Friday 18 July 2014

More wild plums

Having harvested some wild cherry plums the other day, we went to 'our' spot to see if any
more were ready. Nope!

Not giving in that easily, the next morning, we set off to drive to the nearest location, we could have walked but it was roasting hot even at 9.00 am. Not many more red ones, but the wild yellow Mirabelle ones were beginning to show, so picked those instead:
We think maybe 3lb or so in the sink, soaked off the dirt and dust. There are a few red ones in there as you can see, we added them to our harvest from the other day and managed to a second tub of those, ready for the freezer:
We don't often have a Chinese takeaway but when we do, save the tubs. They get used time and time again. We froze 1.5lbs of the plums in a bag, for turning into plum and date winter chutney. The rest, 2 tubs with about 12oz in each, plus another tub of red ones, were frozen ready for pies/crumbles in the winter:
Such fantastic colours don't you think? You can read about Mirabelle plums here
I didn't know until I read it recently, that both types of these plums are banned in America.




21 comments:

  1. We have a couple of those trees in our hedgerow. Why are they banned in America?

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    1. No reason that I can find, just weird import laws!

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  2. Thanks for this post. Think we have one of those trees in our garden. Except the plum is a bit bland - do you find that? Didn't know they could be frozen so will get picking.

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    1. We don't find them bland when ripe, just different. Once cooked/frozen, they take on the sour taste of normal plums, so do need sweetening!

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  3. Must say, I`ve never come across these fruit before. Must look out in hedgerows for them, as you can`t beat free bounty. Well done on your little stash!

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    1. Must admit we had never seen them until we move here. Happy hunting!

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  4. We have a prunus tree in our front garden, it's been there for years so we have no idea what variety it is. After looking at our fruit they definitely aren't the mirabelle... I wonder if they are possibly a yellow gage. Their fruit are slightly smaller than our greengage fruit... hmm, more research required. I'd love to be able to use the fruit as I dislike wasting what could be used.
    Love how you've gathered and preserved/frozen yours! You'll be well supplied this winter with all your dehydrating and freezing you've been doing! :)

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    1. I believe you can get yellow gages. Apparently, different species can have different shape stones, depending on heritage.

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  5. We have a plum tree on the allotment I can't wait to see what kind of plums it has. How sad is that lol

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    1. I'm surprised it is not starting to show colour yet, maybe it is a late variety?

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  6. I have a mirabelle tree in my garden and this year I can harvest a few mirabelle plums.
    Great harvest !
    Wish you a wonderful weekend,
    Regina

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  7. Brilliant harvest! Do you have a recipe for the plum and date winter chutney - I can't find one online, and it sounds delicious! XX

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    1. I do but due to copyright laws, can't share it here. If you like, I could email it to you. If you can't get access to my blog email, leave yours as a comment. I always read comments before printing so don't worry about it appearing here, it won't!

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  8. I love how the seasons roll by and are heralded with seasonal fruit. Victoria plums are my absolute fave. Won't be long until they're ready too!

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    1. We love those as well and have a cordon in the garden it had 15 on it which isn't bad for its size.

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  9. We dont have any wild plums around here as far as I know. My dad usually keeps me well supplied but I dont think they have many this year because he hacked his tree back.

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    1. We don't know anyone with a plum tree. Currently keeping our eye on some wild damsons!

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  10. Wow, Dc, I've never seen these out in the wild - I won't ask where you found them!! Yes, we hang into our plastic take-away containers they work a treat in the freezer. I am waiting for the blackberries, they are all over the place and there is a brilliant local spot .... no I am not revealing where!! Lxx

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    1. Won't be picking blackberries this year as I still have lots from last year.

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    2. We don't need brambles this year so that will be one less thing to harvest!

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