Sweet Plumcot English Patch
Wan Cabiness
Plumcots are an exceptional fruit. Also recognized as a pluot, plumcots are part plum, part apricot with more plum characteristics. Not only do sweet apricot qualities balance out the sour hints from a traditional plum, but each variety has its own distinctive fusion of flavors, size, and color. We have all the plumcot varieties (more than twenty!) and are continuously adding more, each one entirely unique and truly delicious.
Plumogranates are our most notable plumcot variety. Plumogranates are a black plumcot with a deep, dark red flesh. They burst with flavors of plum, berry and pomegranate. Plus, they are packed with healthy disease-fighting antioxidants.
The skin is a red/purple color with a starry speckled skin. Inside, a deep red flesh is bursting with flavors of plum and melon. As a plus, the red flesh is packed with disease-fighting antioxidants.
This variety may look ordinary on the outside but inside is a festival of flavor! Rich raspberry, sweet apricot, and robust plum are just a few of the flavors that come to mind as you bite into the flame-colored flesh.
We all know what plums and apricots are. But how many of you have heard of a pluot? Plumcots are new to me. Apparently there are also apriplums, apriums, angelcots and even something called very cherry plums. Who knew?
All of the above are hybrid fruits involving either plums or apricots with subtle differences in appearance, color and flavor profile. Pluots were familiar to me - plums + apricots, simple. But plumcots and apriums are also a blend of the two fruits. So what gives?
The difference lies in percentage of each within the hybrid proportions. Plumcots are apriplums are old school, first gen of plum and apricot hybrids, made as a 50/50 split. Plumcots, which I used in this Apricot & Plumcot Goat Cheese Tart recipe, can be plummy in appearance but don't tend to have as deep of plum sweetness as pluots. Pluots take it a step further and lean in towards the plum side of things with 75% plum dominance. Apriums and apriplums are heavier on the apricot spectrum with that golden hue and soft baby fuzz exterior.
To top it all off, each hybrid has multiple varietals so things can get really confusing. Just know that whatever hybrid or variety of apricots or plums you decide to use in this Apricot Plumcot Goat Cheese Tart recipe, it will be gorgeous and delightful no matter what. If you want to nerd out over the science of it all, this popsugar article is helpful. Wikipedia knows a thing or two about the history and distinctions as well.
This recipe allows the summery stone fruit to shine like a ray of sunshine atop the super simple tart base. The basic, press-in brown sugar crust comes together in minutes and looks flawless when made in a 9" removable bottom tart pan. The smooth and airy filling is a simple blend of whipped goat cheese, Greek yogurt, orange zest and honey that sets up like a creamy dream in the fridge. Once the filling is set in, I top the tart with juicy stone fruit and a few sprigs of garden fresh thyme for earthy depth. Then I drizzled it with sweet, sticky honey just before serving.
Thanks to the whipped goat cheese, this Apricot Plumcot Goat Cheese Tart isn't overtly sweet and the herby thyme it blurs the lines between sweet and savory. The crumbly shortbread crust tastes like a familiarly sweet cookie and balances the filling and fruit both figuratively and literally.
This Apricot Plumcot Goat Cheese Tart is quick & simple with an easy, press-in brown sugar crust, a creamy whipped goat cheese filling with a touch of honey & juicy slices of stone fruit with freshly snipped thyme. Not too sweet, not too savory. Just right.
The almonds bring extra crunch to the crumble and mixed in with oats, brown sugar, flour and butter, they make this crumble extra crunchy on top. This crumble is everything, I could spoon it and eat it as is HA!
The plumcot filling is sweet, tangy and the color is so beautiful. I add orange zest and a bit of orange juice, which adds brightness to the dessert. Adding orange juice and zest brightens the whole thing and makes it taste fresh and light. If you do not have an orange in hand, lemon juice works great too!
When the produce man at Schnucks kindly offered me a taste of a pluot, I was really impressed by its sweetness and firm texture. More like a plum I thought to myself. So I purchased 3 pounds of pluots and headed home to see what kind of pie they would make.
The pie hit my all-time favorite list with a bang. Most of the pies on my list are the tart variety like rhubarb, lemon, and raspberry, so this pie fit right in. The sweet and tart flavors swirled over my tongue. Yes, ice cream is a must with this pie.
JUICY SWEET plumcot is our newest plumcot being offered this year. It produced a good a crop of plumcots again in summer 2019 in spite of a wicked cold winter and wet cold spring weather. This plumcot resists all plum diseases( black knot ,etc) and is a more dependable producer than all our plum and apricot varieties. Juicy Sweet plumcot trees are in our "most winter hardy " category with cold hardiness into Zone 2/3 climates JUICY SWEET trees are self -fertile variety...... but always suggest planting with another plumcot for better cropping. Limited supply this year. Our JUICY SWEET plumcots are now sel rooted for more hardiness. Plumcots produce fruit very quickly ..usually 1-2 yrs after planting.
I love eating it by the hand, the subtle orange blossom water aroma balances the plumcots and almonds beautifully. I also love the contrast of the different plumcot colours. Bostock usually taste the best a little warm or at room temperature at the day it is made, but it keeps moist for a day or two. It is so delicious that it is hard to believe that it was once a slice of stale brioche!
The love child of a plum and an apricot, plumcots posses a unique sweet-sour flavor and are oh so pretty on top of this flammkuchen or anywhere really. In this Plumcot, Goat Cheese, Zucchini, Rosemary Flammkuchen recipe, plumcot, and zucchini slices recline on a soft bed of sour cream and goat cheese.
They look even more beautiful sliced. Of course, you can substitute regular purple plums for this recipe. However, even though the taste may be great, the flammkuchen will not look as pretty. on your table.
Before the pluots are gone for the year, I thought I'd sneak this in. I was saying to a friend the other day - when pluots are good, few fruits are better. I'm thinking of a crimson-fleshed Dapple Dandy I had last year - dripping ripe with punchy juice, refreshing, taut-skinned. It set the bar in my mind. And the pluots have been good lately, so they've been around the kitchen. And I do different things with them, like this impromptu breakfast bowl. While arguably unconventional, it is one of my favorite uses to date. Greek yogurt with a bit of chopped dill incorporated, topped with sliced pluots, toasted oats, poppy seeds, and honey. If the dill sounds like too much for you, feel free to skip it, but I love the way it plays off the oats, and the honey sweetness of the fruit.
Here's another idea - I've been thinking of making a pluot punch of sorts - give a shout if you have a favorite punch base you think would work or be a good starting point. I suspect some of you might have a leg up on me in the boozy punch department. And in the meantime, I'll dust off the crystal bowl. xo-h
I have been devouring pluots and apriums all season. I have severe allergies to seeds, dairy, grains, legumes and all the spices derived from seeds.
My favorite breakfast has been a vegan smoothie as follows: 6 tablespoons organic coconut flour, 2/3 cup coconut milk (low fat) and 3-4 pluots. Blend with lots of ice and voila, an addictive meal in a glass. Sooooo good.
Here in western NY I have been enjoying chopped fresh peaches + lime juice + honey in a million ways. Popsicle, beverage base, on yogurt, etc. So simple and so delicious. I think it would work with the pluots too. + Rum and a big bottle of something bubbly. Yum.
PUNCH IDEA: Base = 1 part chilled club soda or Pellegrino. 1 part chilled sparkling cider. Flavor add, whiz in processor: 1 cup ripe plum, 1/4 cup cranberry juice concentrate or 1 cup cooked raw cranberry and Stevia or other sweetener to taste.
1 cup flavor add to 2 quarts fizzy base.
hi heidi, thank you for reminding me of the deliciousness of pluots. I love how when pluots and plums are really good they have juicy berry undertones.
Good luck with the pluot punch preparations. Something with Lillet sounds divine.
Plumcots, pluots, apriums, or apriplums are fruits produced from the cross-breeding of plum and apricot trees. Because of many different species of plums and apricots and blending percentages, there is a multitude of hybrid varieties. I chose the dapple dandy for this recipe, which is a blend of 75% plum and 25% apricot. The fruit is sweet with a low acid content and bright pink flesh.
In an effort to hold onto some semblance of control in my life I started running 2-3 days a week. I've had a love hate relationship with running since childhood. My family is runners, I'm a runner, and I've turned to running in an addictive way many times throughout my life. I've started again after a couple years of hiatus and it feels SO GOOD. Something about working at a hospital all day, sitting with people through their pain and suffering, holding it together to offer them some bit of understanding and support leaves me feeling cooped up and emotionally drained. And when I run I let it all out, I sweat, I race to Kelly Clarkson and all the other female-power artists in my spotify library and it feels so good. Yes, the idea of burning some calories and loosing some of the first-year-of-grad-school weight sounds appealing but even if I don't loose a pound I know that running makes me feel good on the inside. Mentally it feels so therapeutic.
I always remember learning in teacher training years ago that after animals experience a stressful events they run and shake and move their bodies as a way of releasing that tension. Humans just hold it. For me running seems to release it all in a way nothing else does. This morning I listened to an episode of NPR's "On Being" called Running as a Spiritual Practice and it resonated so strongly with me. I've been listening to this song that repeats the lyrics "slow down" as I run, and even though my body is going fast I find that my mind is able to let go, slow down, and connect to all of the sensations of the present moment in a way that feels so healing.
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