Five months after the cherry plum blossom first broke February’s wintry spell, the fruits are beginning to ripen. Trees in Suffolk are bearing good crops – despite frosts in March, a hot and dry April and unseasonally cold, wet weather since. (That was 2007; 2009 has seen snow in February, late frosts – even in London – another hot spring but with heavy rain too – and cherry plums look to be ripening early and cropping even more heavily.)
Cherry plums (Prunus cerasifera also known as myrobalans) vary in colour from a deep, almost ox-blood, red to pale yellow, with the fruit ripening any time from mid July to late August. A small group of trees along a hedge-line can give a good harvest over several weeks.
Cooking and eating cherry plums
The fruit are versatile and delicious. Taste and texture, like the colour, vary between trees, but most of the fruit are excellent eaten raw. Cherry plums can be substituted for ordinary plums or damsons in almost any recipe, from cobbler to chutney. With a high pectin content, they’re ideal for jams and jellies (the Cottage Smallholder has good recipes for both chutney and jelly). Alternatively, try pressing them for their sweet juice.
Finding cherry plums
Cherry plums are common across Britain, particularly south of the Wash-Severn line (as the Science and Plants for Schools website’s distribution map illustrates), but too often overlooked. By late August, most of the fruit ends up as a jammy mass beneath the trees.
The fruit can be difficult to spot when ripe, the bright colours masked by the dense green foliage, but their early blossom is easily spotted in the winter – it’s worth noting the sites of trees for summer foraging. Cherry plum trees are frequently found in small groups along hedgerows and garden boundaries, while a purple leaved and fruited variety is often grown in suburban streets.
The cherry plum is sadly neglected by some writers on wild food. It is unaccountably omitted from Roger Phillips’ otherwise excellent Wild Food (Natural history photographic guides)
Though neither cherry nor plum (but a parent, with blackthorn, of the domestic plum), cherry plums are often mistaken for wild plums. Escaped domestic plums (Prunus domestica) are also found in the wild, their fruits as various as damsons, bullaces, greengages, ordinary plums and the small, yellow, cherry-plum-like mirabelle. All are superb fruit and worth gathering wherever they’re found.
(This post is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by In Mol Araan)
32 Comments
We have one of these at the end of our drive. I’ve often eaten the fruit, and often wondered what it was (too much reliance on the wonderful Roger Phillips!). Thanks for this
Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com
I’ve never heard of these before. Thanks!
Very interesting. Never heard of this growing here. I wonder if it’s called something else in the states?
Cherry plums are also known as myrobalans (along with various other unrelated fruit) and there’s a popular variety (with pink flowers, red leaves and dark red fruit) called Pissard’s plum. Perhaps they’re better known by these names in the States?
How do you prune a cherry plum in a garden situation? Or shouldn’t you? Look amazing and last year it gave a lot of fruit and is only four years old!! Thanks.
Very interesting post. According to my dictionary, in Italy a cherry-plum is called ‘mirabolano’ a nice-sounding word I have never heard before.
I’m staying with my boyfriend near Great Yarmouth and went for a walk along the Yare near Burgh Castle today. The trees are absolutely laden with fruit this year and I brought a bag of mixed yellow and red plums home to eat. I hope to go and collect a lot more before I go back to London!
To continue the question of the naming of cherry plums, I’ve just learnt from a wonderful post at Lucy’s Kitchen Notebook that they’re are known as Prunes Saint Jean in France, as they ripen (in France) on the festival of St John the Baptist, 24th June. There’s a wonderful photo of cherry plums for sale at a market in Lyon.
Thank you for stopping by, Nick. You’ve written an interesting article. I wonder if there might be an association here in France devoted to saving this kind of plum here, perhaps something can be done to trade or exchange this plum to save the historic trees that are in danger of blight here.
My Dad discovered these last year growing in abundance round where he lives (Northants). What was quite interesting is that, while most of the trees had very sweet fruit, every so often you’d come across one with quite sour fruit.
I’m going to encourage him to go out foraging for me and to bring me some back for jam making – I think a combination of the sweet and sour would do well
I live in the U.S in a small mountain town called Placerville in Northern California. We have one of these trees growing on our property. It is just about ready to pick. The skin of the fruit is a little too tart still so we’ll give them a week or so before trying again. It seems to like the climate up here as well.
We have about a 9ft length of cherry plum bushes planted in a double line. They are about 8ft tall at the moment.
Would like to move these to a new location……can you tell me whether this is possible and how and when it should be done.
A reply to dewiwelshman@hotmail.com would be appreciated.
Hi David
I’m no expert on the practicalities of fruit growing, but would have thought it okay to move your trees when they’re dormant in the winter. Have a look at this advice from the Royal Horticultural Society and garden organic. Good luck!
Thanks Nick for your prompt reply. Have had a look at the 2 sites recommended and will follopw their advice. Thanks again
I am in Berkshire. My neighbour has one tree along their boundary overhanging our Close of 7 houses. Only one other neighbour, besides me, have ever picked and eaten them. This year I noticed the tree laden with spring blooms, now the branches are hanging low with thousands of these cherry plums, myrobalans, plums Sain jean or whatever you call them. They are full and delicious. My pot is full with cooked ones today en route to being bottled as jelly/jam. Great to add in liquid form, to lemon or herb drinks too or plain on ice with a dash of Angostura, sprig of mint, or lavender. We also eat our wild garlic, (from plants taken from another neighbour) which adds flavour to my dandelion salads and Ground Elder dishes. I picked up recipes from another site where I found that it is a Latvian dish.
Enjoy the free food wherever you are.
I just today discovered some of these ripening along a hedgerow I’ve passed many times before without seeing them (just outside Cambridge, UK). Had no idea what they were at first (although clearly in the plum/blackthorn family) but a tentative taste test paid off – delicious little things. Heading back tomorrow with a basket
We have two group of cherry plum trees on the green opposite our house, planted by the residents to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. This year they are loaded with the best crop ever. My wife has a marvellous recipe for a cherry-plum and marzipan tart – absolutely mouth watering, hot or cold, and excellent served with icecream . Havn’t yet found any recipes specific to cheery-plums but welcome the advice that they can be substituted for plums in almost anything. Only our neighbours bother to pick the fruit – signs of the disappearing art of bottling/jam-making etc ?
Any chance of a copy of the recipe please.
We have several of these trees closeby with various coloured fruit. I wandered if they were edible a few years ago and tasted them to find them like plums but with varying degrees of sweetness and juiciness. Last year there was no fruit that I remember, but this year there is an abundance which I have used for crumbles, jams, cake etc. I have printed off a recipe for jelly which will be the next thing I make. Most of the fruit is just falling off the tree = what a waste.
Hi,
I discovered some of these trees here in Frankfurt, Germany. I’m picking loads this weekend to turn into wine, maybe a bit of cherry-plum champagne
I have found all three colours – I thought the yellow ones were Mirabellen, but in this article you say Mirabellen are domestic. What is the difference? How can I tell if the yellow ones are cherry plums or Mirabellen? The name “myrobalans” suggests a strong relationship …
Cheers,
Keith
Good afternoon – how marvellous to read all the comments about this lovely fruit! I live in Hampshire, and my one and only cherry plum tree is similarly heavy with masses of plums. It grows by a fence and my neighbour’s lawn has dozens, no scores, of fallers. The joy of it is that the tree is self sown … it appeared one summer in my garden some 25 years ago! The fruits range in colour from tomato-orange to deep burgundy-red
One problem this year – most of the first fruits I picked a week or so back featured a pinprick size hole and had a tiny maggot in it … more than 80% were affected. Anyone know what insect laid the eggs of this nasty grub?
Today however I was more successful and picked loads of perfect cherry plums. I must try making a cherry plum crumble as mentioned by Lynn, it sounds scrumptious!
Enjoy!
Don
Following our recent move to Kent we have discovered a tree in our garden laden with small cherry sized/looking fruit. The tree is approx 25 – 30ft high. The fruit looks ripe and we would like to use it before it goes to waste. I really like the idea of a delicious jam or an additive for drinks. If you have any tried and tested recipies that you are happy to share please let me know. Thanks. Jenny
Cherry plums laden down at the south end of the old Aust ferry road near Bristol on the Severn
I’ve been grazing on these beauties (from a bus stop in St Neots) for the past few weeks. Two trees, one with orangey-red fruit, one with deep purple fruit. Quite different flavours but both delicious… and they are free! What could be better, eh?
i live in co durham UK and our first cherry plums were planted in 1947 the year of my birth, the second ones in 2001 to celebrate our 70th birthdays, both the old ones and the new ones have been absolutely laden with fruit, we have never seen anything like it. ther are dark red ones, yellow ones and yellow/red… all make the most wonderful jam, youjust skim the stones off. also excellent chutney, jelly and plum fool….. i only hope the t rees survive next year after such a huge burden of fruit.
My wife’s aunt has a several cherry plum trees in her garden. They don’t fruit that opften but when they do we get some of the bounty. Cherry plums back superb jam. Use the standard 1lb of fruit to 1 lb of sugar. Cut round the fruits and cook the plums in a little water first this is really the only way to de-stone them. De-stoning is an arduous task but best done by transferring a little at a time between pans and getting all those little stones out on the way. Then Add the sugar, boil to a set (the less water you use for the initial cook the quicker you will get to a set, jar and cover as normal. Best kept (if possible) for a bit to develop. This produces at not too sweet jam, which normally gets “good jam!” comments
Discovered a laden yellow cherry plum in the local park this September and caught the tail-end of the fruit. What a shame! I’ve passed the tree for over three years! It still yielded over 10lb’s of fruit and made wonderful jam and chutney. Next year I’ll be the first to gather from it. Also disclvered today a greengage tree on our dog walk but sadly only a handful were within reach. never mind, I’ve gathered over 100lb’s of various wild fruit this year and the store cupboard is full thanks to dog walking in the Suffolk countryside. Can’t wait for the sweet chestnuts!
I discovered a cherry plum tree in my Mother in Laws garden (London) its been there for many, many years & she always thought the fruit poisonous. This year it was groaning with fruit & my Brother in law said he tried one and it tasted really nice & had no ill effects. So we all had one & no problems. We set to and collected pounds of fruit & there is still so much more there. I checked it out in the gardening book & found the species. Today I thought I would see if there was any more information by doing a search on Cherry Plum ‘Prunus cerasifera’ & here I am reading all your wonderful stories bestowing the virtues of Cherry Plums! Thank you. So I am now going to make some Jam & Chutney!
P.S. Yes I also thought a mention would have been made in Roger Phillips ‘Wild Food’. So wake up Roger & do another book about all the lesser known Free Wild Foods!
You say “I’ve enjoyed delectable sweet fruit every summer for more than 10 years – perhaps a consequence of the changing climate.”
Sorry, no.
30 years ago I lived in Maylandsea, in Essex, and had a very prolific hedge of these along our rear boundary. Because of that, when we moved to Norfolk 25 years ago I planted a hedge of them and they are just as prolific, just as edible, as the ones in Essex.
Each tree produces fruit of fairly uniform size and/or colour, smallish/bright red: bigger, darker red: bigger still/ dark red to purple, large/yellow.
None of them carry a mix of size/colour as ripe fruit.
The bright red ones tend to be the smallest, and least sweet. The bigger the ripe fruit the darker and sweeter. However, the yellow ones tend to be the biggest and sweetest of all.
I’m told they make excellent wine, and jam, and chutney.
I’m about to try making some of the big/dark red ones into cherry plum brandy.
In searching for cherry plum recipes I came across this site. Imoved here to Bendigo, Victoria, Australia last year and we are renting a house with 2 cherry plum trees. This year I have been collecting around 4 kilos (2.2lbs) of fruit for the past 10 days from just one tree. The other one is just starting to ripen. I’ve made 10 jars of jam, 3 bottles of cordial and given big bags away to many friends. As no-one has posted a recipe yet I thought I would tell you how I made my jam with trial and error. As I never use white sugar at all it was a challenge but the resulting jam is just delicious. Will do another post below because I’m out of space.
In my post above it should have read picking 4 kilos a day (8.8 lbs).
CHERRY PLUM JAM RECIPE
In a large pot put about 4 lbs of washed cherry plum and 1/4 cup water. Bring gently to the boil without burning and skim off skins with slotted spoon as they rise. Use potato masher to speed up softening of plums. When soft add about 1 1/2 lbs of dark brown sugar, a good shake of cinnamon powder and about 1/4 teaspoon of Stevia Powder. Simmer until it gels a little on a cold plate. Pour batches into a large metal strainer with bowl underneath and press flesh through leaving the stones in the strainer. I found this the easiest way to de-stone them. Pour into sterilised jars. I add about 2 tsp of colloidal silver as I’m not too fussy with sterilising everything.
Cherry Plum Brandy!
In November I said “I’m about to try making some of the big/dark red ones into cherry plum brandy.”
Well, I tasted the results just over a week ago!
Into a Kilner jar I placed about 250 to 300gms of fruit. To this I added about 200gms of sugar and half a Cinnamon stick and about 400ml of the cheapest Brandy I could get. Every day for about three weeks I turned each jar over several times to mix the fruit, brandy and sugar, until all the sugar was dissolved, and then for a few days more.
I then added a teaspoonful of Ascorbic Acid.
From then on I mixed each jar two or three times a week.
Since we were going away for Christmas, and I wanted to take some with me to show off, I decanted, and then filtered, the resulting liquid on the 21st December, so it had taken about six weeks.
Result?
Wonderful.
Everyone who’s tried it has loved the taste!
Mind you, I only took a small quantity with me so that there was plenty for us when we got home again!
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[...] Miles Irving is one such forager, part of a growing number supplying shops, restaurants and their own tables with seasonal wild food. Miles is based in Kent and runs a supply company called Forager, he sells to local restaurants and also directly into London. Miles has just published his first book, The Forager Handbook and it’s a worthy successor to two classics; Richard Mabey’s Food for Free (1972) and Roger Phillips’ Wild Food (1983). Covering a wide range of UK plants (including garden escapes) with good recipes – often provided by the chefs Irving supplies, the book also includes a useful introduction covering the basics of foraging – including toxicity and sustainability. Unlike Mabey or Phillips’ books The Forager Handbook doesn’t cover mushrooms, but these probably require a separate guide anyway. In testing the book in the shop I went straight to cherry plums, to my mind a very tasty and worthwhile wild fruit that are omitted from Wild Food and dismissed by Mabey. Irving both includes and eulogizes these multi-coloured stone fruits. [...]