Different Plum Types Are Better For Different Things

All About Okanagan Fruit

Not sure which plum types to get? Yellow, red, or dark varieties? Which are best for eating fresh? And which are best for baking? What about dried plums? Some varieties of plums are definitely better than others, depending on what you use them for.

Did you know plums are also called a 'gage'?

Plums are relatives of the peach, almond and nectarine families. Like many other Okanagan fruit, they're very delicious dried, made into juice, sauce and other fresh plum recipes.

Plums grow in a wide variety of colors and sizes, and like all Okanagan fruit, are delicious when eaten right off the tree.

The different plum types you will find in the Okanagan include European plums, Italian plums (prune plums) and plums of the Japanese groups.

European plums are best for eating fresh and for canning. These plums are smaller and firmer than the Japanese plums, and they are also sweeter and less juicy. European plums are oval in shape and are often called prunes because they can be dried without their pits being removed, and commonly are. Damson, though a European plum variety, are very tart and are used mainly in cooking and for making jams and jellies.

Italian plums, or prune plums, a European variety, are appetizing to eat fresh and prune plums are most ideal for home canning, freezing, or drying because of their high fruit sugar content.

Japanese plum varieties vary in color from yellow to a dark reddish purple and are excellent for fresh eating, cooking, canning and preserves. They are larger, rounder (or heart shaped), and firmer than European plums and are primarily grown for fresh market.

Buying And Storing Tips - Keeping Fruit Fresh

Different plum types grow in different shapes and colors. Some varieties, such as prune plums, have dark blue skin and a yellow flesh. Other plum varieties have red, golden or almost black skins with a red or yellow flesh. Depending on the plum variety, they range in flavor, from tangy and almost sour to a sugary-sweet taste.

• When choosing plums avoid plums that have discoloured skins or seep juice.
• A plum's ripeness cannot be judged by its color. The many plum types each have their own color, yet they should all be soft when ripe and never hard.
• Fresh, ripe, and ready-to-eat plums should have a bit of give when you squeeze them gently.
• Firm or hard plums are generally not yet mature and don't taste right. Plums that are over ripe are too soft.
• To speed up the ripening of a plum place the plums in a paper bag and leave them for a few days. Once plums are ripe store them in the fridge.
• As plums ripen and soften, the skin becomes less tart and the flesh becomes sweeter.
• You can use plums as a substitute in recipes calling for cherries!
• When dried, a plum becomes a prune. Dried plums are even sweeter than fresh plums, and have a chewy, sticky texture.
• Make sure you remember to remove the pit before putting a plum through your juicer.