Bumper Harvest

All this past week and a bit we've been harvesting mirabelles. Lots of mirabelles....

Our Mirabelle de Nancy

To be honest until about two weeks ago we didn't even know we had them! That may sound odd, but until now, neither of the two miralbelle bush/trees produced much in the way of fruit, so we didn't take much notice as to what they were. They flower early in March and we had speculated as to what they could be here in a post a couple of years ago.

However, this summer both have fruited with a vengeance and it turns out we have a mirabelle de Nancy and a mirabelle de Metz.

The mirabelle de Nancy is a small yellow plum, whereas the mirabelle de Metz is yellow with a lovely orange-red blush. Our blush mirabelle is much smaller than our yellow mirabelle and the actual tree is more of a bush, so we think it is probably a self-seeded renegade [hybrid wild plum]. All in all, we took at least 6 kgs of fruit off the trees, the majority being yellow mirabelles; but there's still plenty left on there for the birds.

Traditionally in Alsace-Lorraine these plums are used to make a version of 'clafoutis' a French baked desert. Here's a link to a simple recipe [in French]. The city Metz has an annual 'fête de la Mirabelle de Metz' which celebrates all things to do with these little plums, including their transformation into a mirabelle eau de vie.

Our mirabelles are tucked up in the freezer for future baking and jam making.