How to Make Prune Juice

Prunes are basically dried plums, so if you are laughing your head off at the thought of juicing something that has been dehydrated, think about the old adage of the many ways of skinning a cat (in this case juicing prunes). It isn’t as difficult as it sounds and in this article you will learn how to make prune juice the easy way.

prune juice in a glass

So what is prune juice and how is prune juice made? Sure you can steam, boil or simmer prunes to re-hydrate them and juice them. Or you can get some prunes and juice these. Contrary to what you may have heard, prunes are more than just dried plums. There are numerous varieties of plums that are more suitable for drying than others.

Here’s an interesting fact for you:

Did you know that producers of prunes began marketing prunes as "dried plums" as a ploy to attract new customers?

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Yep that’s a true story.

“Dried plums” certainly sounded better than “dried prunes” so this psychological stunt worked well, to say the least, but the fact remains: you can make prune juice easily with fresh prunes. Fresh prunes have the same benefits as their dried siblings: iron, potassium, dietary fiber, vitamins C and A, and chromium, among others.

How To Make Prune Juice In 3 Easy Steps 

Prune juice is probably the best natural laxative around. It stimulates bowel movement but without the possible adverse side effects of laxative pills or colon cleansers. A serving of canned prune juice has 3 grams of fiber. Of course you can always buy bottled or canned prune juice from grocery stores or supermarkets but the prune juice available in these locations tend to have additives, preservatives, and artificial flavors.

The prune juice sold at health food stores are a better option because only natural ingredients go into it but it will also be more expensive.

Juicing the prunes yourself has more advantages for you. For one thing, it would definitely cost less than the prune juice sold at the supermarket or health food store. You can have home-made prune juice just like those sold in health food stores if you have a reliable juicer or extractor.

Follow These 3 Steps to Making Fresh Home-made Prune Juice:

1) Most people will say it isn’t easy to juice these “dried plums” because they no longer have any water left to juice. Not if you first soak or simmer one part of prunes in five parts filtered water to soften them a little for juicing. This will be sufficient to rehydrate the prunes.

2) You can remove the stones prior to soaking or simmering them in the water. Remember not to use a lot of water because too much water will render your prune juice extremely bland.

3) After you have removed the pits, place the prunes in your juicer or extractor. A masticating juicer will be more suitable than the centrifugal type in the case of juicing prunes.

Masticating juicers work more slowly to extract all the nutrients and enzymes in the prunes, meaning all of these healthy substances remain intact when you drink your prune juice.

Because masticating juicers have augers or gears that operate without any friction, heat will not dissolve the important vitamins and minerals in the prunes being juiced. This is important because you would like to maximize the benefits of the juice.

Recommended Juicers

Breville BJE200XL

Centrifugal Juicer

An affordable juicer that produces high quality juice and is easy to use. A little noisy though.

Omega Vrt350 HD

Masticating Juicer

The best juicer on the market for juicing quality in our opinion. Powerful, quiet and very easy to use.

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Pro

Centrifugal Juicer

A great juicer if you are on a budget and want your juice extracted in less than a minute!

Tips and Tricks for Juicing Prunes

One quick way to make the juice is to buy the European variety of “fresh” prunes and cook them until they are tender. You can easily remove their stones or pits after they are cooked and have cooled.

Drain the prunes, mash them, and put the mixture into your juicer. This makes your juicer perform extraction in an easier and faster way. You can save the liquid to add to your juice if you find it tastes too sweet.

A tip for ensuring that all of your prunes have been rehydrated: the filtered water should be enough to “cover” the prunes just below its surface. The longer the prunes are soaked, the more hydrated they become, meaning the softener they will be for juicing.

If you want smooth-textured prune juice, you can pour the extracted juice into a fine sieve that can act as a “catch all” for any bits of solid prunes.

Pour the extracted juice into a jar that has been sterilized earlier. Make sure your jar has a well-fitted lid to keep the juice from spoiling. Refrigerate any leftover prune juice immediately.

If you use a masticating juicer, your prune juice can have a shelf life of a week; otherwise, consume your juice no more than three to four hours after making it with a centrifugal juicer to maximise nutritional benefit.

Homemade plum juice with fresh prunes and fall leaves on wooden background

Where Can I Get Prune Juice From?

Here are four ways you can attain the benefits of prune juice:

1) The first option is to juice the prunes at home using a good quality juicer.

2) ​If juicing is not your forte, or you don't currently own or have access to a juicer, then prune specific extract supplement is a great alternative. However in most cases any general constipation relief supplement will guarantee you receive the same benefits. The Dr Tobias Colon Cleanse is particularly popular and can be found at Amazon at a very affordable price.

3)​ The third option is to obviously buy a bottle of prune juice from your local store. Just be weary of the sugar content that is in the bottle, as many commercially sold bottles of fruit juice have a tonne of sugar in them.

4)​ The last option is more of a general juicing alternative. If you are into your green juices and all the benefits that it brings, then green juice powder is a great alternative if you want to avoid buying a juicer, and is a lower cost alternative to buying fresh juice from the store. You can then mix the powder with prune juice supplements too.

3 Prune Juice Recipes

See below three of our favourite prune juice recipes. Just follow the simple instructions and enjoy!

  • Prune Regular
  • The Unblocker
  • Prune'n'berry

INGREDIENTS

2 x Apple (Granny Smith)

1 x Pear

3 x Prunes (pitted)

1/2 Squeeze of Lime

METHOD

1) Start by juicing the first apple.

2) Then juice the prunes.

3) Juice the second apple

4) Finally juice the pear

5) Squeeze the lime.

5) Pour over ice and enjoy!

Handy tip: You can juice the lime with the pith, as long as you remove the green peel. The white pith has lots of nutrients so no need to remove it. This may result in a slightly more bitter taste though.

If you would like more juice recipes, why not download our FREE recipe E-book. Just click the link below.

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David Borgogni

I'm as passionate about fitness and health as I am about juicing. I discovered that by juicing, helped me lose many unwanted pounds around my body, gave me much more physical energy and mental clarity to enjoy everyday life.

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