Food Alphabet
Plum (sweet)
Prunus (Latin: prúnus) is a genus of fruit stone plants that includes, in addition to the domestic plum, such species as peach, cherry, apricot and almond.
The plum itself, which is the result of a natural cross between blackthorn and cherry plum, came to us from Western Asia. In the IV-VI centuries BC, it was widely grown in Egypt and consumed by the population not only in fresh form, but also in the form of a variety of home preparations. And in Greece, it began to grow around 350 BC, when, returning from a military campaign in the East, Alexander the Great brought with him, along with gold and jewelry, several plum trees. Then the plum got to Ancient Rome, and from there - to Central and Northern Europe. Later, the plum spread throughout Europe thanks to the Crusades.
The appearance of the plum among the Slavic peoples dates back to the era of Kievan Rus. However, plum cultivation in Russia began only in the XVII century, under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Several trees were planted in the tsar's garden in Izmailovo, from where they migrated to other aristocratic lands.
To date, more than 2000 types of plums are known in the world, different in size, color, viscosity, sugar content, ripening time( fruit), winter hardiness, etc. According to taste, these types are divided into high-quality plums (dessert), medium-quality plums (table) and mediocre plums; and by origin - European plums, Hungarian plums, blackthorn plums, renklods and mirabels. The chemical composition of plums is very diverse and depends on the type, degree of maturity( fruit), soil and nutrition conditions of the plant. The length of the fruit varies from 1 to 6.4 cm. The color can be red, blue, magenta, yellow, and green.
Plums are widely eaten fresh, and are also used for making jams, compotes, jam, marmalades, jellies and liqueurs. The greatest industrial value is represented by "Hungarian" and "European" plums. However, other types find excellent use. So, for example, "blackthorn" with a blue-black skin is dried. Aromatic and sweet "renklody", the pulp of which is tightly fused with the bone, it is pleasant to eat raw, besides they prepare delicious liqueurs and compotes. "Mirabeli" is preserved. In addition, they make excellent sweet and sour sauces (see also the article " Plum (sour)").
