Our Elma’s Special and Imperial Epineuse plum trees set a lot of plums this spring and now in late-July the small, sweet, dark purple plums are ripening. Though some in this household might disagree, we can really eat only so much cake and ice cream. Thanks for noticing Karen! MILK, CREAM, SUGAR, CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, CHOCOLATE LIQUOR, ANHYDROUS DEXTROSE, COCOA BUTTER, LECITHIN [SOY]), NONFAT MILK SOLIDS, EGG YOLKS, NATURAL MINT FLAVORING, GUAR GUM (NATURAL THICKENER) AND CARRAGEENAN (A NATURAL STABILIZER) Then it’s deposited into pints or tubs. PS: see Karen’s comment about skin-side up or skin-side down in the Original Plum Torte. Raccoons still occasionally stage nighttime raids and birds peck at fruit now and then, but we get the bulk of the harvest to enjoy fresh, transformed into desserts or preserved for winter. We use a Cuisinart ice cream maker that is easy to use and to clean. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Vitamin C -- %. Thawed months from now, they are delicious with yogurt and granola. The small-batch method, which is what Lopez Island Creamery does, is essentially a larger scale of what you would do at home with an ice cream maker. Plums, sugar, cream and a bit of kirsch are the only ingredients. Growing Dry Beans and Shell Beans and Green Beans Too.
At this point, they’ve softened and the juices have concentrated. Here’s a version of skin side up.
When they are completely cool, I slide them into pint canning jars, screw on lids and freeze them. Flavors were developed and given to locals on the island in trade for their feedback. Halve and pit the plums, cut them into 8ths and put them in a medium saucepan with the water. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. I like this torte plain but for really special occasions I will double the plum experience and make plum ice cream. I’ve been doing skin-side down lately as in the photo above. I use a recipe first published in the New York Times in 1982.
Polyunsaturated -- g. Monounsaturated -- g. Trans 0 g. Protein 4 g. Sodium 60 mg. Potassium -- mg. Cholesterol 61 mg. Vitamin A 11 %. After years of trying to deter birds and raccoons with netting and traps while the plums approached perfect ripeness, I discovered that I can harvest these plums before they are fully ripe, and before they attract predators, and they will ripen to near perfection in a cool pantry. Lopez Island Creamery was started over 20 years ago on the little island of Lopez found in Washington’s San Juan Islands. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. The company started off very small producing gourmet ice cream in a kitchen that was about the size of a bedroom. Pretty too! ¾ cup sugar ½ cup unsalted butter 1 cup unbleached flour, sifted 1 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt (optional) 2 eggs 24 halves pitted purple plums (or enough to cover the top of the cake closely spaced) Sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon for topping This particular recipe couldn’t be easier and the flavor, texture and color are perfect. It goes together easily, bakes for about an hour, and disappears so quickly that I make one every few days this time of year.