the fruit of Prunus domestica and other Prunus spp. Other members of the genus include the apricot, peach, sloe, and cherry. The relationship between plums and cherries is particularly close, the distinction being mainly one of size.
The word ‘plum’ has a long history of often ill-defined use. In the Middle Ages it seems to have meant virtually any dried fruit, including raisins, and this usage underlies names such as ‘plum pudding’ and ‘plum cake’. Francesca Greenoak (1983), in her highly readable chapter on the plum family, discusses this point in relation to Christmas (plum) pudding, and suggests that raisins had already supplanted plums before Little Jack Horner (whose rhyme dates from the 16th century) ‘stuck in his thumb’; so that what he pulled out was in fact a raisin.
Wild plums of several kinds are common throughout the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. The earliest cultivation of plums, which took place in China, was of the species P. salicina, usually called ‘Japanese plum’ because it first came to the notice of western botanists in Japan.
It seems likely that P. domestica, the most important source of modern commercial cultivars, is indigenous to C. Europe; but the time and manner of its origin are uncertain. The plum does not seem to have been noticed by classical Greek authors, nor by Roman authors in the centuries bc. Pliny the Elder (1st century ad) commented with surprise that the earlier writer Cato (for example) had not mentioned plums and explains that by his own time there was a ‘vast throng’ of them; he enumerated a dozen distinct types.
Records survive which indicate that plums were cultivated in the gardens of medieval monasteries in England. Chaucer refers to a garden with ‘ploumes’ and ‘bulaces’. The number of varieties had increased considerably by the time of Gerard (1633), who mentions having ‘three score sorts in my garden and all strange and rare’. Two of his main groups are the common damson and the ‘Damascen Plum’ (see damson; prune). His account shows that new varieties were being imported from many European countries. Some of the best came from the Balkans and S. Europe; he praises those of Moravia in particular.
Plum cultivation became increasingly important in the 17th and 18th centuries, during which period the greengage was given its English name and the mirabelle plums so well liked in France were becoming firmly established. The most significant advances in the development of new varieties in England during the 19th century were made by Thomas Rivers. Early Rivers and Czar are two results of his work which are still esteemed. Many local varieties came into prominence during this period. Pershore was named after its place of origin and retains its importance in the Evesham area, where it is processed. Good marketing rather than inherent distinction assured the fame of the Victoria plum when it was first sold in 1844.
American native plums are a mixed collection. Several good varieties of indigenous wild plum, which were eaten by the Indians before the arrival of white men, are still common and are often made into jam or jelly. Along the east coast, the beach plum is predominant. Inland the American wild plum, P. americana, sometimes called ‘sloe’ although the fruit is usually red or yellow, is widespread. In the south-east the chickasaw plum, P. angustifolia, often produces large, red fruit of good flavour. This and the previous species have sometimes been cultivated. In the north the hardy Canadian plum P. nigra is common.
Several of these native plums of N. America, edible even in the wild, have been the source of cultivated varieties, especially for the southern states of the USA where P. domestica will not thrive. However, the early colonists brought European plums with them to the east coast. The first kinds grown were a mixture of European and native plums, and some of these persist.
William Prince, in 1790, planted the pits of 25 quarts of Green Gage plums. These produced trees yielding fruit of every colour, and out of them came the Imperial Gage (later brought to England as Denniston's Superb), Red Gage, Prince's Gage, and the Washington plum. In 1828, the Prince Nursery offered for sale 140 different kinds of plums and to this nursery belongs the credit of having given plum-growing its greatest impetus in America.
During the 19th century, the growth of the plum industry (now fourth in importance of the tree fruit crops) began in earnest. The opening up of California coincided with the introduction of P. salicina varieties from Japan. Thus the Californian crop, by far the largest in N. America, is dominated by plums of oriental origin, among which the most important are the Burbank plums, named for their breeder, Luther Burbank. The most important variety in this group is Santa Rosa. Most Burbank plums are large, juicy, and red or purple.
Besides Santa Rosa, El Dorado and President, a large, purple, late dessert plum of good flavour, are major varieties. European species suitable for producing prunes are grown on a smaller scale.
Plums can be picked slightly before they are ripe and will then reach perfect ripeness in a warm room. Refrigeration slows the process but does not stop it.
The best way of preserving plums is to dry them naturally, as with prune varieties and also the Bokhara plum (Prunus bokhariensis), used in the cuisines of C. Asia and the northern fringe of the Indian sub-continent.
Plums are also candied to make ‘sugar-plums’, the most notable kind being Portuguese Elvas plums. Jams and jellies made from sour, wild varieties such as damsons are better than ordinary plum jam.
Apart from obvious uses in desserts, sharp-flavoured plums go well with fatty meats. They are used as a stuffing for goose and with pork in stews in C. Europe.
Brazil, Hog, Jew, and Spanish plum are all names for the ambarella and related species. Java plum and Malabar plum are fruits of the genus Eugenia. Date plum is an alternative name for the persimmon.
See also Davidson's plum; and for Governor's plum see ramontchi; lovi-lovi; rukam.
Japanese ‘pickled plums’ are really a kind of apricot (see umeboshi), not connected with the species P. salicina, although that is often referred to as Japanese plum.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Gerard, John (1633), The Herbal, New York: Dover.
Greenoak, Francesca (1983), Forgotten Fruit, London: André Deutsch.
