The Fine Art of Prune Growing

Growing fine organic tree crops requires skill, knowledge–and a little something else!

Like fine wine producers, fine prune producers blend science, experience and know-how into what can only be called an art.

The art of knowing, for example, when is the best time to harvest. One of the secrets of growing a juicier, tastier plum is to know exactly how long the prunes can stay on the tree before they are harvested. At Taylor Brothers Farm, we harvest late in the season, when prunes achieve higher sugar and solids content, and their flavor is at its peak.

An instinct for timing

As John Taylor says, “Whereas larger operations may not be willing to take any chances, we want our plums to make the most of what Mother Nature has to offer!”

“This is the way we like to do things, and not only does our size provide us with the agility to operate this way: it also gives us better quality control, assuring the best possible product, year after year.”

Once they are harvested, Taylor Brothers’ prunes are dried at the company’s dehydrator in Corning, right in the heart of Northern California’s best organic prune growing region.

The prunes are set on trays where they are submitted to 180 degree heat. Then they are put in drying tunnels for 16 hours, which dries them down to around 20% moisture, thus producing “natural condition dried prunes”.

Says John Taylor: “We like to pull our fruit with a little bit more moisture in it, and let it cure down slowly. This way, we produce a more plump and tender dried plum. We find this helps retain the sugar and the sweetness in it”.

“We always like to look for the amber color of the fruit on the outside, which means they’re drying appropriately, and for the goldenrod color inside. You still have a little moisture, but it’s part of the drying process. We always want to have a certain consistency, color and quality in our prunes.  We feel this makes a plumper, juicier piece of fruit.”