SC - Plums period?

[Cindy Renfrow]

>Terry Nutter wrote:
>>
>> Hi, Katerine here.
>>
>> Adamantius writes:
<snip>>
>> Hmmm... "prune" is the Middle English word for plum (well, one of them;
>> an earlier is "bola").  In English recipes, there's no indication that
>> prunes are used dried, and expert opinion is primarily to the contrary.
>> But I don't know about the continent.  I've been assuming that they were
>> using the fresh too; but that's an assumption.  Do you have any data?
>>
<snip>>
>I can't think exactly where, but I'm sure I saw a recipe from the
>medieval English corpus that calls for bullace plums, another variety
>which I seem to recall is an unusually firm, "cooking" plum.
>
<snip>

Hello! A few scattered thoughts to add to the general confusion:

The words "bolas" and "bolasse" occur in Harleian MS. 279 Potage Dyvers
#104, meaning bullace plums.  Recipe #105 also contains the variant
spelling "Boolas".

Gerard, 1633 ed., p. 1498, says "The Bulle††e and the Sloe tree are wilde
kindes of Plums, which do vary in their kind, euen as the greater and
manured Plums do.  Of the Bulle††e, †ome are greater and of better ta†te
than others."

"The great Damaske or Dam†on Plummes are dryed in France in great
quantities, and brought ouer vnto vs in Hogs-heads, and other great
ve††els, and are tho†e Prunes that are v†ually †old at the Grocers, vnder
the name of Damaske Prunes:  the blacke Bulleis al†o are tho†e (being dryed
in the †ame manner) that they call French Prunes, and by their tartne††e
are thought to binde, as the other, being †weet, to loo†en the body.
The Bruneola Plumme, by rea†on of his plea†ant tartne††e, is much accounted
of, and being dryed, the †tones taken from them, are brought ouer to vs in
†mall boxes, and †old deere at the Comfitmakers, where they very often
accompany all other †orts of banquetting †tuffes." (Parkinson, 1629, p.
578.)

Parkinson also lists about 60 varieties of plums.

Plum trees are very prolific, and the soft-skinned fruits are quick to rot.
I find it difficult to believe that the fruits could have all been used
fresh before they rotted.  Fresh plums are also not as flavorful and sweet
as the dried prunes.  Many fruits, such as cherries, grapes, and currants,
were preserved by drying in period times - why is there any doubt that
plums were dried as well?  Also, in the many recipes where prunes are
called for, it is usually in combination with dried fruits such as currants
and dates.

"The late ripe Cherries which the French men keepe dried again†t winter,
and are by them called Morelle, and we after the †ame name call them Morell
Cherries, are dry, and do †omwhat bind:  the†e being dried are plea†ant to
the ta†te, and hole†ome for the †tomacke, like as Prunes be..." (Gerard,
1597 ed., p. 1324.)

"To write of Plums particularly would require a peculiar volume, and yet
the end not to be attained vnto, nor the †tock or kindred perfectly
knowne...
Plummes that be ripe and new gathered from the tree, what †ort †oeuer they
are of, do moi†ten and coole, and yeeld vnto the body very little
nouri†hment, and the †ame nothing good at all:  for as Plummes do very
quickly rot, †o is al†o the iuice of them apt to putrifie in the body, and
likewi†e to cau†e meate to putrifie which is taken with them.... Dried
Plums, commonly called Prunes, are whol†omer, and more plea†ant to the
†tomack, they yeeld more nouri†hment, and better, and †uch as cannot ea†ily
putrifie.  It is reported, †aith Galen in his booke of the faculties of
Nouri†hments, that the be†t doe grow in Dama†cus a city of Syria; and next
to tho†e, they that grow in Spaine...Dio†corides †aith, that Damaske Prunes
dried do †tay the belly... (Gerard, 1633 ed., pp. 1496-98.)

HTH,

Sincgiefu/Cindy Renfrow
renfrow at skylands.net



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