‘Tis the Season for Plums

part of the plum tree by Brenda Anderson

I love a good plum.

I remember when my father planted a plum tree that was supposed to have 5 different types of plums on one tree.  We couldn’t wait for that first year’s harvest. I don’t ever remember 5 different types of plums on the tree, that was a bit of a disappointment. But I do remember that there seemed to be more than one kind of plum on the tree that first year. And they were delicious. After that first year I only remember one type of plum on the tree and the yield was always sparse. But l  always loved plums and couldn’t wait for the plum tree to have fruit. And I have always loved plums after that.

Plums were the right sweet tart for my tongue and the skin was smooth, not furry.  My mother rarely bought fruit at the market- if we didn’t harvest our own fruit, we didn’t buy fruit because we were so poor. Except for Italian prune plums, which I still buy if I see them. But the bought plums were never as good as the plums on our plum tree.

It is plum season in California where we get so many of our wonderful plums. The season is really just beginning. People refer to plums as stone fruit. I had never heard this expression applied to fruits with pits until my son moved to California.

I try all the different plums as they arrive in my supermarket, but my favorite is one that has smooth and almost black skin and the pulp inside is purple as well. I wish someone would  tell me which plum this is.My son in California, who also loves this plum, says it is the Santa Rosa plum. But the information I see is that Santa Rosa plums have amber flesh.  See here.   Can anyone tell me what is the name of the plum that has the purple pulp that is so heavenly? Is it a variety of the Santa Rosa plum?

There is a punch that I enjoy that is made with plums and other fruit.

Juice 3 juice oranges and juice 3 lemons.
Pour in a pitcher and add:
1/2 lb seedless grapes, halved
1/2 lb plums pitted and chopped into small bite-sized pieces- leave skin on
1 fresh pineapple- peeled, cored and chopped into bite-size pieces
(add any fruit juices from the chopping board)
Have ready and chilled 4 cups of your favorite strong brewed tea- black or herbal. Pour the chilled tea over fruit along with 4 cups chopped ice.
If you want to you can sweeten with sugar. I do not like sweetened iced tea – the fruit for me is sweet enough.  But if it isn’t sweet enough for you can start adding 1/4 cup of sugar at a time and taste for your desired sweetness. Or let each person sweeten his/her own.
Of course, you can add any other fruit of your choice- like any fresh fruit cocktail.

Plum tart on puff pastry 003 120 dpi by TheCookingPhotographer

I also love to make a plum tart. Epicurius has a good recipe: except that I use a tart pan or pie pan and use my regular one crust on the bottom with no crust on the top. I like to use the Italian plums for the tart and also add a little lemon juice to the plums.