North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>]

Classification:

I see that some writers call the Mirabelle
Prunus domestica var. syriaca, others
Prunus insititia var. syriaca, yet others
Prunus domestica subsp. insititia var. syriaca.

It seems that cultivated plums are complex hybrids of multiple
original wild species and their nomenclature is uncertain.

I highly recommend a paper
"Origin and Dissemination of Plums."

Direct access is uncertain, so go to
http://www.ipaprunes.org
click on "Prune History"
then "Dissemination of Plums over the World"

A basic article is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabelle_plum

On bullaces, related to damsons
<http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/b/bullac86.html>

It appears that the Geisenheim station in Germany has been breeding
Mirabelles, producing two new cultivars:
<http://www.pubhort.org/actahort/books/734/734_49.htm>

There is a paper
"Fruit Yield and Quality Characteristics of Three Cultivars of Mirabelle
Plum (Prunus insititia var. syriaca)in Northern Spain"
comparing two new French Mirabelles with an old Spanish Mirabelle:
<http://www.pubhort.org/aps/57/v57_n2_a12.htm>

An article in the Spring 2006 issue of New York Fruit Quarterly
describes three Mirabelles as well as many other plums; another article
gives an excellent survey of native plum species:
<http://www.nyshs.org/fq/06spring/06NYFQSpring.pdf>

Of older cultivars, I have encountered several names:
Mirabelle de Nancy
Mirabelle de Metz
Reine des Mirabelles
Mirabelle d'Octobre (synonym Mirabelle Tardive=Late Mirabelle)
American Mirabelle
Herrenhausen Mirabelle
Flotows Mirabelle (Germany
Rosal (Spain)
plus the Quebec Mirabelle mentioned by Claude Jolicoeur.
I wouldn't want to swear that none are duplicates/synonyms.

Some Mirabelles of recent breeding:
Geneva Mirabelle (U.S. released 2006)
Bellamira (Geisenheim)
Miragrande (Geisenheim)
Nancy 1510 (INRA Bordeaux)
Nancy1725 (INRA Bordeaux)

I notice that the recent American literature ignores the use of
Mirabelles in halves in tarts, cakes etc., probably because of their 
small size
and the tediousness of pitting.

On plums generally, note that Cornell speaks well of plum sauce. I have 
made this and I like it very much; it's excellent with yogurt or ice 
cream. My recipe uses 1/8 cup of cugar per cup of fruit and 1 part in 20 
of lemon juice (from an early edition of "Fruit and Vegetable Products" 
by Cruess). I halved, pitted and chopped the plums. I used Stanleys, or 
preferably German Prunes or Italian Prunes. No doubt a Mirabelle sauce 
would also be good. Peach sauce (Vanity is my choice) is even better; 
same recipe.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada


Douglas Woodard wrote:
> Mirabelle is not the name of a cultivar, but of a class of cultivars; 
> small round plums of the species Prunus insititia. I have the 
> impression that the name is usually applied to plums suitable for 
> eating fresh although they are usually also good for preserving or 
> processing. I stand to be corrected on this point.
>
> Note that damsons, usually used for preserves; jam etc.; are also 
> Prunus insititia. I have the impression that their fresh flavour is 
> usually a little too harsh for most people.
>
> Doug Woodard
> St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
>
>
> Roy Johnson wrote:
> > I think Mirabelle has some violet colors as well, while this one is a 
> > pure yellow gold color.