Product of the Month AUGUST -Plums

Plums or Prunus domestica are part of the Rosaceae family. Plums are smooth skinned sweet fruits with a flat pointed stone in the middle.  Plums grow on trees which can grow  between 5 and 7 metres high, they produces white flowers which get pollinated by bees, plum trees loose their leaves in the autumn.

There are thousands of plum varieties available world wide, but lets focus on the English ones, 9 of the most common ones are:

1)    Avalon, which are available by the end of August, they are a large plum with a deep pink skin.

2)    Czar, which are available in early August, they are fine to eat, but are best known and used in jams.

3)    Early Rivers, available from early July, but can be rather sharp at the beginning of the season.

4)    Excaliber, available through August, it has a dark purple skin, and is very similar to Victoria plums.

5)    Majorie’s seedling, available later in the season in September/October time, and is one of the oldest English plums.

6)    Mistaka

7)    Reeves

8)     Sanctus Hubertus

9)    Victoria, which are available through August It has a sweet rich taste both to eat and to make into jams. 

English plums have become rather a rarity in English supermarkets but also in English gardens too. Most large supermarkets get their imports of plums from Italy and South America; these countries allow large quanities of plums to be available through out the whole season.  Plums in supermarkets are large, colourful but thought to be tasteless.  

Why plums are good for you, well plums are high in carbohydrates, low in fat and calories but are also good sources of vitamin A and C and also a good source of calcium, iron, potassium and fibre.

What can you do with plums other than eat them as a snack, they can be made into jams, pies, crumbles, cakes and much more, see the Product of the Month recipe blog for some ideas.

Got room in your garden, why not help increase English plum production and plant a tree, here are a couple of websites which can help you get started.

www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/fruit_veg_mini_project_march_2b_plum.asp                             www.fruitexpert.co.uk/PlumTrees.html

If you fancy some one to one advise about growing a plum tree, why not pop into the shop and talk to Ange and keep your eyes out for her plums which should be arriving in the shop very soon.