Mirabelle de Metz Plums
Estimated Inventory, 6 lbs : 0
Description/Taste
Mirabelle de Metz plums are unique and easily recognizable, by their petite size and yellow outer skin. Smaller than a golf ball, the Mirabelle de Metz plum measure less than 3 centimeters in diameter and is completely spherical in shape. They are often covered in a dusty white bloom that acts as a sort of water barrier. The inner flesh is a pale translucent yellow and is crisp yet juicy. The Mirabelle de Metz plum offers a very sweet full bodied flavor with notes of concentrated dried apricot, golden raisin, and honey.
Seasons/Availability
Mirabelle de Metz plums are available in the mid-summer months.
Current Facts
The Mirabelle de Metz plum is a botanical variety of Prunus domestica. It is a celebrated heirloom variety that hails from a small city, which is also its namesake, in Lorraine, France known as Metz. The plum is prized for its intensely rich flavors that heavily influence the region's food and alcohol production. Another popular mirabelle plum variety, the Mirabelle de Nancy, is also grown nearby. Combined in this small region, the two varieties count for 80 percent of the world’s commercial mirabelle harvest.
Nutritional Value
Mirabelle de Metz plums are high in vitamins A and C, potassium, calcium, phosphate and dietary fiber. These nutrients are important for a strong immune system, a healthy digestive system, lowering cholesterol levels, and prevent the negative effects of free radicals.
Applications
The Mirabelle de Metz plum can be eaten fresh, however it is often used in baked goods or fermented and distilled into a French fruit liquor know as eau de vie. Cook the small fruits down into a silky puree perfect for tart fillings or jams, jellies, and compotes. Complimentary flavors include vanilla, nutmeg, tropical fruits, chocolate, butter, fennel, basil, citrus, mild fresh cheeses such as chevre and ricotta.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
For two weeks in the month of August, the city of Metz celebrates and holds a Mirabelle Festival. They sell and enjoy fresh prunes, tarts and liquor made from Mirabelle plums. There is even a crowning of the Mirabelle Queen.
Geography/History
Mirabelle de Metz plums have been cultivated in France since the 1500s. Today, import and export laws in Lorraine, France are currently responsible for the ban on these plums to be sold or transported outside of the area. Similar to law governing authentic champagne only hailing from Champagne, France, these plums guarded as a kind of national culinary treasure. Though plums of similar taste, color and size have been grown and sold outside of the region of Lorraine, the true Mirabelle de Metz plum can only come from one designated area in Lorraine, France.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Mirabelle de Metz Plums. One
is easiest, three is harder.| David Lebovitz |
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Mirabelle Jam |
Podcasts
