“The varieties of plum are legion, and have been at least since Roman times when Pliny spoke of the ingens turba prunorum, the enormous crowd of plums.” — Jane Grigson’s "Fruit Book"
The great menagerie of plums begins now and goes on through August, with this luscious stone fruit ranging from blue-black, through the reds and rubies, and on to yellow and the pale, almost translucent green of greengages.
Although the greengage is considered by many to be the aristocrat of plums for eating out of hand, 1 find most of them utterly delicious and a fine simple dessert, especially convenient for picnics. But with the plethora of plums abounding, you may want to try some of the following desserts and a cordial made now for autumn imbibing (or you might even make up enough for Christmas gifts).
Plum “Water Of Life”
This is not going to compare with the famous eau de vie of France, which is a fiery and unforgettable distillation of the little yellow plums of Alsace. However, it is a lovely cordial and nothing could be easier to make. Incidentally, you can use this formula to make cordials of cherries, blackberries, and raspberries too. You begin by making:
Simple Syrup
This makes one quart which keeps well in the refrigerator for future use.
2 cups water
4 cups sugar
Stir together in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, set over low heat, and stir until sugar is dissolved and syrup is clear. Cool very thoroughly before using.
Select four ripe, red, perfect plums and cut them in half along their natural dividing lines. Do not discard the pits as they add immeasurably to the flavor of your fake eau de vie. Put them in a two-quart jar (Mason jars are available in hardware stores) and add one cup of simple syrup. Pour in one liter of vodka and seal it up. Gently upend it several times to mix all the ingredients. Store it on a cool, dark shelf and invert it once a week for about six weeks. Strain into a decanter and serve chilled.
Blue Plum Cake
This is an adaptation of a traditional Alsatian country cake made with a yeast-risen dough. It is delicious served faintly warm with a little whipped cream.
Dough:
2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 envelope dried yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Fruit:
2 lbs. blue plums
Granulated sugar
Put the flour in a large bowl. Mix together the yeast, sugar, and milk in a small bowl and let it sit until it starts to bubble. Stir this into the flour (if you have an electric mixer, use the paddle for this), then add the salt, cinnamon, and lemon rind. Beat in the eggs one by one, then add the melted butter and mix very well.
Change to the dough hook on your machine and knead for five minutes or turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead by hand for five minutes. Put the dough in a large greased bow l and let rise until almost double in size. Punch down and refrigerate for several hours or overnight, covered with plastic wrap.
Rinse, dry, and pit the plums. Butter a nine-inch quiche pan. Roll out the dough to about one-quarter-inch thick and fit it into the pan, pushing the dough out to form a slightly thicker border around the edges. Arrange the pitted plums over the dough and let stand one hour. Bake for one hour in a preheated 375-degree oven.
Sprinkle at once with granulated sugar.
Plum Chutney
This may be made of any kind of plums and is delicious with roast turkey or ham as well as with curries. It is somewhat spicy with green ginger root, which can be omitted if you prefer a blander chutney.
Makes about four one-pint jars.
2 lbs. stoned ripe plums
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
2 cups sliced onions
2/3 cup golden raisins
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. minced green ginger root
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 small dried chili
2 cups white wine vinegar
Mix all the ingredients together in a fairly wide, heavy pan. Old-fashioned open preserving pans are of course ideal for all sorts of jam and jelly-making but not common in modern kitchens. (I saw a copper one advertised in a Williams-Sonoma catalogue for many recent seasons, though.) Bring the mixture to the boil and leave it to simmer steadily, stirring frequently, until it is thick and chutney-like — this may take an hour or more. Remember, the chutney will become even thicker when it cools.
Wash and sterilize the canning jars and their lids and leave them in the boiling water until needed. Lift them out with jar tongs and fill them, one by one, to one-quarter-inch of the top with the hot chutney — a wide-mouth funnel and a ladle are needed for this. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel so that the seal will not be interfered with. Put on the hot sterile lids and fasten down with the screw rings.
Because of the high acid content of the chutney it needs no further processing. However, if you feel more secure about home-canned products with processing, give the jars a “hot water bath." This is done by putting the sealed jars on a rack in a deep canning kettle and filling it with boiling water to at least one inch above the tops of the jars. Cover and boil for 10 minutes. Cool undisturbed overnight, then store for a month before using in a cool, dark place.
