Let's Talk About Plums Baby - Kitchen Mojo
We love plums. There, we've said it. Like cherries they have a short season and right now, here in Kent, they are all around us. But sadly not a big presence in the supermarkets because they aren't very easy to pack and they 'turn' quickly. This makes us really sad because basically this is just about the Supermarket's convenience rather than customer choice or supporting local producers and product. It's easy enough to find South African plums in the supermarket that are bred to stay like bullets and taste like, well, bullets but we rarely see Victoria's, Opals, Greengages or Mirabelles even though there's plenty of them. So get out there and head to a specialist greengrocers, food hall, produce market or neighbour with a plum tree - or if you're lucky enough to live near an orchard - buy direct from the grower. Your effort will be rewarded by flavour! There's also lots of cherry plums in hedgerows to be had for free if you look carefully.
What to do once you've got your plums!
Eat them as they are. Prep them (cut them in half and remove the stones) and freeze them in useable sized batches. Make compotes and freeze, make jams if that's your bag.
If you like playing with flavours add some spices to the mix. Our favourite spices to go with plums are cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and aniseed.
Some Recipe Ideas and Inspiration
Plums are great in our
- 'Rustic Fruit & Almond Frangipane Galette recipe here
- Moist Apple/ Rhubarb/ Raspberry/ Plum Cake recipe here
Here's our favourite ever Spicy Plum Sauce Recipe on Hunt Gather Cook website.
We shared the recipe for our Two Great Taste Star Plum & Cardamom Liqueur with Brogdale, The National Fruit Collection and you can find it on their website here
We love the sound of this Plum Pavlova Spiced with Cinnamon & Star Anise on the Melrose & Morgan website here.
And this savoury dish - Sticky Baked Sausages with Red Onion & Plums - on the Macknade website here.
We can't wait to try these Pickled Plums from Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian now we've found them - here.
Plums work really well in muffins too - here's a recipe from Deila for Damson or Plum & Cinnamon Muffins.
And, if you want to keep it simple, here's the BBC recipe for Plum Compote! Make it, freeze it and then pop some crumble on top or serve it with Greek Yoghurt/ porridge later in the year.
- Katy Newton