8/31/13

Plum Crazy

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Holy Plum Pudding! What an abundance of plums I have this year! Yesterday, I picked all of these in a space of less than five minutes, and I didn't even make a dent in what is left on the tree. Then I came in the house and got right to work making my plum chutney. Dee-licious.


This is the first time I've had enough plums for chutney from my own tree. Nevertheless, I made this chutney for the first time last year using plums I bought at the farmer's market. You can see my tutorial and recipe right here.

Last year's chutney was good, but this year's is even better. There's nothing like going from tree to jar in less than an hour to capture that fresh plum flavor. I had one jar leftover from last year, and it is slightly different in color...a little more purple (the one on the left). Also, we tasted them side by side.


I tasted them first, knowing which was which. Then, I let Mike taste them without knowing. He chose this year's chutney without question. The plums were just a teensy bit on the green side, and I think the added tartness made the difference, although I'm sure the added freshness also contributed to the intense plum flavor.

But I wasn't finished with the plums yet. No way. So while the chutney was cooking down, I made a rustic plum tart, or Plum Galette, if you're the type who gets all weird, nervous and thirsty about calling things by their proper name. I used this recipe from Food & Wine.


I was kind of curious about what made this a "galette" as opposed to a "rustic tart", and so I did a little bit of research. It turns out that they are the same thing. Technically, a "tart" is usually made in a tart pan with shallow straight sides and a removable bottom and has just one crust. A "galette" is made from a rolled crust with no pan and the fruit piled in the middle. Then, if the fruit is especially juicy, one can also turn up the sides as I have done. I tried to find a source that made a distinction between a "galette" and a "rustic fruit tart", but I could find none. I'm sticking with the "rustic fruit tart" appellation.

For this particular tart, you roll out the crust. The recipe claimed the dough was easy to work with, and at first, it was. Then it seemed quickly to get soft and sticky. Now, chalk this one up to the "Duh" category because after fighting the crust for a bit, I realized that I had the warming drawer turned on below the counter where I was rolling the dough. It was keeping my canning jars warm while I made the chutney. 


Of course, it was warming the counter above a little bit too. Sheesh. What a dunce! What an ultra-moron! I'll remember that from here on. Until the next time.

The crust all worked out, although the finished tart was a little out-of-round. Our tastebuds didn't know the difference. We snarfed it down with some vanilla ice cream. And may I just say that "Yum" rhymes with "Plum". Perfect.


So today I'm doing laundry and sewing. I think I deserve a sewing day after spending the entire day in the kitchen yesterday. But, man, did I have fun. Fresh-off-the-tree plums have never been appreciated more.

Updated to say that I'll be linking this post to:


9 comments:

Pieced Brain Quilt Designs said...

My mouth is watering!!! The plums look delicious and I can only imagine how the plum chutney tastes... Yum!

gpc said...

It all looks delicious, and what joy to cook with fruit from your own tree! I love galettes, and I prefer mine to be not round, adding to the rustic charm, or so I tell my family! I've never had fresh enough plums to try a plum one, though, so I am envious. :)

Quilting Babcia said...

Those plums sure look worth waiting for. I'd love to know the variety of the tree - we need one!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

The chutney looks great - still waiting on the pears to ripen for some pear chutney.

quiltzyx said...

I just almost drooled on my keyboard. Thanks.

One plus to calling that piece of deliciousness a 'galette' instead of a 'rustic tart' - less typing. But I think that, for me at least, rustic tart works better because I would know what that was & I would have to look up galette.

I need some ice cream!

Dana Gaffney said...

I've been buying plums like crazy before they disappear from the stores. This may sound silly, but can you just eat your plums or are they like apples and some should be baked?

Snoodles said...

Wish I could be there and snarf some down...LOL Looks wonderful!

Judy1522 said...

I think everyone has had an overabundance of fruit this year. My husband was on a walk the other day and some people he chats with handed him a bag of plums and asian pears and he said they still have tons of fruit on their trees. Yesterday my nephew told me he was out walking and a neighbor gave him a bunch of plums. It seems like a good year even for those that don't have fruit trees.

Anonymous said...

One word..... YUM!!!!