It's plum season in Maryland a time when we can luxuriate in the sweet, tender juiciness of the fruit. Plum trees do very well in our state, flourishing in the heat of a Maryland summer and relishing the downtime of a cold Maryland winter.. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino points out, we are quite lucky that our orchard growers wholeheartedly embrace plums.
First, we want to thank my good friend Dave Hochheimer of Black Rock Orchards for giving me a tutorial on Maryland plums. A walk though his orchard is like a stroll through a jewel house.
Plums are available from late spring through the summer and arrive at the market in sequence, according to their ripening habits. Around the world there are literally thousands of varieties of plums. Here in the US we grow hundreds and in Maryland dozens. Most plums have either a European or Asian heritage.
First, in general, many plums will continue to ripen after they are picked. The best technique is to place them in a closed up paper bag and leave them on the kitchen counter. Avoid direct sun, and refrigeration. When the plum is soft to the touch it is as ripe as you could ask for.
There are so many varieties of plums, each with their own characteristics. The ripening season varies, so once they start coming in by late Spring, they keep on coming, one variety or another. In the grocery stores we generally see two plums called simply "black" and "red". In fact these are Red Heart and Santa Rosa respectively.
Early plums which may be gone by now include the popular Methley, the Spring Satin, the Purple Heart and the much esteemed Flavor King.
Mid-summer plums, available now include one of my favorites, the pretty little yellow Shiro plum. This Japanese variety ripens very easily and is very sweet to eat. Satsuma is another commonly found summer plum from China. Its red skin and red flesh are very flavorful and versatile. The Ozark Premier is a fairly large red skinned plum with pink flesh. Its texture is what you might call "fine-grained" and the flavor has a persistent tartness.
Later plums include the popular Stanley a European plum that is closely related to some of the Italian varieties used for drying into prunes. The very sweet Stanley is excellent for cooking or canning, or setting aside to turn into prunes.
One of the most dramatic later plums is the Elephant Heart. Its flesh is a deep red color and it is loaded with flavor. Ripening very late in the season will be the large President plum, of British origins. It is sweet enough to make a hand-held dessert, or worked into a pastry. Finally, if you should see them, the celebrated Green Gage plum is famous for its fresh sweet flavor, and if a favorite for bakers.
As for cooking ideas, there are dozens of approaches. The Plum Tart is a classic. Using a pate brisée, the tart combines fresh plums (no need to peel them) with plum or apricot jam. Many recipes cal for a custard base.
As you might guess, plums can take center stage in any number of salsa recipes. The contrast between the sweet fruit and onion, hot peppers, cucumbers and herbs makes the salsa swing. Recipes are easy to come by on the Internet.
Some other ideas in brief: try plums with your morning oatmeal. Cut them up for salads, substituting them for tomatoes. Chinese plum sauce is easy to whip up, or a plum and balsamic vinegar sauce is a great standby for roast pork. Now, whereas a classic yuletide Plum Pudding has very little to do with plums, you can whip up an egg custard and roasted plum version that is much closer to a true plum dessert in a conventional pudding format.
