The Greengage is a strange fruit, I really don't know why I bother to keep the tree in front of the house. The trunk is rotting, and clearing up all the mess from the dropping fruit is an annual nuisance.
Either they have worms inside them, or they are so sweet that they make your hair curl.
The only way to eat them is to catch them semi-ripe, open them in half (to check for lodgers), and consume them directly underneath the tree. I probably eat a maximum of 20 each year. Like that they are delicious, but hardly worth all the hassle of clearing-up the mess they produce.
I always look forward to their arrival, then wish I hadn't. Bok eats a few.
I believe my grandparents had a plum tree that was a greengage. I remember the fruits looking like the ones in the picture. I also remember eating them when they were still half green and very, very tart. They had another plum tree with big purple plums, too. I loved both kinds.
ReplyDeleteWe have three different kinds of Plums. The one above, a big purple one, and a small 'Cherry Plum'. The big purple ones are the best.
DeleteI gathered a few plums yesterday, the wind had brought them down.
ReplyDeleteOur purple ones are just starting to ripen. Quite a few bugs in them!
DeleteAt a 'special' market I bought a pot of Chutney de Reine-Claude et Orange. We are halfway through the jar and it is very tasty.
ReplyDeleteWe made a pie last year, which was good. Chutney sounds nice; maybe I should make some.
DeleteTry doing without them! We do not have a tree and trying to find decent ones in the market is difficult. They have the blessing of being one of the only fruits that are still only available in season. Mind you I do not have to clean up after them, mind you have you ever lived with a mulberry tree? True galactic style mess, including purple bird droppings everywhere.
ReplyDeleteCan't you just sow a pip? I have a friend with a Mulberry tree; I know what you mean about the droppings!!!
DeleteI LOVE greengages .... hard to come by now along with cobnuts but a real taste of my childhood. XXXX
ReplyDeleteCobnuts were very much a part of my childhood too. My father planted about 6 different varieties and it was a big part of every Autumn gathering them. Lovely.
DeleteThey are very prolific here and there is a good supply of greengage jam and greengage tarts that come my way each summer from a certain person's elderly mother. It is a shame that I don't really like greengages.
ReplyDeleteToo sweet for me, but kind of her to think of you. Do you have a cupboard full?
DeleteI bought a Reine Claude three years ago, so still waiting for fruit. I love greengages and have two Cambridge Gage trees.I don't find them too sweet, but love their fragrance.
ReplyDeleteGill
I don't know what ours is; it was here when I bought the little ruin. I've always imagined it was sown as a pip. Ours is unbelievably SWEET.
Deletejust to smell the fragrance of the skin...bliss!
ReplyDeleteI've just been outside to have a sniff; mine don't seem to smell of much. I did eat one whilst I was there; delicious.
DeleteHello Cro! Fun to stop by! Come find me on FB or Instagram! (It's me, Willow.)
ReplyDeleteLong time no see. Welcome back. I'll look you up!
DeleteI ate a plum yesterday, not home grown like yours but I really loved it. I was so lucky it tasted lovely, as it is hit or miss with market fruit.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
We eat rather a lot at the moment, as our Apples are still not quite ripe. But, it won't be long.
DeleteI adore greengages but we rarely see them in the greengrocers here.
ReplyDeleteThey are delicious, but oh so sweet.
DeleteI cannot recall when I last saw a greengage but they were popular when I was a child.
ReplyDeleteI suppose they're rather an old fashioned fruit.
DeleteSounds like they would make great chutney.
ReplyDeleteHello Cro! Fun to stop by! Come find me on FB or Instagram! (It's me, Willow.)
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