Prune juice

Prune juice is 81% water, 17% carbohydrates, and 0.6% protein, and contains negligible fat. In the United States, bottled or canned prune juice contains "not less than 18.5% by the weight of water-soluble solids extracted from dried plums". == Production ==

Prune juice is often produced using hot extraction methods, whereby the prunes are cooked in hot water, becoming a liquid extract, which is then processed into juice. The process of heating and extraction may occur several times with the same batch of prunes, with the collective extracts from each processing then mixed together to create the final product. Prune juice is a mass-produced product. Prune juice is also produced as a concentrate, whereby low temperature water is used to create a liquid extract. The concentrate has a high sugar content, and is used by food processors to enhance the flavor of and sweeten products, as a humectant to retain moisture in cookies and cakes, and as an ingredient in cereal bars to bind the ingredients. == History ==

United States Duffy-Mott began producing prune juice in 1933, which was purveyed under the Sunsweet brand name. The commercial distribution of prune juice in the United States first occurred in 1934, which "began with an output of only 40,000 cases". == Other uses ==

Prune juice concentrate, prune extracts and plum extracts are sometimes used as an additive in tobacco products to enhance flavor. == In popular culture ==

In the Star Trek : The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", the Klingon character Worf is introduced to prune juice by Guinan. He declares that it is a "warrior's drink" and begins to drink it regularly in subsequent episodes, even carrying the habit over to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the series Suits, the character Louis Litt (played by Rick Hoffman) drinks prunies, which are prune juice smoothies. == Gallery ==

File:French Prune Juice - For giving age to and improving liquors LCCN2001701477.tif|A prune juice label from 1870: "French Prune Juice – For giving age to and improving liquors" == See also ==