Nutrients, Calories, Benefits of Plum

Fresh plums are good! It would seem that what could be tastier?! E. Pickled plums are generally worth their weight in gold. Our recipes for spicy Ukrainian olives, spicy garlic dips and traditional sweet pickled plums are easy to repeat. But don't forget to enjoy them fresh!

1. Plums are rich in fiber and pectin. They increase appetite, improve digestion, increase peristalsis. Plums contribute to the removal of cholesterol and clean blood vessels from atherosclerotic plaques.
2. It is recommended to use plums for diseases of the kidneys and genitourinary system, because they contain potassium, which has a mild diuretic effect, thanks to which excess salts are removed from the body.
3. These tasty fruits contribute to the strengthening of vascular walls, lowering blood pressure, and due to the content of phytocoumarin in the plum, they thin the blood and thus prevent the formation of blood clots.
4. This fruit is rich in vitamins: ascorbic acid and vitamin A, many B vitamins, vitamin PP, which are good for vision.
5. Plum is also used in the beauty industry. In the composition of many masks and means for skin rejuvenation. A good effect will be if you apply a mask of crushed plums to the skin of the face.

Plums are contraindicated for people with oxalate kidney stones. Plums contain oxalic acid, which can crystallize and turn into the same oxalate stones.

In many countries of the world, various plum dishes are prepared from these fruits, starting with desserts and ending with meat sauces. For a long time, they did not think about what to cook from plums for the winter. Let's start with pickled ones.

Ingredients

• 10 kilograms of plums
• 10 pieces of bay leaf
• 10 pieces of cloves
• 10 peas of allspice
• 10 peas of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon

For syrup

• 3.5 kilograms of sugar
• 1.5 liters of 9% vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of salt

Preparation

1. Wash the plums thoroughly, pierce them with a fork. Then put them in a container and mix them with spices
2. Boil the syrup and pour over the fruit and leave for 3 days.
3. On the fourth day, pour the syrup into a separate container, boil it again and pour it over the plums again.
4. On the fifth or sixth day, repeat the procedure with the syrup.
5. And on the seventh day, drain the syrup again, boil it, pour it over plums and seal in jars.

Pickled plums are ready to eat, they will be a particularly tasty snack in winter!

Spicy plums with garlic

Ingredients

• 500 grams of plums
• 100 grams of sugar
• 30 ml of vinegar
• 500 ml of water
• 2 peas of allspice
• 2 pieces of cloves
• the number of garlic cloves depends on the number of plums

Preparation

• Wash the plums, remove the pits, split the plums in half, but do not cut them. If the cloves of garlic are small, they can be used whole, if they are large, then you need to cut the clove lengthwise into several parts.
• You need to put a piece of garlic in each plum, and carefully send them to the jar
• For the marinade, pour water into a saucepan, add sugar, cloves, allspice and bring the mixture to a boil.
• Pour the vinegar into the syrup. Take the marinade off the fire, immediately pour it over the plums in the jars
• leave the workpiece in this form at room temperature for 12 hours.
• after, drain the marinade from the plums, boil it again. Pour hot marinade over the fruit. Close the jars with sterile lids, turn them upside down, and let the plums cool in this form.
• Everything is ready!

Plum jam with mint and cinnamon

Ingredients

• 1 kg of plums
• 1 sprig of mint, you can have more, at your discretion
• 0.3 teaspoons of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
• 500 g, if the plum is sour, then up to 1 kg

Preparation

• Wash the plums, let the water drain, remove the pits, divide them into pieces and put them in a deep container, preferably an aluminum one.
• Each layer of drains should be sprinkled with sugar. And pour the main part of it on top. Leave for 4 hours for the plums to release juice.
• Put the container with plums on medium heat, without stirring, bring to a boil.
• Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jam cool.
• Repeat this boiling and cooling procedure 2-3 times depending on the juiciness of the plums.
• At the moment of the last heating of the jam, tie a stick of cinnamon and a sprig of mint, drop it into the jam after boiling and cook for 15 minutes.
• Take out the spices and pour the jam into sterilized jars.

Plums contain a large amount of antioxidants. There are just as many of them in one plum as in a handful of blueberries, which until recently were considered the strongest antioxidant.

Plum is one of the juiciest and sweetest fruits. The season begins with the appearance of Japanese plum varieties in May and ends with European plum varieties in October.

Plums belong to the genus Prunus and are relatives of the peach, nectarine and almond. All of them are considered "fruits" - fruits that have a hard stone made of stony tissue, protecting a single seed.

Prunes are dried plums of European varieties. Sweet, with a deep flavor and a sticky chewy texture, prunes are a very nutritious and healthy dried fruit. Like other dried fruits, it is available all year round.

66 g of fresh plums contain:

• 30 calories
• Vitamin C – 8%
• Vitamin K – 5%
• Copper - 4%
• Fiber - 4%
• Potassium - 3%
• GI: low

Phenols contained in plums and prunes provide effective antioxidant protection

The plant, known as Prunus domestica, both fresh and dried, has repeatedly been the subject of various studies due to its high content of unique phytonutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. These substances, found in drains and prunes, are classified as phenols, which are known for their antioxidant properties. Damage-preventing phenols are particularly effective at neutralizing a particularly dangerous oxygen radical called the superoxide anion radical (O2-).

In addition, they help prevent fat from being damaged by oxygen. Because our cell membranes, brain cells, and molecules like cholesterol are mostly made up of fat, our bodies need to prevent free radical damage from fat.

Plums and prunes improve the absorption of iron by the body and provide additional antioxidant protection thanks to vitamin C

The ability of plums and prunes to improve iron absorption in the body has been confirmed by various studies. This ability of the fruit may be related to the vitamin C contained in it. Plum is an excellent source of this vitamin.

Vitamin C is necessary for the body to create healthy tissue, as well as to strengthen the immune system. It is vitamin C that protects our body from viruses during the cold and flu season, and it can also be useful for people who suffer from recurrent ear infections.

Vitamin C also helps protect cholesterol from oxidation by free radicals. Because oxidized cholesterol builds up in the arteries and causes vascular damage, vitamin C is beneficial for people with atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease.

In addition, it helps neutralize free radicals that can contribute to the development or progression of conditions such as asthma, colon cancer, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have shown that consumption of vegetables and fruits high in vitamin C is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes, including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Plums and prunes normalize blood sugar levels and contribute to weight loss

The soluble fiber in prunes helps regulate blood sugar by slowing the rate at which food leaves the stomach and delaying the absorption of glucose after a meal.

Soluble fiber also increases insulin sensitivity and therefore may play a beneficial role in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. In addition, prune fiber gives a feeling of satiety after a meal, which helps prevent overeating and weight gain.

The fiber contained in prunes lowers cholesterol and protects the intestines

Prunes are well known for their ability to prevent constipation, reducing the risk of colon cancer and hemorrhoids. Fiber, which prunes are rich in, promotes the appearance of beneficial bacteria in the colon. When these bacteria process fiber, they produce a short-chain fatty acid called butyric acid, which serves as the primary fuel for colon cells and helps maintain colon health. In addition, the bacteria create two other short-chain fatty acids, propionic acid and acetic acid, which are used as fuel by liver and muscle cells.

Studies have shown that propionic acid inhibits HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme involved in the production of cholesterol by the liver. By reducing the activity of this enzyme, propionic acid helps lower blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, the soluble fibers of prunes help lower cholesterol levels by combining with bile acids and removing them from the body through feces. Bile acids are compounds used to digest fats that are produced by the liver from cholesterol. When they are secreted together with prune fiber, the liver begins to produce new bile acids and consume more cholesterol, thereby reducing its total amount.

Finally, insoluble fiber feeds the friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, which helps maintain their population. In addition to creating the beneficial short-chain fatty acids described above, beneficial bacteria play an important protective role by crowding out pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria and preventing them from surviving in the intestinal tract.

Plums, by themselves, are already an excellent dessert. If the plums have been in the fridge, let them come to room temperature before eating them, this will help them reach their maximum brightness and sweetness. If you want to remove the stone before eating or cooking, cut the plum in half, gently twist the halves in opposite directions, then carefully remove the stone.

Plums can also be used in various recipes, baked or boiled. To remove the skin, first dip the plum in boiling water for 30 seconds. As soon as you remove the fruit from the water, quickly plunge it into cold water to prevent the plum from cooking and to peel it easily.

If the prunes are too dry, wash them in hot water for a few minutes to refresh them. To reduce the cooking time of prunes, pre-soak them in water or juice.

• Make a pie with baked sliced ​​plums, goat cheese, walnuts and sage.
• For a great dessert, poach plums in red wine and serve with lemon zest.
• Bake the plum halves in a 200°F (93°C) oven until they shrivel.
• Grind boiled plums with a blender and mix with yogurt and honey.
• Add slices of fresh plum to oatmeal or cereal.

• Serve stewed prunes with rosemary-roasted lamb and enjoy this beautiful Middle Eastern dish.
• Serve stewed or pickled prunes on pancakes or waffles.
• Combine diced prunes with other dried fruit and nuts for a quick snack.
• Prunes can be a tasty addition to the stuffed filling.