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Can you talk a little about prunes and dates?

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Recorded

This event was on March 26, 2024

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to course-specific questions, to how to turn your cooking passion into profit or simply hearing the perspective of a professional chef, Chef Nolan is ready to answer them all.

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Question

Fran Costigan

Can you talk a little about prunes and dates?

Answer

So, uh, Fran, uh, it might be the new date queen, I don't know. Uh, and yes, two raises and prunes. Well, Fran and I have a, a love relationship with prunes, and unfortunately, these are the things instructors talk about when students aren't around. Prunes have a very bad rap because they're associated with, uh, intestinal health, shall we say. Fran and I, because of our families of origin, grew up loving prunes. Your grandmother made stewed prunes. You had them for dessert. They were absolutely delicious. A couple of years ago, they changed the name of prunes to dried plums thinking that Americans would just jump on the bandwagon. And the last time I checked at the grocery store, they're back to being called prunes. And I also love actually making a, a prune paste. It's very, very nice. If you're making a salad dressing with prune paste, even date paste, I would suggest to use a white vinegar, because otherwise, if you use something like a balsamic, it gets really, really, really dark. So you wanna lighten it up a little bit.

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

Char Nolan is a serious crusader for plant-based education, armed with a degree in public health from Philadelphia’s Temple University. She teaches nutrition and plant-based cooking throughout Philadelphia, and in many underserved communities. Char holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from eCornell and completed Rouxbe’s Plant-Based Professional Certification course in 2015. In 2019, Char completed post-graduate course work in social media marketing at the University of the Arts. When she is not cooking or teaching, she manages social media accounts for several plant-based influencers. Char prides herself on learning everything she knows about cooking from growing up in her grandparents’ Italian restaurant. Her favorite vegetables are Brussels sprouts and kale, of course. Char originally hails from Queens, NY, but has lived in Philadelphia most of her adult life. She is a former Peace Corps Volunteer.