Ten secrets of plums

1) There are two main kinds of plum, European and Japanese. Not much is known about European plums, but their Japanese cousins originated in China over 2000 years ago.

2) Plums come in a range of skin colours, from blush pink to deep purple and bright yellow to blood red.

3) You can't judge ripeness by the skin colour. Pick smooth, plump plums that ‘give' slightly when squeezed. If they're soft where the dimple meets the stem, they're overripe.

4) Ripe plums should go straight into the fridge, but unripe plums should be kept at room temperature to ripen.

5) The redder the flesh of the plum, the more free radical-fighting antioxidants are present.

6) Eat dried plums (prunes) to help your digestive system! 100g has up to 20 per cent of your fibre needs.

7) For an easy dessert, halve plums, sprinkle with sugar and grill until caramelised. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

8) Plums are perfect for cooking! They're great for roasting, poaching, baking, stewing and more.

9) Sweet juicy plums, such as the Santa Rosa, are best for eating fresh, while firmer, more tart varieties of plum, such as President, are better suited for baking.

10) Don't limit yourself to desserts - plums also work beautifully in savoury summer salads, alongside tender roasted duck or chicken, or on a summer cheeseboard.

More fun facts

• One plum gives 14% of your daily vitamin C.
• The cloudy bloom on the skin is completely natural, so eat up!
• The juicy inner flesh of plums can be yellow, red, amber or creamy white. Red-fleshed varieties often contain more nutrients than yellow, and tend to be sweeter.
• Plums are at their sweet peak between January and April.

Source

Taste Magazine — January 2015 , Page 107

Author

Sarah Hobbs