Pruneaux d’Agen ; Pruneaux d’Agen mi-cuits PGI

Production Method

The young Ente tree produces its first plums after three years and seven to nine years are needed to obtain the first full crops. The trees are pruned every year in order to limit the number of fruits per tree and open the inside of the tree to the sunlight. Plums are picked up when fully ripe by about four to six machine passes between the 25th August and the 25th September. The machines shake trees and pickup fruits simultaneously. Only the best fruits are then washed and set up on stainless steel trays. Then, plums are dehydrated in special ovens for about 20 hours at a controlled temperature (55-60°C) so that the humidity rate of the fruit falls down to 20-23%. Three and a half kilograms are needed to obtain one kilogram of dried prunes. After delivery to the prune factory, the dried fruit are sorted and calibrated. Then they are stocked in special storage rooms. As soon as needed they are soaked in water at 80ºC for rehydration and can also be pitted. Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits means that plums are medium-dried. They are obtained by stopping the dehydration process as soon as the fruit humidity rate falls down into the range 30-35%.

Appearance and Flavour

Pruneaux d'Agen PGI have a bright black colour and a soft consistency. The colour of the flesh varies from yellow to amber with a tasty and sweet flavour.

Production Area

The production area of Pruneaux d'Agen and Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits PGI covers almost all the Lot-et-Garonne department whose capital town is Agen, except the Houeilles canton and a part of the bordering departments of Gironde, Dordogne, Lot, Gers and Tarn-et-Garonne, in the Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees regions.

History

Pruneaux d'Agen and Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits PGI belong to a variety that probably derives from a round and tasty plum from Syria, which seeds were taken to the West by Crusaders during the 12th Century. During the Middle-Ages the cultivation and grafting was improved and popularized by the Monks of Clairac Abbey and by the Templars, close to Agen. During the 17th Century prunes became popular in the diet of sailormen due to their storability and anti-scurvy virtues. The product wears the name "d'Agen" because at that time prunes were boarded from the Agen river-port to England, Holland or Russia in wooden barrels marked with the port of origin.

Gastronomy

Pruneaux d'Agen PGI and Pruneaux d'Agen micuits PGI are generally kept in sealed bags for food

preservation at ambient temperature. They are ideal to be tasted natural and can be used as a tasty complement in a large range of sweet and salty dishes. They are extraordinarily versatile, so they

can be transformed into prune cream, used also to stuff the typical pruneaux fourrés (stuffed prunes) or in marmalade. Other products are made, such as chocolate coated prunes, prunes in syrup, in wine and in Armagnac, praline, plum bonbon and eau-de-vie, etc.

Marketing

The product is sold as Pruneaux d'Agen PGI or Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits PGI. It can be marketed in cartons of 5 or 12.5 kg covered by a polyethylene film or other types of packaging, or prepacked, in plastic bags or nests, wooden or metal boxes, wooden cases or baskets covered by a transparent film or other presentations. The product must comply with the minimum size count of a number of fruits under or equal to 77 for 500 gr.

Distinctive Features

The production area of Pruneaux d'Agen and Pruneaux d'Agen mi-cuits PGI is characterized by a climatic conflict between the Mediterranean and the Oceanic influence. The climate variability provides the fruit with outstanding sizes and a particular balance between sweet and acidulous, which is the source of its special aromas and qualities.