08/11
ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:[email protected] Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.
How Produced–Atreestartstobearfruitfourtosixyearsafter planting and reaches its full production capacity (150to300poundsof raw fruit per year) sometimebetween itseighth and twelfth year in theground.The treewill continue tobearqualityfruitonacommercialbasisforabout30years.
Bymid-August, theorchardsareready for harvesting, which gen-erally takes about 30 days.Har-vest time is determined by fruitripeness,sinceplumsareoneofthefewfruitsallowedtofullytreeripenbeforetheyarepicked.
Today,themajorityofCalifornia’sdriedplumsaremachineharvest-ed.Thefruitisshakenoffthetreeandtransferredviaconveyorbeltintobinswhichthengotothede-hydrator.Theorchardripefruit iswashed,placedonwoodentraysanddehydrated—threepoundsoffreshfruitthenbecomeonepoundofdriedplums.
From thedehydrator, the dried plumsgo to packing plantswheretheyaregradedforsize,inspectedandstoredtoawaitfinal processing and packaging.Unlike themajority of pro-cessed fruits, most dried plums are packed to order.Witheachorder,plumsarere-hydrated,sterilized,put throughafinalinspectionandpackagedforshipping.
History – LouisPellier,aFrenchman,introduceddriedplumstotheUnitedStatesin1856afteranunsuccessfulgoldmin-ingventureinCalifornia.HeestablishedanorchardinSantaClaraValleywhichbecameagreatsuccess.Astheseasonsturned,Pellier’spatientworkbegantobearfruit,andtheCali-forniadriedplumindustrywasborn.Thedevelopmentofthetranscontinental railroad in 1869 increased the market fordriedplumsacrossthenation.
In 1905,California dried plumgrowerMartinSeely tried toremedy a labor shortage by bringing 500 monkeys to theSantaClaraValleyfromPanamatopickdriedplums.Seelyorganized them into crewsof 50 (withahumansupervisoroverseeing each crew) and set them towork in the fields.Whilethemonkeyswerereliableatpickingthefruit,theyalsoateeveryplumtheypicked.
In 1941, America’s involvement in World War II provokedtheheaviestbuyingofdriedfruitinhistory.However,thewar
years were challenging for farmers—farm labor shortages,limitedinventoriesofsuppliesandfarmequipment,andrisingcostsalltooktheirtoll.
Varieties – Not all plum variet-iescanbedried.Thehighsugarcontent of the California varietyallows it to be driedwithout fer-mentation occurring around thepit. The California variety is anoff shoot of La Petite d’Agen, aplumnativeofSouthwestFrance.Today’sCaliforniadriedplumac-countsfor99percentoftheUnit-edStates dried plumproductionbecauseithasidealcharacteris-ticsfordrying.
Commodity Value – Californiasuppliesmorethan50percentoftheworld’ssupplyofdriedplumsfromover60,000bearingacres.Approximately 65,000 tons ofdriedplumsareexportedannually
to more than 60 different countries. In 2008, Californiaproduced130,000tonsofdriedplums,valuedat$196million.
Top Producing Counties –MostdriedplumsaregrownintheSacramentoandSanJoaquinvalleyswheretherichsoilandthelong,warmandcleargrowingseasonprovidesidealgrowing conditions.The leading counties areSutter,Butte,Yuba,Tehama,GlennandTulare.
Nutritional Value –Californiadriedplumsareahigh-energysnackthatprovidesantioxidants,potassiumandfiber.Thesenutrientsmayhelpreducetheriskofsomechronicdiseases.Driedplumshaveauniquecombinationofhighlevelsofpec-tin,sorbitolandmalicacidwhichmakesdriedplumpureeanidealfatsubstituteinbaking.Theantioxidantsindriedplumseliminatethe“warmed-over”flavorinprecookedmeats,andfiberandsorbitol help retainmoisture in leaner cutsof redmeatandpoultry.
For additional information:CaliforniaDriedPlumBoard3840RosinCourt,Suite170Sacramento,CA95834(916)565-6232Fax:(916)565-6237Website:www.californiadriedplums.org
Dried PlumsInformation compiled by the California Dried Plum Board
Commodity Fact Sheet
08/11
ThisisoneinaseriesoffactsheetscomposedbytheCaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom(CFAITC).Foradditionaleducationalmaterials:CFAITC,2300RiverPlazaDrive,Sacramento,CA95833-3293(916)561-5625 (800)700-AITC Fax:(916)561-5697Email:[email protected] Website:www.LearnAboutAg.org ©2011CaliforniaFoundationforAgricultureintheClassroom.Allrightsreserved.
Lesson Ideas• Keepadailyjournaltrackingthefoodyoueatthroughouttheweek.CompareyourdailyservingsoffruitsandvegetablestothoserecommendedbyUSDA’sMyPyramid.Setanattainablegoaltoincreaseyourfruitandvegetableconsumption.
• UseMyPyramidtoinvestigatethenutritionalvalueoffreshvs.driedfruits.Determineifthereisenoughfruitinyourdailydiet.
• Createshortmythsexplaininghowdriedplumsgettheirwrinkles.
• Deviseanadvertisementwhichpromotestheeatingofdriedplums.
• Createanadvertisingjinglepromotingdriedplums.• FindouthowdriedplumsareassociatedwiththeGoldRushofthe1800s.
• Researchthescienceofdehydrationandlearnitsbenefitsasafoodpreservationmethod.
• Inviteadriedplumproducerorgrowerintoyourclassroomtodiscusshisorherprofession.
Fantastic Facts1. Howaredriedplumsharvested?2. InwhatCaliforniavalleywasthefirstdriedplumorchard
established?3. Whatanimaldidadriedplumgrowertrytouseasapickerin
hisorchardsduringalaborshortagein1905?4. Trueorfalse?Driedplumsarefullyripenedonthetrees
beforeharvest.5. Whatcharacteristicallowsd’Agenplumstodrywithoutfer-
mentingaroundthepit?6. Howmanypoundsoffreshfruitmakeonepoundofdried
plums?7. Trueorfalse?Waterisaddedtodehydrateddriedplumsright
beforetheyarepackedforconsumers.8. Forabouthowmanyyearsarecommercialplumtrees
productive?
1)Bymechanicalshakers2)SantaClara3)Monkey4)True5)Highsugarcontent6)Threepounds7)True8)30years
Introduction:Overthelastdecade,peoplehaverealizedthehealthbenefitsofhavingalowfatdietthatincludesaminimumoffiveservingsoffruitsandvegetableseachday.Inthisactivity,thestudentswillanalyzesomeoftheirfavoriterecipesandseehowtheycanmaketheirfavoritedessertahealthiersnack.
Materials:1 cups(8ounces)pitteddriedplums,water,blender,onepackagedbrowniemixwithrequiredingredients,onefavoritebakedsnackrecipefromeachstudent,blankpaper,markers,constructionpaper.
Procedure:1. Makeapureebypureeing1
cupsofpitteddriedplumsandsixtablespoonsofhotwaterinafoodprocessororblender.Thismakesonecupofdriedplumpuree.Useonehalfthe
Lesson Plan: A Low-Fat Cookbookbutteroroilcalledforintherecipe.Replacetheamountofbuttereliminatedwithone-halfmeasureofdriedplumpuree.Ifarecipecallsfor1cupbutter,use cupbutterand cupdriedplumpuree.
2. Havethestudentstastethebrowniesandcommentontheirflavor.Explainwhatyoudidtomakethemlowerinfat.
3. Havethestudentsbringinoneortwooftheirfavoritebrownie,cakeorcookierecipesandrewritetherecipeusingdriedplumpuree(seestep1).Encouragethestudentstotrytheirnewrecipesathome.Worksbestwithdarkcoloredbakedgoods.
4. Createaclasscookbookofthelow-fatrecipes.Itmayincludearecipefromeachchildwithillustrations,quotesfromstu-dentsandparentswhotriedtheirnewrecipes,aswellassci-entificstatisticsontheneedforahealthydiet.
#1
In early spring, bees pollinate the white, fra-grant blossomsand plum development begins.
#2
The orchards are irrigated and nutrients are added to the soil. As the plums ripen they turn from green to purple.
#3
Mechanical harvesters grab the trunks and shake off the fruit which fall onto fabric catching frames and are then transported by conveyor belt into bins.
#4
After weighing andwashing, the plums
are stacked onto trays and rolled into large tunnels where
they are dehydrated.
#5
During processing
the dried plums are sorted,
steamed, pitted and packaged.
#6
Consumers enjoyhealthful dried plums as bite-sized snacks
and juice or as an ingredient in baked goods, cereals and
energy bars.
Dried Plum Activity Sheet
