In season: plums

Plums begin to appear towards the end of the stone fruit season but they are well worth the wait. The flesh of plums ranges in colour from deep purple, red and pink, to yellow and even green, depending on the variety. The fruit also ranges in taste from sour to super sweet. When buying plums, look for those that yield to gentle pressure indicating they are nicely ripe. Store plums at room temperature, as they don’t like the cold and will not ripen to full flavour. Apart from eating them raw, in all their sun-ripened glory, plums are one of the best fruits to bake into pies, tarts, cakes, muffins and crumbles. If you have a glut, then preserving is ideal – a good plum jam is hard to beat. Plum ketchup, sauce, chutney, and pickled plums make great accompaniments to serve with barbecue foods, roast meats and cheeses.