PRUNE PLUMS

Discover the pleasure of eating them fresh

BY JAMIE COLLINS

When you hear the word prunes does your mind immediately think of dried plums touted as being full of fiber and good to keep in your pantry? Dried prunes may serve a medicinal purpose and are very tasty especially when paired with smoked almonds, but if you have never eaten or cooked with fresh prune plums, be sure to head to the farmers market this summer and pick some up.

They are sweet-tart with firm flesh that doesn’t squirt juice all over, and their chewy skin adds a desirable texture. Prune plums have very low water content, which results in concentrated sugars, almost as if they were dry farmed. When cooked, the heat releases their jammy magic and creates a gorgeous fuchsia hue. They make decadent desserts with slight citrus notes that have pastry chefs searching them out for their tarts and cakes.

European Vs Japanese Plums

California currently produces 250 varieties and more than 90 percent of all plums grown in the U.S. California-grown plums are derived from either European or Japanese varieties. The large, sweet and juicy plums commonly found in markets—like the prized Santa Rosa plum developed by Luther Burbank—are generally Japanese varieties. Because they are available in many colors and have a high water content, they are mainly used for fresh eating.

European prune plums (Prunus domestica) are most often consumed as dried plums, commonly known as prunes. They are much smaller than Japanese plums, more like the size of a small chicken egg with a football shape. There are more than 1,000 European prune plum varieties with varying skin and flesh colors. However the most desirable are French plums which have a dark purple-blue skin and a light green to golden yellow flesh. The most popular variety grown for drying and fresh eating is the improved French, an early variety with a pit that easily pulls away from the fruit, known as freestone. Prune plums are hard to find in grocery stores, and can typically only be found at the farmers market or from backyard growers selling by word of mouth.

History

European prune plums likely originated in Syria. Dried prune plums were traded across Europe and were a perfect snack for long travels, with vitamins and nutrients that provide sustenance on extended expeditions. Spanish padres grew prune plums in mission gardens. Then during the Gold Rush, these little oval plums were planted in places with dry, hot summers and cool winters.

Beginning in 1871 Felix Gillet propagated and introduced over 40 varieties of French plums and nuts to California, beginning in the Sierra Foothills. He realized that the various places in The Golden State were similar to those in the Clairac Valley in southwestern France.

The variety originally called Clairac Mammoth d’Ente, now simply called the improved French, became the standard for the California prune industry and still is the main variety grown for prunes. Santa Clara Valley became the state’s epicenter of commercial prune plum production, peaking in the 1930s. But prune production declined due to oversupply, and orchards were removed as urbanization increased.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that prunes were again grown, this time in the San Joaquin Valley, where irrigation was improved to allow for extensive orchards.

Local Plums

Nadine Schaeffer of Birdsong Orchards in Watsonville grows a variety of plums including her favorite, imperial epineuse, a sweeter, more succulent larger cousin of traditional French prune plums. At the English National Fruit Trials this variety is used as a standard against which all other prune plums are judged. This variety was a seedling discovered in Clairac, France around 1870 and introduced by the Felix Gillet Institute in 1878. Schaeffer’s favorite culinary prune plum is the damson plum, which she calls the “Concord grape of the plum world.” The outside is a gorgeous bluish-purple shade with gold flesh. The flavor is magnificent—but it’s best cooked or baked.

Massa Estate Organic Vineyards in Carmel Valley grows two permanent hedgerows of French prune plums between the vines to at- tract beneficial insects to its organic vineyard. The tasty fruit are just an extra benefit. The plum trees are actually part of an ecologically engineered plan for biological control of vineyard pests. The plum trees provide the perfect sheltered habitat, and the flowers are a good source of nectar, a food source that encourages parasitic wasps, predatory mites and other beneficial insects to make a home in the trees. Not only do the plum trees attract beneficial insects but they also attract leafhoppers, which is a major pest in vineyard grape production. The beneficial parasitic wasps have plenty of food to increase their population and move on to the vineyards to eat even more leafhoppers before they can cause problems in the grapes. The prune plum trees have now become a self-regulating system of biological control, which is the key to integrated pest management.

In addition, there is a buzzing sound in the prune trees from the insects they attract that seems to keep the birds from going near the trees and snacking on the plums. There is never an issue with bird damage in the plum trees, likely due to the sound coming from the tree canopy. Nature is so cool!

Massa sells its French prune plums in its tasting room and to restaurants on the Monterey Peninsula, and Big Sur Bakery makes a jam out of its prized prune plums.

Growing Plum Trees

Plums are some of the easiest fruit trees to grow. Some are alternate bearing, meaning that every other year you will have less fruit.

European plums, which include both French and Italian varieties such as the stanley, Italian, valor and improved French (a heavy producer), are mostly self-pollinating but can benefit when several varieties are grown. Japanese varieties though typically need pollinators.

When planting, gopher wire is a must for young trees. Dig a hole twice as deep and twice as wide as your tree and amend it with compost or worm castings. Plant trees in the spring, and depending on whether you have a dwarf, semi-dwarf or standard tree, you will need to space them 10 to 25 feet apart. Dwarf trees don’t produce as long as standard trees, so keep that in mind when choosing. Keep moist until they are established. Starting in four to five years you will have an abundant harvest, up to 200 pounds of plums per tree, if managed well. Prune stone fruit in the summer or fall after the harvest is over.

Eating And Storing Plums

Plums are very high in potassium which helps regulate the salt level in the body and can help lower blood pressure. They are also full of fiber and vitamin C, calcium, vitamins K and A as well as micronutrients.

Both fresh and dried plums are a great addition to a charcuterie or cheese platter. I love them on salads with some salty cheese like feta or a strong cheese like bleu or Gorgonzola. I have made them into stone fruit salsa, and also baked and put them on top of ricotta or cottage cheese drizzled with honey.

Many herbs complement cooked plums, such as rosemary, thyme, lemon verbena and sage. I have made plum thyme lemonade that was perfection. You can also make mixed drinks with the plum and thyme mixture. Simply coat the plums with sugar, mix in fresh thyme and add some lemon verbena or lemon balm if you have it and macerate overnight. Then pull off some of the liquid before you cook the rest down into a jam. Make a shrub by adding some vinegar (preferably a lighter flavored like white balsamic or Champagne to not overpower the fruit), add the fruit and herb mixture lemonade or use as a base for a cocktail with some fresh lemon, bubbly water and gin or vodka.

European plums really shine when cooked or baked due to their concentrated flavors. Use them in compotes and sauces for roasted pork or poultry dishes, grill them, mix into rice dishes, blend into salad dressings, or add to yogurt. They also mingle well with salty foods like olives, anchovies and miso paste.

Fresh prune plums are typically available in late summer through early fall, depending on how warm temperatures get on the farm where they are growing. Look for fruit that is firm without blemishes and has a powdery natural bloom on it, which means they are fresh and have not been handled too much or are too ripe. This white bloom protects the plums from pests, bacterial breakdown and drying out. Prune plums will last a long time in the refrigerator, however, they taste best when consumed within a week once ripe.

I hope you can locate some of these fancy plums and try them for yourself!

Jamie Collins is the owner of Serendipity Farms. She hosts U-Picks and a Friday Farm Stand at 26500 Val Verde Drive in Carmel, and attends farmers markets in Carmel and Santa Cruz, where you can find her fresh organic fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers. Find out what is being harvested @fabulous_serendipity_farm.

To make a rustic prune plum galette, simply roll your favorite pastry crust into a circle. Wash and cut plums into quarters, removing the pits. Place plums at the center of the pastry crust in a pile or in concentric circles, leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle with 2–3 tablespoons of sugar depending on how sweet the plums are and dot with bits of butter. Fold up the edges of the pastry to form the galette. Sprinkle the crust with more sugar. Bake at 375° F for 30–40 minutes, until bubbly and browned.