The plum, like any fruit crop, has popular and not very common varieties. The varieties should be chosen according to the comparative characteristics of trees and fruits, taking into account the growing region. At the same time, it is possible to achieve an optimal combination of parameters and, as a result, have only high-quality and highly marketable fruits.
In terms of prevalence in gardens and summer cottages, plum occupies an honorable third place after apple and pear. It is often called the pearl of the garden. Among fruit trees, plum is one of the most productive. Having picked up varieties according to the ripening period, subject to the rules for harvesting and storing the crop, you can use fresh fruits for more than five months a year.
The value of the plum is due to the versatility of this fruit crop. The hybrid that appeared several millennia ago as a result of crossing cherry plum and blackthorn had all the main characteristics of these plants. The result is a fruit that is a repository of two sets of nutrients at once, characteristic of cold and warm latitudes. Plum successfully combines flavor and aroma components of cherry plum with useful properties and cold resistance of blackthorn.
Plum is an irreplaceable food component in the human diet. It is a low-calorie food that does not contain saturated fats, while it is rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals. The nutritional value does not depend on the variety of plum, since it is created mainly from carbohydrates. The percentage in the classic BZHU formula is as follows: 7, 2% - 6, 1% - 86, 7%.
The rate of absorption of consumed carbohydrates affects the level of sugar in a person's blood. To control it, they are guided by the glycemic index of food, which, on a scale from 0 to 100 units, are divided into three groups (less than 55, from 55 to 69 and more than 70). The plum has a low GI of 35 units. That is, due to the fiber content, the product is absorbed quickly, satisfies hunger well, but at the same time does not give a sharp increase in blood sugar levels and does not contribute to weight gain.
The calorie content of a plum can range from 40 to 49 kcal, depending on its variety and degree of ripeness. It is easy to make a simple calculation of the energy value, given that the average weight of the fetus is about 30-35 grams. One ripe fruit contains about 14-15 kcal. In terms of 100 g, 40–49 kcal is obtained. Calorie content by types of fresh fruit is distributed as follows: for black-fruited varieties - more than 45 kcal, in yellow plums - on average 43, in fruits with red pulp - at least 42 kcal. Using a calorie calculator at home, an average of 44 kcal per 100 grams of pulp is usually taken for plums.
Plums can be consumed both fresh and processed. Canned fruits retain their taste and nutritional qualities well. But in terms of energy value, they differ significantly from each other. The number of calories in a 100-gram portion of plum jam is 290, compote is 100, and juice is 39. The calorie content of a valuable dried fruit, such as prunes, is 4-6 times higher than fresh fruits. Frozen plums do not change their calorie content compared to fresh fruits. In the Smolinka variety, after thawing, the plum does not lose its shape at all.
Plum tree fruits contain from 9 to 15% sugars, are rich in organic acids, pectin. The sweetest are the Ranclad plums. Dietary fiber, sorbitol and isatin improve the body's digestion process. By consuming 2-3 plums daily, you can avoid gastrointestinal problems. 10-20 prunes are enough to achieve a mild laxative and diuretic effect. In terms of chemical composition, the plum can be safely called a healing pantry. The concentration of B vitamins, the content of P-vitamin composition, trace elements, etc. Fresh plums, especially the Mirabelle variety, provide the body with vitamin A and beta-carotene. The fruit belongs to foods rich in ascorbic acid and vitamin C. The leader in the content of ascorbic acid (18, 5 mg per 100 g of pulp) is a late-ripening variety Zolotistaya large. And 10 mg of vitamin C present in three ripe plums is the same as in a 100-gram apple, and twice as much as in 100 g of fruits such as pear or pomegranate.
Among the plums, differing in color, the roles are distributed as follows: Memory of Timiryazev, Smolinka, Morning, Tambov beauty, Egg blue, Alexy, Red ball, Kantemirovka, Blue gift, Etude
Varietal varieties of fruit crops differ not only in tree habitus, frost resistance and resistance to diseases and pests. A very important classification is by the time of fruiting.
Depending on the time when the removable maturity of the fruit comes, plums are divided into early, middle and late:
- Varieties of early ripening periods are valuable for their consumer quality of “first fruits” and are mostly consumed fresh: Mara, Orlovskaya Dream, Zarechnaya early, July rose, Kubanskaya early, Oda, Skorospelka krasnaya, Eurasia 21, Volzhskaya krasavitsa, Record early.
- Mid-season varieties have a richer taste: Voloshka, Renklod Altana, Hungarian Belarusian, Hungarian Donetsk, Kuban legend. Plums of medium ripening have the most varieties: Kantemirovka, Egg Blue, Morning, Renklod collective farm, etc. The Blue Bird plums make an excellent Tkemali sauce.
- Late varieties - Hungarian Italian, Vikana, Vengerka Voronezh, Valor, Vengerka Pulkovskaya, Stanley, Renklod collective farm, Ghana Shpet - are suitable for storage, tolerate transportation well.
Distinguish between self-fertile varieties and plums that require pollination with another variety of a related tree or insects. Viola, Bogatyrskaya, Memory of Timiryazev, Morning are considered popular among self-fertile plums. Examples of partially self-fertile varieties - Krasnoselskaya, Red ball. Self-fruitless varieties (Zanyatnaya, Bolkhovchanka, Sukhanovskaya) planted next to pollinating plums give good yields.
Plums vary in shape, size, skin and pulp color. Hungarian is the fruit of an elongated oval shape, spherical plums are called renklod.
The palette of shades is rich - from greenish and yellow-orange to red-violet and blue with a black tint. Remind of the summer and the sun plum Honey white, Mara, Mirabelle. The orange-red Beauty of the South has a light scent of Chanel perfume. The golden-pink Victoria looks elegant on the branches of the tree. Pink-red Covered with a dense waxy bloom, Renclode Altana plums have a wine flavor and the color of table wine. Beautiful fruits of red and purple in the varieties Smolinka, Violet, Alexiy, Peach. But most of all plum has classic blue shades, up to blue-black color - Viola, Blue Dar, Crooman and others. The original dark variety Hungarian Italiana is considered unsurpassed in the manufacture of dried fruits.
