Plum ingredients, applications and preparation

Plums taste sweet and stimulate digestion

The commercial plum is a cross between the cherry plum and the blackthorn. Most of the world's cultivation takes place in China. Although the fruits of the plum tree contain mainly water, but also vitamins, minerals and trace elements. They promote digestion and cleanse the intestine.

contents

• Plums taste sweet and stimulate digestion
• ingredients
• Sweet energy
• Effect and application
• Buy plums - what should you consider?
• Many plums
• Biologically considered plums
• Dried plums
• Prunes against flatulence
• Prunes against constipation
• Help with weight loss
• Plums in the kitchen
• plum jam

ingredients

Plums provide numerous vitamins, including:

• Provitamin A,
• different B vitamins,
• vitamin C,
• Vitamin D,
• Vitamin E and
• Vitamin K.

While vitamin C is not as abundant as cherries, plums provide a broad range of vitamins.

Plums contain plenty of vitamins and minerals. (Image: Markus Mainka / fotolia.com)

At minerals they contain:

• sodium,
• potassium,
• calcium,
• magnesium,
• phosphorus,
• sulfur,
• chloride,
• zinc,
• copper,
• manganese,
• fluoride,
• Iodide as well
• Trace elements of iron, zinc, copper, manganese, fluoride and iodide.

Sweet energy

Plums provide a lot of fructose, provide energy so quickly, and are well-suited for athletes as well as general physical activity. Dried plums are an excellent snack for long hikes. Because of their high sugar content, plums are also richer in calories than other fruits: 100 grams contain about 47 calories, prunes even 225 calories. However, those who suffer from fructose intolerance should not eat plums - stomach pain and diarrhea can be the result.

Effect and application

Plums help against constipation and are a natural laxative. They also have a diuretic effect. They contain cellulose and pectin, and the fibers swell in the intestine. In addition, the nondigestible fibers cleanse the intestine of waste materials. Indirectly, they even help with cancer prevention. The fiber also helps to lower cholesterol levels.

In folk remedies, plums were a remedy for liver and gout complaints. The diuretic effect is useful for flushing uric acid, which promotes gout, out of the body. The urine flow, which is increased by the plums, also relieves the kidneys. The vitamin E in the plums supports the collagen formation in the skin and tightens it, in addition it prevents wrinkles.

Buy plums - what should you consider?

Ripe plums are firm, overly soft and often attacked by worms. You should store the plums cool and shady and eat quickly. Just before the meal, wash the fruits, otherwise you will also wash off the protective layer, which will retain the moisture.
Tip: You divide the fruits neatly into two halves when you cut them at the seam. So you can solve the core of the pulp.

The plum knows many subspecies, such as the mirabelle plum or prune, which also includes the more yellowish Reineclaude. (Image: petrabarz / fotolia.com)

Many plums

Plum refers to a variety of similar drupes. The differences in size, taste, shape and color are great. These include plums, prunes, plums, Japanese plums and cherry plums.

Real plums are oval or round, a seam runs from the stalk to the lower part of the stone. The pulp is firm, green to yellow, juicy and sweet. The stone can not be solved easily. Plums are softer and flatter, their stone is elongated and can be easily detached from the fruit. We continue to differentiate: oat plum, half-plum, mirabelle, sparte, spilling, plum, pemsen and zwispitz as well as Bidling.

The pruned plum originated somewhere between the Caucasus and Morocco, and our plum spread in Germany goes back to a hybrid of blackthorn and cherry plum. The Romans brought them across the Alps to Central Europe in the first century BC. Already in antiquity, the plum was a popular remedy for constipation.

Biologically considered plums

Plum trees grow vigorously and reach up to ten meters in height - mirabelles remain significantly smaller. The bark is greyish brown and smooth. Wild cherry plums and sloe have thorns, the cultivated forms not. Plums belong to the stone fruit, the fruits have a core, which takes on the shape of an ellipse in plums to a ball, can be flat or humpy and contains a bitter seed. Plum wood is dense, hard and can be dried heavily.

Dried plums

Prunes are especially popular dried as a snack. This sulfurized dried fruit is ideal for long hikes. The fibers promote the gastrointestinal balance and bind water in the body. As a result, the intestine works faster and thus the risk of constipation disappears. Dried plums quickly saturate with fiber. Despite their high calorie content, they therefore provide a good supplement to a diet - they stop food cravings. In addition, prunes contain fewer calories than granola bars or chocolate.

Prunes also contain the valuable substances to a greater extent than fresh fruits, because the removal of water increases the concentration of vitamins and minerals. However, sulfur compound of sulfurized plums destroys vitamin B1. To feed yourself, you must eat the plums fresh.

Prunes against flatulence

Flatulence is not a disease, but it is unpleasant. It arises when gases accumulate in the intestine. Prunes contain phenols that regulate these flatulences. The dried fruits also cleanse the digestive system. But here is the rule: keep your measure. If you eat more than 150 grams of prunes per day, the fruit will swell up in your stomach so much that the bloating may increase and stomach ache may result.

Harvest time for plums is between the end of July and September. (Image: Branko Srot / fotolia.com)

Prunes against constipation

Dried plums are a first-choice remedy for constipation. This arises because the movements of the large and small intestine are too slow and now lack the enzymes to implement the food intake. Prunes in moderation can compensate for this malfunction. To stop the intestinal sluggishness, take plenty of water with the dried fruits. Usually the treatment lasts one to two days. The plums swell, stimulating the intestinal activity, and the muscles work again, bringing the leftovers clogging the intestine to the exit.

By the way: you can consume the dried fruits more easily if you put them in water overnight. It is best to eat the dried fruit before breakfast, drink one to two glasses of water. Three prunes per meal are quite sufficient to stimulate digestion. The water softens the chair, making it easier to defecate.

Help with weight loss

The fibers in the prunes saturate quickly and sustainably. Due to their sweetness prunes are a good alternative to sweet fatteners.

Plums in the kitchen

Plums are among the most versatile foods. They cling to salt as well as to acid, to go with fat roast pork as dessert. What's more, their sweet aroma often makes hearty meals digestible. Dried prunes fried in bacon are delicacies for a finger food party, dried plums harmonize with cakes, pies and sweet casseroles. In sweets, the plums replace extra added sugar.

Plums create a delicate contrast in combination with cheese. So you can remove the core of prunes and replace it with a piece of blue cheese. Or you put the onions with the cheese in port. The tart feta cheese also goes well with prunes. Plums harmonize with cinnamon, various curry mixes, turmeric, ginger and thyme.

Plums are excellent for baking. You do not need any fat, because the plums stay soft in their own juice and retain their consistency. They bake the plums for about 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Prunes are either eaten neat or served as icing on the cake with puddings, rice pudding, semolina pudding or vanilla ice cream.

In order to use the benefits of the ingredients of the plum also in the winter months, plum jam is very good. (Image: juefraphoto / fotolia.com)

plum jam

The harvest season of the plums is short, from the second half of July to September. In order to preserve the nutrients even and especially in winter, plum jam offers. This is also known as plum honey or squeeze gel. It serves as a spread or as a filling, but also enriches sauces or can be used as a marinade for roasts.

They need very ripe and sweet plums. These corer them, mince them and mix them three to one with sugar. Then let the mixture rest for a day. The sugar has now extracted the most juice from the cells. Cook everything over medium heat for about three hours, stir regularly and finish when the mass has turned into a dark mush. Cinnamon, cloves and star anise are perfect for seasoning. Fill the jar with glasses that have been rinsed with boiling water. It lasts for years. (Dr. Utz Anhalt)