I make a great rustic tart with the fruit, and I also like to use my Italian plums in an upside-down cake, covered with a blanket of caramel. This tree is perfect for home-growers in the United States because Italian plums are rare finds in supermarkets, so a tree of your own will give you a steady source of these seasonal fruit. If you prefer a taller pie, use all 5 pounds of fruit. Italian plums, which you can get in many supermarkets from July to September in most parts of the country, get softer and a little sweeter as they ripen on the tree, but I prefer to pick them early, when they're still firm enough to hold their shape when you cook them. Italian plums are a sweet, oblong fruit that steal the show in German baked goods during fall and winter. Use plums that hold their shape when cooked, such as black or red (avoid soft-fleshed Santa Rosas). I always eat a few right off the tree they've got a slightly tart, almost lemony flavor that's totally different from the more sugary taste of standard red and black plums. Every September I get a call from my neighbor telling me it's picking time, and I walk through the hedges separating our properties carrying a big metal bucket to harvest as many of the gorgeous, deep purple plums as I want. We're surrounded by other houses now, but, lucky for me, a 50-year-old Italian plum tree survived all the construction and still stands guard beside my neighbor's home.
My house near Seattle, Washington, sits on what used to be an orchard. Ingredients: 1 pound plums, rinsed, pitted and quartered 1 lemon, rinsed and sliced thinly 4 cloves 2 tablespoons sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 cup crème fraîche, whipped 1/2 cup plain yogurt 1 TB flour water fresh mint Directions: In a saucepan mix plums, lemon, cloves and sugar/cinnamon mixture and cover with water.
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