El Dorado Elephant Heart Friar
Italian Kelsey Laroda
Friar President Queen Rosa
Red Beaut Roysum Santa Rosa
Simka
FoodFood InformationFruitDeciduous
Plums are native to the Orient, Europe, and North America. While theydate back hundreds of years, most of the ones we now enjoy are new improvedvarieties that have been introduced in the last four decades. There arecountless documented varieties and new ones continually come on line.
Botanically the plum is a drupe and is related to the peach, nectarine,apricot, and almond. Plums come in assorted sizes, shapes, skin colors,and even flesh colors. Some varieties are slightly larger than a marble,others are much larger than a jumbo egg. They can be either round or ovalin shape. There is a wide range of skin colors: green, yellow, orange, purple,every shade of red, and black. Most plums have a yellow-colored flesh, buta few varieties have a red flesh. Most are clingstone, but several are freestone.
Even with all this diversity of color, shape, and size, plums can be dividedinto two distinctively different groups that are known as European plumsand Japanese plums.
The European varieties are usually, but not necessarily, freestone. Theyall have yellow flesh, but the thing that sets them apart is that they alwayshave a purple skin (sometimes it looks almost blue if it has a lot of bloom).
The Japanese plums come in a wide range of colors but never have the telltalepurple skin color. Most varieties are also yellow in flesh, but some havea bright red flesh. Unlike the European plums, which for the most part arefreestone, most, but not all, of the Japanese varieties are clingstone.The Japanese plums are usually tastier and juicier than the European varieties.They are nearly always eaten out of hand or used as a fresh fruit, sincethey dissolve when cooked and are not suitable for drying in the sun tobe marketed as dried fruit. The European plums have a milder flavor anda meatier texture. Some varieties are quite good when eaten out of hand,but most are at their best when cooked or baked. These are the only typesthat are sun-dried and sold as dried fruit.
The terms plum and prune always cause some confusion, possibly because theLatin word for plum is prunus. Botanically there is no difference betweena plum and a prune. Originally in the English language, the words plum andprune were used as synonyms. Today, to make it less confusing, the Japanesevarieties are called plums and the European varieties are usually calledfresh prunes. The sun-dried fruit are also called prunes.
American plums are in season from mid-May until October. America importsplums from Chile during January, February, and March. Almost 90 percentof America's plums are grown in California. The first California plums ofthe year arrive near the end of May and are of a variety called the RedBeaut. This is not one of our better eating or holding varieties butis in great demand and brings top dollar because it is the first plum onthe scene. You'll do better to skip these first arrivals and wait aboutthree to four weeks for the more flavorful, better textured Santa Rosaplums.
Except for a jade-green-skinned variety called the Kelsey, the bestflavored Japanese-type plums are either bright red or dark red in skin color.The dark red varieties are round and have very small pits. They have goodsize, lots of juice, and a refreshing tart-sweet flavor. The top varietiesin this group, in order of merit, are the LaRoda, Eldorado, QueenAnne, Friar, and Nubiana. The brighter-red-skinned varieties are usuallymore oval in shape. They have larger stones than the dark red varietiesand a slightly more tart, but also delicious, flavor. The varieties in thisgroup are easy to recognize by name because they usually end with the wordRosa. There are the Santa Rosa, Queen Rosa, Gar Rosa, and SimkaRosa. The Simka Rosa is the largest fruit in the Rosa group and is sometimescalled the New Yorker Plum. (Over the years this variety has increased theincome of the dental profession. Along with the fairly large and very obviouspit that is easily removed, there is usually a tiny chip of a pit embeddedin the flesh of the plum. It lurks unnoticed until you bite into it.)
All of the above-mentioned varieties have a yellow flesh. There are somefine red-fleshed varieties that are as flavorful as they are colorful. Theold Duarte variety, which was the original red-flesh plum, lost favornot because it lacked flavor but because its skin would split open in severalareas as it reached full maturity. The newer red-fleshed varieties are verypopular in California but are seldom shipped out of the state because theyare quite fragile when ripe and are often too tender to risk lengthy transport.The red-fleshed varieties include the Frontier, Mariposa, Carol Harriss,and Ace, which looks like a huge Duarte. One red-fleshed varietywarrants special attention because its name accurately describes its contents:It is called the Elephant Heart.
There are two green-skinned varieties that also warrant special attention.They look somewhat alike in color and are very much alike in shape and size.As they ripen, the green fades to yellow and then bronze. The lighter greenvariety, which arrives late in June, is called the Wickson and isabout as dry and flavorful as an unsalted boiled potato. The jade greenvariety, which follows in a few weeks, is called the Kelsey. Thereis no finer plum than the Kelsey. If you buy green-skinned plums, ask forKelseys by name and avoid the Wicksons. Very often these two varieties aremarketed as Green Gage plums, which they are not. The true Green Gage isgrown in England and is a smaller horse of the same color.
The European-type plums don't reach the market until August. The most popularand the biggest crop are the small, purple, freestone prunes. These aregrown not only in California but in the Pacific Northwest, Michigan, andNew York. Washington State ranks number one in production. They are mostcommonly known as fresh prunes or Italian prunes but, depending on the ethnicbalance of a neighborhood, may also be known as German prunes or Hungarianprunes. They are usually in good supply and sell at moderate prices. Thesefreestone prunes are fairly good when eaten out of hand as a fresh fruit,but achieve their top flavor and top texture when used in baking. They alsoare excellent when stewed in sugar syrup.
One variety of European-type plum, called the Damson, is excellentfor making jams and preserves. These are very small in size and are toofirm and tart to eat raw, but they are fine when cooked. In Grandma's era,when many people put up homemade jellies, Damsons were a big item. Todaythey have all but disappeared.
In mid-September we get two very large-sized varieties of European-typeplums. One of these, which resembles a huge fresh prune, is called the Empressand has a pretty good flavor. The other variety is called the Presidentplum. These large purple plums are graceful fruits that look like winnersbut taste like losers. The Presidents arrive in huge supply just as thesuperior Japanese varieties are fading out. They are one of our poorest-flavoredplums. When consumed while firm and green, they lack flavor and aren't veryjuicy. If allowed to ripen, they are very dry but do have good flavor, theytaste like soap.
Another purple-skinned variety to avoid is aptly named. This variety iscalled the Tragedy plum and they do have a tragic flavor. These smallpurple plums are grown in California and arrive in July about a month beforethe look-alike fresh prunes. Shoppers, mistaking them for the fresh Italianprunes, buy the Tragedies. They haven't nearly as much flavor raw or cooked.Thankfully, fewer Tragedies arrive in market each year.
When shopping for plums, select those that have good color, are at leastmedium-sized, and are not bruised. Remember to avoid buying the first plumvarieties that arrive in market in early May. Wait until June for more flavorful,less costly varieties. Enjoy plums during June, July, August, and earlySeptember. When the red-skinned varieties go out of season in mid-September,don't substitute with the large, attractive purple President plums, whichlack flavor.
Nearly all the stone fruits (nectarines, peaches, and plums) should be purchasedwhen firm and at high color, then allowed to ripen for a few days at roomtemperature. Once they attain a slight yield (or give) to gentle pressure,they should be stored in the refrigerator until used. Remember that slightlyunder ripe is preferable to overripe. The one exception to this rule isthe apricot. You can't have an apricot that is too ripe. They are at flavorbest when the texture is almost fluid.
WHEN TO BUY: At peak June, July, and August
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Firm, colorful, not bruised fruit
HOW TO STORE: Ripen at room temperature; refrigerate when ready to eat
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