This Wondrous Little Plum

Now is the time for mirabelles. If you look closely at Andy’s photograph, you will observe that the fruit in the picture are quite small and slightly green. I am writing this at the very beginning of the short season of this wondrous little plum –by the second week in September the season will be finished. Perhaps because the season is so short, most mirabelles are turned into jam or, if they are lucky, become an especially aromatic and pungent eau-de-vie.

Mirabelles rapidly attain ripeness, becoming a deep ochre yellow and literally bursting with sugar. Of the two main varieties, both from Lorraine, one has little red spots that deepen into a rich blush when fully ripe. There comes a point when the only thing to do with a mirabelle is eat it where it stands. I have often bought a bag in a market and they have been consumed before they could make it home for some more elaborate deployment.