Italian Blue Plums

August 23, 2024 Post a Comment

Italian blue plums

The plums are also known as Empress plums, Italian plums, and Blue plums and are a boutique variety cultivated for the fruit's dense flesh and concentrated flavors.

What are Italian plums called?

Italian plums, also called Italian prune plums, are a European plum. They look much different than the commonly available plums in United States supermarkets. Italian plums are about the size of a large strawberry, and they have an oblong shape rather. Look for very dark purple skin often dusted with a cloudy film.

What are blue plums called?

Blue Damson plums, botanically classified as Prunus insititia, are an heirloom species of small fruits belonging to the Rosaceae family. The plums grow on trees that can reach up to six meters in height, and recently, growers have also developed a dwarf variety for home gardens that reaches only three meters.

Are Italian plums sweet?

Italian prune plums are small, egg-shaped black plums that are about the size of a large berry. Their smooth, thin skin carries the cloudy look of a blueberry. While most often used for drying as prunes, Italian prune plums have a sweet flavor.

How do you eat Italian plums?

While you can eat these raw like any other stone fruit, they are best cooked. Their firmer texture holds up well, even when made into a jam or sauce, and their more concentrated but less sweet flavor means that they are a wonderful addition to baked goods like coffee cake or scones.

How do you know when Italian plums are ripe?

Taste: The best way to determine ripeness is to taste. A ripe plum will be very sweet, flavorful, and juicy. A less ripe plum will have no sweetness. Feel and texture: Ripe plums are soft and “give” when pressed.

Are Italian plums edible?

Famous worldwide for reliability and heavy setting, Italian Prune plum is a large purple freestone plum with yellow-green flesh. Great for drying and canning due to their sweet and firm flesh, these plums are also fresh eating favorites right off the tree.

Do Italian plums ripen after picking?

Similar to other unripe fruits sold at the grocery store—like apricots, nectarines, and kiwis—plums continue to ripen after they're picked.

Do Italian plums ripen off the tree?

Just like nectarines and pears, plums complete their ripening cycle off the tree. This is why you will typically purchase them firm and allow them to sit at room temperature a few days to soften.

Are blue plums good for you?

Plums and prunes are rich in antioxidants, which are helpful for reducing inflammation and protecting your cells from damage by free radicals. They are particularly high in polyphenol antioxidants, which have positive effects on bone health and may help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes ( 8 ).

Where do blue plums grow?

They grow best in growing zones 5 through hardiness zones 7. Damson Plum trees are very wind-resistant and can withstand a variety of circumstances. While many fruit trees need another tree to pollinate with, the Damson Plum tree is self-fertile.

Are blue plums sweet?

Blue plums have a mellow, sweet flavour, making them the most popular variety to be enjoyed out of hand. Vineland Growers offers several varieties of including the Italian prune plum, Empress, Valour and Victory, all perfect for snacking.

What is the best tasting plum in the world?

Here are six of the finest plum varieties to seek out.

Mirabelle. Surely a strong contender for the plum with the prettiest name, the mirabelle's appeal extends seamlessly into its entrancingly sweet flavour.
Victoria. ...
Damson. ...
Greengage. ...
Elephant heart. ...
Chinese plum.

What are Italian plums used for?

Italian Plums are prized in German cooking, where they are used to make plum cake, dumplings, and tarts. The yellow flesh turns a rich, dark pink when cooked. Italian plums are perfect for making juice and jams. With their high sugar content, they are enjoyable to eat fresh, use for cooking, or drying into prunes.

Are Italian plums good for diabetics?

Not only can someone with diabetes eat plums, but the sweet fruit has a low-glycemic index, which means, despite their sweet taste, eating them won't cause a rapid rise in blood sugar.

Are Italian plums the same as prunes?

To borrow a phrase, Italian plums (also known as “prune” or “Stanley” plums) “don't get no respect.” They're about half the size of a typical plum and are curiously egg shaped, as if they're all pit and no fruit. But savvy cooks know that the secret to these modest, bluish-purple fruits is the application of heat.

Can you eat plums straight off the tree?

Plums are incredibly sweet and delicious when eaten raw, straight from the tree. When the weather is dry, all the tree needs is a little bit of water and it will provide you with beautiful fruit for years to come.

Do you peel a plum before eating it?

Avoid peeling pears, peaches and plums Peach, pear and plum skin each have a lot of fiber, nutrients and antioxidants. One study even found that removing peach skin results in 13 to 48 percent fewer antioxidants. For fruits and vegetables you don't peel, and those you do, always clean them thoroughly before eating.

Should plums be refrigerated?

Whole plums should be stored at room temperature until ripened. Once ripe, the plums can be kept whole in a bowl in the refrigerator and covered with Glad® Press n' Seal wrap. Or, to store cut plums, remove pits and cut fruit into chunks or wedges of desired size.

What month do you pick plums?

Depending on your cultivar, plums will be ready to be picked sometime between July and September. What is this? All plums on a tree will not ripen at the same time. Your harvesting will consist of several go-throughs, at each of which you would pick some fruit – a little or a lot.