plums. billions of them

[nouveaupauvre]

we have a tree in the garden and a glut. i've made crumbles, pies and tons of jam but still the damn things keep coming. cant freeze too much as we are moving and am trying to run down the freezer contents. what the hell else can i make with plums? chutney? icecream? cakes? loft insulation? any ideas welcome...

[GentleOtter]

plum brandy (plums, brandy, sugar )
plum wine
plum sorbet
stewed plums on your porridge in the morning

[GentleOtter]

some more ideas we have a glut too but I'm liking the loft insulation idea

[nouveaupauvre]

ooh plum-related alcohol. now you're talking. is it like damson gin (which i have made and was bloody yummy) ie do you just buy bottle of cheap brandy, shove in some plums and sugar and leave for about a year? any idea of rough quantities?
and do you have a plum sorbet recipe of any description?

[GentleOtter]

plum sorbet

Yes, put the plums, sugar and tons of cheap brandy in a big jar and let it sit for as long as possible. Then eat the brandied plums with lots of cream. We have one of the big sweet jars and put about 2lb of plums, cover them with sugar and fill the remaining space with brandy. Give it a shake now and again and it is important to have a taste to see if it needs more brandy.

[nouveaupauvre]

thankyou, the loft can wait....

[rempy]

not going to use up many but a lovely recipe.

Halve plums, lay in single layer in a big dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Tuck star anise and cloves around plums. Pour over red wine. Cook in oven.

Yummy.

[stealthsquiggle]

ours are not ripe yet, but are clearly planning to all ripen on the same day (DH and I reckon early next week) and there are an incredible number of them.

Does anyone know of any good supermarket deals on cheap brandy and jars

[penona]

Delia has a nice plum and cinnamon oat slice recipe. Also plum muffins are yum (my friend also had a plum glut).

But reading this whole thread I would go for the brandy option!

[GentleOtter]

Lidl for cheap brandy and sometimes old fashioned sweet shops sell the big jars.

[Megglevache]

sorbet- its yumm and what about cake, like an upside down one?

[Megglevache]

Opps sorry gentleotter, I see you already posted!

[MarmadukeScarlet]

Send them to me, my freezer broke down whilst we were on hols - I've lost 50lb plums and all the frozen goodies from my first year with a veg patch I am really fed up.

(and the smell of putrid fruit and veg was horrific.)

[ProfYaffle]

Plum liquers are nice you can adapt this basic recipe:

400g fruit
150g sugar
500ml spirit

Leave the stones in but make sure the skins are split to allow the juice out. Shake every day for a few days til all the sugar is disolved, leave for about 2 months before straining into bottles. It's nicer if you leave it to mature for a few months before drinking.

Last year I made plum shrub (plums and rum) but the nicest was plum whiskey (with brown sugar) Agree with Otter re Lidl for cheap booze.

Some plum recipes from my blog:

plum chutney

plum coridal

jam (is for damsons but would work with any plum)

[ProfYaffle]

Marmaduke - that's terrible! I've got about 3 kilos of wild plums in my freezer (having processed about 10 kilos already) I'd be gutted if I lost them all.

[ProfYaffle]

Doh, 2nd one should be Plum Cordial.

[Cluckadoodledoo]

Chinese plum sauce isn't too tricky and it stores through winter and is nice with duck and in stir fries. Nigella has a good recipe I seem to remember...

[MarmadukeScarlet]

Thank you prof, I am now stripping the local hedgerows (and neighbours gardens) of any damsons and blackberries I can get my paws on.

I had already bottled/jammed around 25lbs but how will I get through the winter with no plum crumble?

Also, particularly with the veg it is the expense and effort which went into providing those few small bags full of green that is gutting.

(recipe blog, eh? how cool is that?)

Waitrose food Illustrated had a great plum and youghurt muffin recipe that my 9 yr old could make unaided (and she is no chef!) but it only uses 300g of plums per batch, but we were making a batch every other day as the got like the proverbial hot cakes.

[PacificDogwood]

This is good to preserve large quantaties of plums, the riper the better. Makes the most amazing aromatic plum preserve/jam. Probably easiest to make if you have an Aga/Rayburn/woodburing stove. I think this recipe is of East European origin (came from my gran who was Romanian):

Just cover base of LARGE ideally cast iron pot with vinegar (balsamic is nice), fill pot with destoned plums, put on stove at low heat, DO NOT STIR, leave for 12-24 hrs.with lid OFF. The contents of the pot will reduce very slowly, apparently the vinegar prevents burning, and the endresult is soooo yummy! You can whizz it through in the end if you want smoother result. A bit of cinammon added in the end is nice too. We put it in jam jars, bit of brandy on top, put lid on tight, let cool upside down - et voila, gorgeous plum preserve that will last and taste good for years!!

Can you send some plums my way ? I feel sadly bereft whithout plum tree....

[stealthsquiggle]

OK, I'm off to Lidl....

Marmaduke that's awful. If our trees are anything to go by though it is going to be a bumper crop this year so there should be plenty looking for homes - do you have any neighbours with later fruiting trees who could re-stock your winter crumble hoarde?

[neversaydie]

I actually like bottled plums - having loads of Kilner jars full of fruit sitting in the cupboard is very satisfying. Thry can then go into pies and crumbles and so on, so very versatile, as well.

That said, our single pudding-basin full of damsons this year went straight into a crumble.

[PrettyCandles]

Clafoutis

It's like toad-in-the-hole with sweet batter and plums instead of sausages. Yummy.

[PrettyCandles]

Halve the plums and take out the stones first.

[nouveaupauvre]

ooh thankyou all of you. marmaduke, pacific, if you happen to live in london you're welcome to fill your freezers....

[nouveaupauvre]

ps profyaffle your blog is LOVELY. am reading it and drooling.