She calls for Santa Rosa plums in her recipe, a similar plum that’s already had its season here in the Bay Area, but any red-fleshed plum like the Elephant Heart would work, or any plum or pluot that is not overly sweet (those that are both sweet and tart work best). I went with a recipe I had been waiting all year to try from Emily Luchetti’s A Passion for Ice Cream : a plum cornmeal cake paired with a plum sorbet. ![]() The plums hold up well in baking and develop an even richer, more robust flavor. Even a not-perfectly-ripened elephant heart plum is a thing of joy, but a perfect one is like the end of summer distilled into ambrosia.Īfter eating a couple of these little beauties, I actually had to make sure I didn’t get carried away and eat them all before I could bake anything with them (addictive, as in all the best fairy tales! or was that Persephone and her pomegranate seeds?) These plums are of course delightful out of hand, but also spectacular in many late summer or early autumn standards like galettes, tarts, or coffee cakes. Pick plums that are tender but not squishy soft or too firm either. Incidentally, the dustlike bloom you may see on them at the market is actually a good sign elephant heart plums are quite delicate and bruise easily, so seeing bloom means that have not been overhandled. I adore this plum, with its perfect heart shape and rich ruby color, the subtle complexities of its flavor such a contrast to its bolder, more straightforward cousins. Don’t resist the flesh is firm and burstingly juicy, the flavor sublimely sweet and tangy at once, redolent of honey and vanilla with tart berry undertones. ![]() If the slightly macabre name does not give you pause, the fruit’s appearance might: a rather mottled and dusty variegation of greens and purples, making one wonder if they’ve been pulled, half-ripened, out of a kitchen drawer, or, perhaps, if they are something rich and strange from the depths of some sun-dappled forest.Ĭut one open, and they indeed resemble something from a fairy tale: a jewellike, blood red interior that is softly, sweetly fragrant and begs to be bitten into, Snow-White style. I wanted to make something with plums before they disappeared, and this week when I went to market I saw a variety that I hadn’t baked with before: the oh-so-intriguingly named elephant heart plums. How fabulous is the bounty of fruit at the farmers’ markets right now? Check it out: this post is featured on Yumsugar and Serious Eats!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |