Researchers please. Mysteryish plum

twopenny

So part of my garden is a badger run with trees from the neighbouring club hanging over it.

One of the trees Prunus Nigra of some variety produces real plums and I've researched but it keeps giving me 'cherry plum' and nothing like the size of these. That's more what I've seen before and on my own Prunus Nigra.

I'm getting the impression that they are edible but nothing about the variety or if they are worth eating. Spicy sounds interesting.

My hand is 6.5" - the tree would be smaller but has had to fight its way among other bigger trees.

The plum is bigger than a damson, by about twice, but smaller than Victoria.

Anyone better than me at digging deep into search engins to get past the selling stuff?

Would be grateful.

LessImpecunious

As a teenager we had a very similar-looking tree in the garden - which I was told (and almost certainly, as a budding botanist, checked in my secondhand, and even then long out of date, Bentham and Hooker Flora) was a cherry plum, or Prunus cerasifera. I think the leaf colour (see the Wikipedia page) and the fact that it's producing what looks like ripe fruit so early in the year are probably clinchers. Not easy to find anything definitive online, but these two pages were helpful on size/appearance of fruit (https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/foraging-for-hedgerow-fruit-how-to-identify-wild-cherry-plums-bullaces-and-wild-damsons-432/) and on fruiting times (https://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk/helpdesk/how-to-choose/damson-cherryplum-bullace).

theoretica

My mother grew cherry plums larger than that - there are many varieties.  As for worth eating, there is a simple test when they are ripe... 

FreeBear

Got cherry plums in my garden. Fruit are no way as large as the OP's, but that doesn't stop me from eating them.

twopenny

Thanks everyone......as FreeBear is still alive with a sharp working brain I may be all right.

Love the idea of free fruit and something different.

If the flavour is half decent or more spicy I thought maybe a chutney to start. But I'll try and pluck up courage to take a nibble.

Got to get the ladder around there for pruning anyway.

Farway

twopenny said:

Thanks everyone......as FreeBear is still alive with a sharp working brain I may be all right.

Love the idea of free fruit and something different.

If the flavour is half decent or more spicy I thought maybe a chutney to start. But I'll try and pluck up courage to take a nibble.

Got to get the ladder around there for pruning anyway.

Don't forget jam.

Will you put me a jar to one side, please?

twopenny

Are you sure Farway?

I don't know what the flavour is.........and I think there's only about 5 plums

Katiehound

Mix them in with something else & make hedgerow jelly?

FreeBear

twopenny said: If the flavour is half decent or more spicy I thought maybe a chutney to start. But I'll try and pluck up courage to take a nibble.

Don't pick them too early. Unripe, they may well be bitter/sharp or bland.

-taff

I used to do a special run every year to collect cherry plums to make jam, absolutely lovely stuff...three stars, would recommend [for future more abundant years obviously]

ArbitraryRandom

twopenny said:

Are you sure Farway?

I don't know what the flavour is.........and I think there's only about 5 plums

Two suggestions if there's not many - 

1. stew with a bit of sugar and lemon, then use to top your summer yogurt or freeze for your winter porridge (grate some apple in if there's not enough to make it worth doing).

2.  Caramelise then use in a quick bread: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215130/my-mother-in-laws-plum-bread/