A recent visit from one of my favorite farmers has made my Kentucky kitchen full of delicious ripe plums. To be honest I didn’t even realize fresh plums in September were an option locally. This fantastic river valley never disappoints.
Plum trees can thrive all over – from inner-city parks to remote and frosty mountain tops; silently exuding an ethereal elegance. Because the plum is the first flower to bloom while the winter air still bites, it represents the vitality and vigor of nature. Ancient Chinese tales say that the fragrance of plum blossoms “lights the world from the bitterness and coldness of winter.” telling us that happiness and beauty can bloom in even the darkest times throughout our lives.
Despite the juicy deliciousness and resilience of this festive and resilient fruit, plum production in Kentucky remains a risky endeavor. Plum trees frequently suffer losses when a spring freeze occurs during bloom. Because fruit production is unpredictable, growers are advised by most area experts to not consider plums as a primary crop. Instead, plums are best only grown commercially as a secondary fruit crop.
To sum it up, get ‘em while you can and can them up, bake them up, or gobble them down. If we don’t use them while we have them we lose them.
Today I have included a few of my favorite recipes for this festive stone fruit. They can all be modified with additional seasonal fruits or may be made with only the perfect plum.
Good luck and enjoy!
Plum and Pear Cornmeal Crisp
Best served with ice cream or whipped cream.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the oven wrack in the middle of an oven.
Filling:
½ cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp of kosher salt
6 medium plums, chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
3 medium pears, cored and chopped into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup medium-grind cornmeal
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened
Filling: In an 8-inch square baking dish, combine the light brown sugar, flour and salt. Add the plums, pears, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Using your hands and being careful not to mash the fruit, stir gently to combine. Topping: In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and pinch the mixture together with your fingertips until evenly moistened and pebble-sized crumbs have formed. Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the top of the fruit.
Bake until the topping is golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling all around the edges. This should take 50 to 60 minutes.
Let cool slightly. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Roast Autumn Fruit
(Pairs deliciously with ice cream, cake, cookies, and even meat dishes.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
4 pounds mixed apples, pears, plums
2 persimmons
2 pints of figs
2 cups grapes
2 ounces of dried apricots, cut into small pieces
⅓ cup honey
⅓ cup dry red or white wine
Sprigs of thyme
Halve and core all fruit. Cook has the option to remove peel or leave. Cut fruit into chunks and cut figs in half, lengthwise.
Place all fruit in an ovenproof pan and mix with your hands. It’s ok for it to be a tight fit.
In a saucepan combine honey and wine. Heat at a low temperature until warm. Pour evenly over the fruit. Top with thyme and roast in oven until bubbly and brown (about 45 minutes)
Serve warm or at room temperature. May be refrigerated but best warm and fresh.
Fruit Compote with Lemon Verbena
3 pounds of plumsand& other stone fruits (Example options are peaches, nectarines, apricots. Firmer fruits are easier to use with the recipe.)
⅓ cup sugar
⅓ cup water
6 large lemon verbena sprigs, 4-5 inches (Have extra on hand if you want to garnish with it. Hint: If you don’t have verbena it’s ok. Try using lemongrass.)
1 pint berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries
Using a vegetable peeler, peel the peaches. It’s gonna get messy, and that’s ok. Just be careful. After peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks. Place in a large pot or skillet with a lid. Add sugar and water. Stir and mix ingredients. Crush or rub verbena leaves with fingers to release the oil, then add them to the pot. It’s ok to break or bend the stems so that it will fit.
Place pot over medium-low heat and cook, stirring gently occasionally until the mix is simmering and the sugar has dissolved. You want the fruit to be barely tender and to have released some of it’s juices. This will take less than five minutes.
Remove pot from heat. Cover the pot and let it stand for 15 minutes.
Remove verbena sprigs and discard them. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with additional, uncooked, verbena. Also may be made one day ahead of time and refrigerated. Serve chilled, stirring in the berries 15 minutes before serving.
Delicious served over ice cream, angel food cake, sponge cake, or even yogurt.
The recipes and photos used in today’s article are from the kitchen of Chef Babz (babzbites@gmail.com) with a help from the beautiful plums from Blessed Acres of Mason County.
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