04 July 2008

Pluots

Oh my...if I'd realised the pluots I'd used in the latest Daring Bakers challenge would have garnered this much attention, I would have included a few words about them in that post.

Pluots are a new stone fruit , developed sometime in the latter part of the last century by Floyd Zaiger, a fruit geneticist. He is known for developing two types of fruit, the pluot and the aprium. From their names, you can tell they are plum-apricot crosses.

Broken, down, pluots are about 75 per cent plum and 25 per cent apricot. Because of their size, shape and fuzzless skin, they look a lot like plums.

Their flesh is juicy (look at the top photo and you'll see driblets on the plate) and (when ripe) is almost honey-sweet.

They are grown in California and Washington State--I don't know of any Canadian producers, but I suspect there should be some.

There are more than 20 pluot varieties, but neither my bigscarymegamart, nor my mediumscarymegamart bother to identify which types they sell. For ages I thought we only got one type (the top two pictures): a midnight purple skin with soft reddish-pink flesh.

Today when I went to pick up some, they had different type (bottom two pictures). Its reddish with with orangy yellow skin can look a little like a nectarine. Its flesh is orangey-red, but I don't think the ones I bought are as ripe as they should be (moments of sweetness, but also was a bit sour and not as soft).

Like most stone fruit (and berries) the way I tell if they are ripe is by their aroma and texture...they smell floral and sweet and they are slightly yielding witha firm grasp. Then again, I like my fruit well ripened ("rotten" according to My Dear Little Cardamummy, who prefers things a bit more astringent).





cheers!
jasmine



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12 comments:

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I adore pluots! We also get the green-skinned ones that have a yellow-ish flesh. They look very similar to plums, but have a sweeter flavor.

Mickle in NZ said...

What a wonderful looking fruit. I love stone fruits except (weirdly) peaches. Cook, eat and enjoy while the season lasts.
Huggles, Michelle

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Pluots continue to surprise! I have found at least 4 different ones this year at the market. And yes Jasmine they are super juicy when ripe and ready. Oh and sweet like all get out.

Deeba PAB said...

How beautiful...never heard of something as exotic as this! I loved 'stoned' fruits too (LOL)...am just attempting to make a roasted apricot sorbet/granita (can't figure out which way it's headed)...have some plums too & have to fig out what to use those in!

glamah16 said...

I could eat a few slightly chilled now. Your oics make them look so appetizing.

Anonymous said...

I don't think we'll be getting these over here any time soon. European laws are sooo sticky that this might me considered OGM (genetically modified) and therefore not eligible to be legally imported. Another thing to add to my to do list for this August!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation :)
Never seen them before but them must be delicious!

Ilva said...

Thanks for the information, I didn't even know they existed! I doubt that I will be able to find any over here in Italy but I will keep my eyes open!

maybelles mom said...

I have eaten them but never realized there are so many varieties. for me the greenish yellow ones are the best.

Deborah said...

I have seen these before, but I don't think I've ever tried them. I didn't know there were so many varieties!

jasmine said...

Hello all

From what I can tell these fruits are really only about 20-30 years old.

Not sure how it fits with GM rules as it's a hybrid...

j

Anonymous said...

Wow! These look soooo good. I've been eating them for a few years, but I've never seen Pluots of that deep, beautiful colour before.