summerfood: beach plums

With the end of summer nearing, it feels appropriate that the last Lazy Summer post is Sarah’s Cape Cod quest to find a fleeting summertime offering: the elusive beach plum. xoKelly

While Cape Codders might be totally forthcoming about where to get the best lobster roll, they seem to take the complete opposite approach when it comes to beach plums. When I announced that I wanted to go on a hunt for these small, wild plums that many locals create delicious jams and jellies from, my mother-in-law called a neighbor who has knowledge of where the plum shrubs grow. But she was afraid that if she mentioned the words “beach plums’” in her message, her neighbor wouldn’t call back for fear of being pressured into sharing her local knowledge.
 
Beach plum shrubs are found on the sandy dunes of the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Maryland. But they’re near impossible to domesticate. Sure, you could plunk a young shrub in your yard and it might get tall and leafy, but you may never see one single, solitary plum. So if you’re a local and know where to find the wild, ripe fruit – you apparently keep it close to your chest.  
 
We weren’t deterred by the plum-hoarding, so we set out to find our own secret stash. I could swear I saw some little old ladies moving signposts around in an attempt to confuse us. And it worked. We found nothing but gorgeous landscapes, fields of Queen Anne’s lace, and a small market on the way home that sold jars of plum jelly, all ready to be spread on toast.  
 
We''ll call this one even, Cape Cod. -Sarah

Comments

[Leilani Norman]

A truly lovely post, Kelly. I'm awaiting the ripening of a few, precious italian prunes that I discovered in the corner of the garden.