# Why are there words for raisins and prunes... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2005, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792 "2005-12-09T00:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/21 "2005-12-11T11:54:24Z")
Aren’t sundried tomatoes a modern affectation? ---
**Author:** ![Jake4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jake4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake4)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/22 "2005-12-11T15:48:23Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Aren’t sundried tomatoes a modern affectation? Doesn’t mean there can’t be a word for them. See “craisin.” > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I’ve heard the phrase pomodoro secchio (sic?) in Italian. Pumate is obviously more concise, in addition to answering the OP. I don’t know Italian but I’d have to guess that secchio means “dried.” I think “pumate” is what I’m looking for. I never said the word had to be English. Plus, if anyone were to come up with a word for them, I’d guess the Italians would do it. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/23 "2005-12-11T20:43:18Z")
I should probably point out that I gleaned this info from the various tins and jars in my cupboard bought at an Italian import shop, so I can’t say for sure how often \*pumate \*is used. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/24 "2005-12-12T07:17:43Z")
There actually is a difference between plum and prune: “Though much of the early history is entombed with the settlers, the origin of Prunedale is plain as its name. _They grew prunes_ in those days”. For most people the prune is simply a dried plum, but for most people there used to be a clear distinction, prunes were a type of plum which could be dried with the pit inside and not ferment or rot (and why I find it absurd to mock the decision to market them as “dried plums” a bit silly, since they ARE.) Prunes always have a higher sugar to water ratio than typical plums, are usually much more firm, and have dryer flesh, which is what allows them to dry without spoling. Not any plum can be dried into a prune, and there are strict prune varieties. You really can’t turn any plum into a prune. The Latin word for the genus which contains plums, cherries, peaches, and apricots is “Prunus” which is where the word in English derives. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/25 "2005-12-12T09:24:58Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > I don’t know if it’s of any help, but both “raisin” and “prune” are the french words for the non-dried fruit. > > Complete guess : both were originally imported dried from France? Probably after the Norman conquest. Maybe like “beef” and “pork.” We have those special words but chicken is just “chicken” and not “poulet” (although we have “pullet”) and horse meat is just “horse meat” and not “cheval.” ---
**Author:** ![Pietro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@Pietro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pietro)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/26 "2005-12-14T01:16:00Z")
> [@Doobieous](#): > > There actually is a difference between plum and prune: > > For most people the prune is simply a dried plum, but for most people there used to be a clear distinction, prunes were a type of plum which could be dried with the pit inside and not ferment or rot (and why I find it absurd to mock the decision to market them as “dried plums” a bit silly, since they ARE.) Hard to believe it took this long for someone to point this out. In N. California, where they’re grown, most people know that a prune is a prune before it is dried, and not just any plum is a prune. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792/27 "2005-12-15T05:03:47Z")
> [@Pietro](#): > > Hard to believe it took this long for someone to point this out. In N. California, where they’re grown, most people know that a prune is a prune before it is dried, and not just any plum is a prune. Seems like most people _didn’t_ know that farmers (and at least years ago, the general public distinguished prunes from regular plums based upon the ability to be dried without fermenting. I am surprised no one really looked up the facts before posting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-words-for-raisins-and-prunes/334792.md?page=1)