0Comparing Varieties of Plums
Damson Dark skin and flesh (for preserves only)
Friar Dark red skin, deep yellow flesh
Greengage Green yellow skin and yellow flesh
Italian (“prune” plums) Small, oval, with blue purple skin and firm golden flesh
Laroda Large; yellow skin with a red blush and yellow flesh
Red beauty Bright red skin, firm yellow flesh
Santa Rosa Red purple skin, yellow flesh (very tart)Sources: “Guide to Selection and Care of Fresh Fruit” and “The fresh approach to plums,” United
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association (n.d.); Rombauer, Irma S. and Becker, Marion Rombauer,
The Joy of Cooking (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1984).Storing This Food
Store firm plums at room temperature. Plums have no stored starch to convert to sugars, so
they won’t get sweeter after they are picked, but they will soften as their pectic enzymes
dissolve some of the pectin stiffening their cell walls. When the plums are soft enough,
refrigerate them to stop the enzyme action.
Preparing This Food
Wash and serve fresh plums or split them, remove the pit, and slice the plums for fruit salad.
Plums can be stewed in the skin; if you prefer them skinless, put them in boiling water for a
few minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and plunge them into cold water. The
hot water will damage a layer of cells under the skin, the plum will swell, and its skin will
split and peel off easily.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
When you cook a plum, its water-soluble pectins and hemicellulose will dissolve and the
flesh will soften.
Cooking may also change the color of red, purple, or blue red plums containing anthocy-
anin pigments that are sensitive to acids or bases (alkalis). The colors get more intensely red or
purple in acids (lemon juice) and less so in bases (baking soda). Cooking plums (which are acid)
in an aluminum pot can create acid/metal compounds that discolor either the pot or the plum.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Drying. See prunes.
Plums