Plums tasting sour...

[AngelDog]

...does that mean they're off?

They're <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=www.all-creatures.org/recipes/images/i-plums-black.jpg&imgrefurl=www.all-creatures.org/recipes/i-plums-black.html&usg=__dRP7gDgMu7iTeFxiW82zBz9_WAI=&h=606&w=727&sz=33&hl=en&start=0&sig2=fJc2GZfc9QjWFELJ9ZRqNA&zoom=1&tbnid=ukpr5goWbPC2SM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=161&ei=pYKTTZzTN4Gt8gPZ5PHpAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dplum%2Bvarieties%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D599%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=109&oei=pYKTTZzTN4Gt8gPZ5PHpAw&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:0&tx=82&ty=62" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this type. DS has been eating them - I'm not a big fan - but I tried one today and it was really sour. I'm wondering whether to compost them now.

I think sour plums are more likely to be under ripe rather than off. Are they quite hard? It might be worth cooking them with a little sugar.

This time of year plums are imported from the southern hemisphere. Places like Chile. They're picked 'backward' i.e. not ripe, and they're supposed to ripen as they travel. If they were picked ripe they'd be mush by the time they arrived. But sometimes they're picked too backward and whilst they look OK when they get here, they don't ripen properly and the sugars never develop. Asda, Tesco and Waitrose are particularly rubbish at this. Sainsbury and M&S seem to have better suppliers.

Rather than composting add them to some apples and sugar and you've got a nice Plum & Apple Jam.

Thanks. :) I'll have a go at cooking them I think.

Definitely cook them! My mum always does this, its delicious. Mix with stubborn pears is nice. Peel, slice, sugar, splash water (or red wine) = delicious!

I don't buy plums at this time of year because I have eaten too many sour plums. As chil1234 has pointed out they are imported from the southern hemisphere and picked before they are ripe. I much prefer to wait until they are in season here and eat them at their best.