25-35% moisture and then pitted so the pit is removed easily to ensure that the flesh of the prune is intact. We pit prunes in ranges of 70/80's to 30/40's.

The majority of these prunes are usually sold to the export market. These prunes are typically packed in 10 kilos poly lined cases. One half of one percent of pit fragments is allowable in bulk pitted prunes.

LOS ANGELES SRL
Ruta Nacional 188, Km 790
General Alvear, Mendoza
lasrl@fibertel.com.ar
Tel: 549-2625-402309