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Plum Delicious

Foodie Friday

Sep 9, 2011 by Rebecca Crichton

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I heard a local radio foodie declare that this time of year is the very best for just about everything worth harvesting from our gardens. For me, this is the time when the fruit on my Italian plum tree ripens and I start salivating just thinking about my favorite ways to enjoy them.

I love picking one or two, covered in their silvery grey cloak, rubbing them on my shirt or pants until they polish up, revealing their amazing deep purple sheen, and then biting through the thin skin into amber flesh for a satisfying mixture of sweet and tart.

Last year the branches seemed weighted by the fruit. But this year’s harvest is sparse –probably related to our odd weather. I’ll have to reach or climb to find them hiding in their small clusters.

All that means is that I will treasure them even more and make small batches of plum chutney, plum butter and of course the Plum Pie I serve at Rosh Hashanah. That recipe first appeared in Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook and has been in other books of hers.

Plum Chutney

Ingredients

1C light brown sugar

1C regular sugar

¾ C cider vinegar

1 ½ t. crushed red pepper

2 t. salt

2 t. mustard seed

2 big cloves garlic, thinly sliced

¼ C thinly sliced onion

½ C preserved ginger

1 C seedless white raisins

3 ½ C Italian prune plums (20+), halved

Directions

In a large saucepan, mix sugars and vinegar and bring to boil. Add remaining ingredients except plums and cook for a few minutes to soften garlic and onions. Stir in plum halves and simmer until thick.

Fill hot, sterilized jars and seal.

Plum Butter

Ingredients

4 C plum puree (cook plums and put through food mill to puree)

1 C sugar

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. grond cloves

1 t. fresh grated ginger or dried ginger

Directions

Mix together, put in a glass baking dish and bake at 300 degrees for about 3 hours, stirring every ½ hour. It is done when it gets thick and you can see the dish when you pass the spoon through it. Fill hot, sterilized jars and seal.

This is spectacular with sweet crackers, good Stilton or other veined cheese and a glass of good port.

About the Author

Rebecca Crichton Has Written 40 Articles For Us!

I try to stay aware of one main concept: We see things through different lenses. We get caught in our own belief systems and most of us are pretty attached to being right. I am one of those inveterate Life Long Learners. I like new ideas, new experiences, new people, new challenges.

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