Look closely, that’s not  another apple tree you’re seeing.  It’s a plum tree.

Yes, a plum tree, right here in Winnipeg.

In fact, there are quite a few of them all across the prairie and this year and they seem to be producing well.

We haven’t had any signed up for Fruit Share, but my friends sent me these photos and even brought by a lovely bundle for me to experiment with.

Another friend brought me a jar of her homemade plum chutney.  The chutney reminded me of a preserve my mom used to make when we lived back in Germany and had our own backyard orchard with plums, apricots, cherries, apples and pears.  Mmm, delicious with a hint of memories.

Rick, Brenna and their kids picked their plums earlier this week.  Late August is typically when plums ripen.  Just like apricots, plums won’t ripen anymore once they are picked, but they will soften, so you want to pick them at just the right time.

Aren’t they beautiful?

 The inside is a golden yellow.  They taste sweet with just a hint of tart.  My kids were gobbling them up and declared them to be “the perfect plum”. I would agree, they are everything one would expect from a plum.

Now, my challenge is to find the perfect recipes.