Directions
In a blender or food processor, whirl plums until blended. In 1-quart microwave safe bowl, combine all ingredients, except ribs. Microwave on high, uncovered for 8 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes until thick. Heat grill to medium. Baste both sides of the rib rack with sauce and place on the barbecue grill. Continue basting and turning frequently until cooked through, approximately 20 minutes. Remove from grill and brush with sauce before serving. Slice ribs.
Per serving: 537 calories, 47g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 26g total fat, 158mg cholesterol, 250mg sodium, 2g fiber.
Friday started out as a typical day. But little did I know it was about to get exciting as I headed out to was another interesting day in the world of California tree fruit! Variety tasting and a rootstock tour were my next adventures as I continue learning about California tree fruit. I had never heard of either variety tasting or rootstock tours, so this was completely new to me.
As I approached the tasting, I noticed my soon-to-be father in law gather in a group. That was the second time I had ran into him in the past two days! I must say, it’s pretty cool that we work in the same industry. As I walked around the tables, plates of fresh peaches, plums and nectarines were displayed on the tables. They were for eating, and I brought an appetite!
Variety tastings are an opportunity for peach, plum and nectarine ‘breeders’ to showcase their new varieties of stone fruit, giving the growers and other industry members the opportunity to savor the latest developments in stone fruit. Breeders grow and analyze sample trees to develop the best quality peach, plum and nectarine varieties that they know will cater to peoples’ taste buds. That’s what it’s all about right- biting into the best stone fruit they’ve ever had? Variety tastings gives the growers knowledge and expands their opportunity to grow new varieties that they know shoppers will enjoy.
Rootstock tours are a different breed, don’t mind the pun. Rootstock tours allow growers to see tree root bases that can accommodate varieties and help the grower to grow the new varieties they would like to plant.
They accompany a variety tasting because they allow industry members to observe the tree’s growth and study their development for growth of new varieties. This rootstock tour was at UC Davis Kearney Agricultural Center. As we hopped on the back of a trailer, we made our way out into the orchards.
So now that you have a brief summary of what variety tastings and rootstock tours are and why they’re important to growing tree fruit, check out the video. And, don’t forget to leave us your thoughts in a comment. We love hearing from our readers.
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 9 — /PRNewswire/ — California’s specialty crop industries have a significant impact on the state’s economy yielding nearly $15.9 billion annually, or $43.5 million each day of the year, in “ripple effect” business activity as a result of collective industry spending, according to new research commissioned by the Buy California Marketing Agreement (BCMA), administrators of the “California Grown” program.
“The research clearly indicates that California’s specialty crops touch every aspect of California life and positively impact the economic vitality of our state,” said Maile Shanahan Geis, BCMA Executive Director. “Despite the challenges facing California agriculture – from intense global competition to the growing water crisis – the state’s specialty crops prove that the industry continues to be a world leader in agriculture production, which is a title Californians should be proud to protect.”
The “California Grown” campaign is an initiative to educate Californians about the importance of choosing California-grown products whenever they shop. The study examined the financial impact of fifteen California specialty crops including the dairy and wine sectors, as well as asparagus, avocados, cherries, cut flowers, figs, kiwifruit, nectarines, olives, peaches, pears, plums, raisins and table grapes.
The study, conducted by Dennis H. Tootelian, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Small Business at California State University, Sacramento, indicates the expenditures by the state’s specialty crop growers create a ripple effect spurring the growth of more than 137,435 jobs. When it comes to labor income, more than $5.2 billion is generated as a result of industry spending, which is more than $14.3 million each day of the year. These dollars go to wages and salaries for new employment, as well as increasing incomes for those already in the labor force – a portion of which is reinvested throughout California’s economy to pay for an array of goods and services. Read the rest of this entry »
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich with bananas is a little more common but I was inspired to find that adding a fresh plum to a traditional PB&J was really tasty! Some go superfresh and substitute the jam for a fresh sliced plum, but you can get the best of both worlds if you use your own homemade stonefruit jam in addition to a fresh plum. Take a look at the recipe below and make your own PB&J creation!
Walking through the orchards the past few days we have seen some great looking varieties that are harvesting. Growers are excited to talk about the latest research findings on California plums. Last year Texas A&M published a 3 year long project that proved plums have just as much or more antioxidants than blueberries Click HERE to see the research. This year the preliminary research has shown that peach and plum extracts kill breast cancer cells! That’s huge! Click HERE to see the full report.
Take a look below and learn more about the varieties that are being harvested in July!
I’ve finally made it! I have wanted to give to the magic of tree fruit for some time now, and it’s a pleasure to be here contributing to spreading the word about California peaches, plums and nectarines. But before I get into my passion, let me introduce myself.
My name is Sara, originally from the Bay Area, but after obtaining my college degree from a fabulous California State University recently, I have made my home right here in the Central Valley! When I’m not working in the tree fruit industry, I’m out on the lake, at the beach, or relaxing at my new home.
There’s nothing like plums in the summertime!
My passion for California peaches arose when I was I was very young. My mother would make my great grandmother’s recipe for strawberry peach cobbler, and from the first bite, my heart was with peaches. At that age, I couldn’t appreciate the hard work that went into each peach I enjoyed, but I have come to the realization that a California peach is no ordinary piece of fruit.
California Nectarines were introduced to me by my grandmother. She was a pediatrician, and was very adamant about us kids getting enough fruits and vegetables. Nectarines were my favorite fruit. The pit inside fascinated me, and my mouth watered at the site of my grandmother grabbing one from the fruit basket. She could sense me begging with my eyes, and would invite me over to share one with her.
With California plums, they grew on me as I grew up. I enjoyed them almost always fresh, sliced into pieces on my cereal. When I found out they were a good source of Vitamin C, well that was an added bonus!
It wasn’t until nearly two years ago that I saw a whole new side to California peaches, plums and nectarines. When my fiancé and I first started dating, we realized early on that we came from different worlds. I was raised near the big city by a single parent who worked as a teacher. He was raised by his mom and dad who devoted their lives to their family, and growing tree fruit and citrus, an industry that his family had been a part of for more years than he could remember. I noticed at family gatherings, the chatter about the industry and the long hours my fiancé’s family would work. It was common for his Dad to leave and tend to orchards, saying “It’s that season,” as he left.
I never imagined I would work within the tree fruit family as I like to call it, but here I am, and I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity! I will be joining this blog as a contributing writer, and I cannot wait to share with you the many wonders of California peaches, plums and nectarines. Get ready; it’s going to be an awesome ride.
Plum varieties are sometimes hard to distinguish by just looking at the outside skin. A plum with a purple skin could have creamy yellow flesh on the inside or bright red - just look at the differences between the Black Amber and the Black Splendor. You can also see differences in the skin color as well, some plums are ripe and ready-to-eat even when bright green. See the photos on the varieties below so the next time you see the variety name on the in store point-of-sale or PLU sticker you’ll know what your biting into.
Here are some of the plum varieties that are harvesting this June.
Breast cancer cells - even the most aggressive type - died after treatments with peach and plum extracts in lab tests at Texas AgriLife Research recently, and scientists say the results are deliciously promising. Not only did the cancerous cells keel over, but the normal cells were not harmed in the process.AgriLife Research scientists say two phenolic compounds are responsible for the cancer cell deaths in the study, which was published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. The phenols are organic compounds that occur in fruits. They are slightly acidic and may be associated with traits such as aroma, taste or color.
“It was a differential effect which is what you’re looking for because in current cancer treatment with chemotherapy, the substance kills all cells, so it is really tough on the body,” said Dr. David Byrne, AgriLife Research plant breeder who studies stone fruit. “Here, there is a five-fold difference in the toxic intensity. You can put it at a level where it will kill the cancer cells - the very aggressive ones - and not the normal ones.”
Byrne and Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos originally studied the antioxidants and phytonutrients in plums and found them to match or exceed the blueberry which had been considered superior to other fruits in those categories.
“The following step was to choose some of these high antioxidant commercial varieties and study their anticancer properties,” Cisneros-Zevallos said. “And we chose breast cancer as the target because it’s one of the cancers with highest incidence among women. So it is of big concern.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, there were 192,370 new cases of breast cancer in females and 1,910 cases in males in 2009. That year, 40,170 women and 440 men died from breast cancer. The World Health Organization reports that breast cancer accounts for 16 percent of the cancer deaths of women globally.
Cisneros-Zevallos, an AgriLife Research food scientist, said the team compared normal cells to two types of breast cancer, including the most aggressive type. The cells were treated with an extract from two commercial varieties, the “Rich Lady” peach and the “Black Splendor” plum.
“These extracts killed the cancer cells but not the normal cells,” Cisneros-Zevallos said.
A closer look at the extracts determined that two specific phenolic acid components - chlorogenic and neochlorogenic - were responsible for killing the cancer cells while not affecting the normal cells, Cisneros-Zevallos said.
The two compounds are very common in fruits, the researchers said, but the stone fruits such as plums and peaches have especially high levels.
“So this is very, very attractive from the point of view of being an alternative to typical chemotherapy which kills normal cells along with cancerous ones,” Byrne added.
The team said laboratory tests also confirmed that the compounds prevented cancer from growing in animals given the compounds.
Byrne plans to examine more fully the lines of the varieties that were tested to see how these compounds might be incorporated into his research of breeding plums and peaches. Cisneros-Zevallos will continue testing these extracts and compounds in different types of cancer and conduct further studies of the molecular mechanisms involved.
The work documenting the health benefits of stone fruit has been supported by the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Tree Fruit Agreement.
* USDA and CDFA (California Department of Food and Ag) point out appropriately that this research is preliminary and not conclusive, and that to fully understand the effect on humans additional research studies, including human clinical studies, are needed. Many want to know where to get these compounds, if one can cook the plum or eat it raw, and whether these substances might work on other cancers. None of that is known yet - research like this is often a very long process but these preliminary results are encouraging and will surely lead to additional studies.
Organic grower Vern Peterson let us in on some cool info. In the video clip below from PPNTV, Vern describes how growers will actually have to wait 6 years before a stonefruit tree is ready to produce marketable fruit. Each tree has to reach a certain level of maturity to be able to deliver the proper nutrients to developing fruit.
This is what makes stonefruit growers unique compared to row crops like cotton or wheat. Stonefruit growers are in it for the long haul and treat the land and their orchards accordingly. Through good practices, continued research and developing technology, stonefruit growers are careful to keep an ecological balance in their orchards to hopefully ensure many more years of fresh California fruit.
The Summer’s first plums are ready for harvest! The first few weeks of May provide a glimpse at this Summer’s domestic stone fruit crop. The plums you see at the market over the winter are most likely from Chile or another South American source so it’s good to know that domestic plums are now available. Of the hundreds of varieties available through the summer each individual variety has only a 7-10 day harvesting window. Each variety has its own unique color, shape and most importantly taste.
