Dried plums are a new name for the old classic name of prunes. Prunes became associated with achieving regularity in bowel movements, and in some cases with a food frequently served to the elderly in convalescent or rest homes. In some cases prunes began to be marketed specifically for their use as a “health food” and began to be associated with being elderly.

In order to appeal to a younger market, the California Prune Board began to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to change the name of prunes to dried plums. The name change became official in 2000. Hence, dried plums typically marketed in the US are actually prunes with a new name. These dried plums are usually of the European type, called the d’Agen plum, the European or the Italian plum.

Plums of the Japanese type are usually eaten fresh. However, if they are dried, they are dried plums, but are not prunes. A dried Japanese plum would always have been called a dried plum, and never would have been referred to as a prune. As well, the dried prunes from Japanese plums are quite different in taste. They are usually not partially reconstituted, as are prunes, after the drying process.

The name change to dried plums exists for the US only, at this point. This is because the European diet tends to welcome and include prunes. They do not have the same connotations in Europe as they do in the US that would make them unappealing to younger consumers. Thus dried plums in Europe are still simply prunes.

A similar renaming helped change the way customers perceive the Chinese gooseberry. Once it was renamed as a kiwifruit, sales went up, and people responded to the now popular fruit. The name change in dried plums has led to increased sales among younger people in the US. So if Shakespeare wondered “what’s in a name?,” it appears he could have been answered that dried plums may taste as sweet as prunes but are more popular.