Plum Season

It is not officially summer until the first plum ripens. This year, it happened on Wednesday, July 3rd. I long for this delicious season as the first plum blossoms appear in February. We have 4 different plum varieties in our garden. Each of our plum trees produces at different times of the summer, so we are constantly thinking of ways to make the most of each harvest. The first plums are almost black and arrive the first week of July. When the plums appear they don't last very long; my husband and I spend our evenings under our plum tree in search of its delicious, dark, and almost black fruit.

Cheers to all things plum!

February, plum blossoms

You plum lovers might enjoy the following:

• Marian Burros’ Original Plum Torte recipe, published in the New York Times every year from 1983 through 1989 and reissued due to popular demand. 
•  Its the Time of year to Go Plum Crazy 2008 article by Bonny Wolf for npr in which she shares her mother’s Plum Torte recipe made with Italian prune plums. 
• Czech Fruit Dumplings recipe, by Sara Clevering at honestcooking.com
• A little plum jam in the French manner by Zillah Bahar for SF Gate, 1998. Includes recipe for plum jam and a few other intriguing summer recipes.
• Plum Catalog from Dave Wilson Nursery