Making of Prunele at Zahišar Family
Šmartno in Brda

2005, 6 photos and
around 1958, 1 photo.

All of the photos are 600 x 400 pixels in size.

Photo and (c) Daniel Rojšek, 2005-2020.

Peeling of Plums

Irma, Katja and Ema (from the left to the right hand side) peeled fresh plums,
25^th September, 2005.

Skilful Hand, the First Photo

At a plum should not stay even a trace of skin,
25^th September, 2005.

Skilful Hand, the Second Photo

Skin in one piece,
25^th September, 2005.

Sulfuring

Without sulfuring is very difficult to make prunele. Taking pits out of dried plums is extremely challenging. With little sulfure meat of dry plum can be easier separated from the pit, as if was no sulfur. We sulfured about 9 kg fresh peeled plumes in plastic trays that were placed in a container and about 2 g of sulfur in sheets were burned. Then the container were covered. The sulfur dioxide was left to act for 3 hours.
25^th September, 2005.

Dried Plums, Base for Prunele

From dried plums pits must be taken out and the meat expanded. This is followed by compression of meat of two plums together and finnaly edges should be rounded. The procedure it is more complex then peeling. It is called pogačanje - making flat cakes.
4^th October, 2005.

Prunele with Laurel Leaves

Laurel leaves (Laurus nobilis ) take away moths. In winter, the cold and dry air make cover on the surface of natural sugar - fructose, this happens usually in Janauary and then prunele are matured.
26^th October, 2005.

Natural Drying of Plums

Plums were dried in the sun outside of the Zahišar house on wooden trays, in the past. Every evening plums were sulfurised and kept under the roof during nights.
The family processed with temporary employees about 25 tons of fresh plums annually. They bought them in the Brkini and the Bizeljsko hills and even in Bosnia, if there were not enough plums in the Brda.
The family started to make prunele at the end of the 19^th century and finished at the end of the fifties of the 20^th century, around 1958.

Some more information about prunele in an article of Katja Kogej , (pp 27 English Summary).