Home-grown are best! / myLot

United Kingdom

August 2, 2022 3:09am CST

We often get plums for sale in supermarkets but I have given up buying those, they generally come from the other side of the world and are always rock-hard and practically tasteless. And if they do ever soften (‘ripen’ would be a misnomer) they generally go straight from cannon-ball like to mushy and rotten. I honestly can’t think why anyone would buy them, although I guess they are fine for cooking. If those were my only experience I would say that plums are horrible. But luckily we have a Victoria plum tree at home and ripe plums fresh from the tree on a sunny day have a flavour that just cannot be beaten. To say they taste divine would not be an overstatement. Of course ripe plums are soft and difficult to transport without a lot of wastage, which is why you never see plums like these in the shops. And they ripen over a short period, which means a glut and then sadly no more, but plum jam and plum cakes and puddings of various sorts are also delicious. So if you are lucky enough to have a tree or have a friend with one, you are fortunate indeed! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2022.

5 people like this

7 responses

Fiacre Banks

@xFiacre (14804)

• Ireland

2 Aug 22

@fleura Soft fruit can be tricky. Growing one’s own is the way to go. And why would anyone buy courgettes when even a novice like me can produce them in pots?

2 people like this

changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (17239)

• China

2 Aug 22

Here plums(Prunus domestica L.) are available in supermarkets,they taste sour.Now I know why.

2 people like this

BarBaraPrz

@BarBaraPrz (51818)

• St. Catharines, Ontario

2 Aug 22

My first 12 years were spent on a nice big property where many fruit trees grew, as well as currants and raspberries and all sorts of veggies. We had plums, peaches, pears, and apples. We also had a cherry tree but my father cut it down for some reason... I think he was fed up with the birds getting all the fruit.

1 person likes this

Anna

@LadyDuck (502391)

• Italy

2 Aug 22

I buy prunes from Italy, they are tasty, not as hard as rock and they keep in the refrigerator for a week without getting mushy. Of course everything from the garden is better. During summer I surely do not buy those tasteless tomatoes, as I have plenty in the garden.

1 person likes this

@DaddyEvil (174377)

• United States

2 Aug 22

We had plum trees when I was a kid on the farm. It was always so nice to go out and pick ripe ones and eat them while the juice ran down my chin. Once in a while I can find plums like that in the supermarket here... but not often.

2 people like this

Ron Rybs

@Ronrybs (21497)

• London, England

3 Aug 22

Yes, for sometime plums have been pretty disappointing. Every now and again you find a nice one, but it is a surprise

1 person likes this

Eva James

@wolfgirl569 (135690)

• Marion, Ohio

2 Aug 22

Many fruits are like that and dont transport well unless picked before ripening.

1 person likes this