We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild. Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr the freezer. What else might I do ?
Plum brandy ?
Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.

On 12/08/2023 15:41, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
> We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild. Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr the freezer. What else might I do ?
> Plum brandy ?
> Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
> I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.

Offer them to a local greengrocer, market fruit and veg stall, and/or
baker?

--

Jeff

On 12/08/2023 15:41, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
> We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild. Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr the freezer. What else might I do ?
> Plum brandy ?
> Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
> I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.

No matter how many I have, I always seem to eat them before they get
inside the house

--
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the
other is to refuse to believe what is true.”

—Soren Kierkegaard

On 12/08/2023 15:41, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
> We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild. Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr the freezer. What else might I do ?
> Plum brandy ?
> Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
> I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.
>
Screwtop jam-jars. Big saucepan/boiler. Put plums in jars with some
water, experiment with sugar, but be sure you know how much you put in
each, label them when ready to store.

Put jars with lids loosely screwed-down in saucepan of water. Leave at
least an inch of jars above the water - it's best to use all similar
height jars...Put lid on saucepan and slowly bring to the boil, simmer
for half an hour, then using oven gloves or similar, take out each jar
and quickly, screw down the lid.

Allow to cool, label jars and try differently-sugared ones to see which
is preferred.

You could get a dessicator and make prunes, but this will require some
practice, and I can't help with directions- not tried it with prunes.
Search on something like 'dessicting plums'

I deprecate the practice of pitting prunes - the stones add flavour to
the fruit while cooking - a totally different experience, a dish of
prunes and custard, one lot pitted and the other stewed with stones in.

Cookiing time can be significantly reduced by using an
autoclave/pressure-cooker, but beware of overcooking.

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On Sat, 12 Aug 2023 07:41:36 -0700, Paul Mc Cann wrote:

> We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild.
> Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr
> the freezer. What else might I do ?
> Plum brandy ?
> Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
> I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.

It has been a strange year for plums.

None at all on our trees.

Cheers

Dave R

--
Dell Latitude 7280 with Full HD and Thunderbolt (woo hoo)

David wrote:

> It has been a strange year for plums.
> None at all on our trees.

One on my tree (which I didn't know was a plum tree).

On 21/08/2023 13:20, Andy Burns wrote:
> David wrote:
>
>> It has been a strange year for plums.
>> None at all on our trees.
>
> One on my tree (which I didn't know was a plum tree).
>
>
There were a few. I think the squirrels got them all, though.

--
The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all
private property.

Karl Marx

On 21/08/2023 14:09, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 21/08/2023 13:20, Andy Burns wrote:
>> David wrote:
>>
>>> It has been a strange year for plums.
>>> None at all on our trees.
>>
>> One on my tree (which I didn't know was a plum tree).
>>
>>
> There were a few. I think  the squirrels got them all, though.

Have you tried sqrl pie?

--
Rusty Hinge
To err is human. To really foul things up requires a computer and the BOFH.

On 21/08/2023 12:22, David wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Aug 2023 07:41:36 -0700, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
>
>> We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild.
>> Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr
>> the freezer. What else might I do ?
>> Plum brandy ?
>> Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
>> I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.
>
> It has been a strange year for plums.
>
> None at all on our trees.
>
>
> Cheers
>
>
>
> Dave R
>
>

My 4 year old (since I bought it, so probably 5 or 6) produced its first
Victoria plum this year, which was blown off in the Saturday night storm
and attacked by insects before I got there.

Neighbour has a tree that usually produces a good crop, but this year
after flowering well the leaves started shrivelling and it struggled to
produce much of a crop.

David <wibble@btinternet.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Aug 2023 07:41:36 -0700, Paul Mc Cann wrote:
>
> > We have a very heav crop of plums this year. The wasps are going wild.
> > Problem is what to do with them. I've halved and stoned a quantity fpr
> > the freezer. What else might I do ?
> > Plum brandy ?
> > Kidnap little Jack Horner ?
> > I'm not mad keen on plum tarts.
>
> It has been a strange year for plums.
>
> None at all on our trees.
>
Ours have broken several branches with the weight of plums, happened
once before a few years ago, but this year is certainly a very heavy
crop for us (South Suffolk).

All of our fruit has cropped well this year, raspberries went mad a
while ago, lots of cherries (so many the birds didn't eat them all),
apples are pretty good, and it looks as if there will be lots of
pears.

--
Chris Green
·