from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
A bowl of Greengage Plums – The Prunier Reine-Claude
Photograph
courtesy of « R☼Wεnα »
www.flickr.com/photos/rubber_slippers_in_italy/3896530635/
The Reine-Claude plum – The Greengage plum
The Reine-Claude is one of France’s most popular plums and its French name is dedicated to one of France’s most popular queens, Queen Claude (1499 – 1524). Queen Claude was the consort of King Francis I of France, who reigned from 1515 to 1547. (While the most well-known Greengage plums are green don’t be surprised when you see yellow or red cultivars in the markets).
Drawing of the Reine-Claude plum.
Ernest Panckoucke (1833 ?)
Photograph
courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library.
www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/7851517772/
The Reine-Claude plum was brought from France to England in the early 18th century. Then, Napoleon I, had been exiled for the second time and the French monarchy had been restored. The eternal wars between France and England ended and the first English tourists landed on French soil. Sir Thomas Gage from England was introduced to the green Reine-Claude plum and brought some cuttings to Britain for his garden. In England the French Reine-Claude plum became the English Greengage plum. The plum quickly took Britain by storm and within 50 years, the Greengage plum had crossed the Atlantic to Canada and the USA where it settled in quickly.
Greengage plums in a French market.
Photograph
courtesy of Pierre-Selim
www.flickr.com/photos/pierre-selim/8062122233/
The Reine-Claude, the Greengage plum, on French
menus
Compressé de Lapin au Romarin et Brune de Sur-les-Bois, carottes, Reines Claude – Slices of rabbit stuffed with carrots and Greengage plums flavored with rosemary and the dark brown Belgian beer Sur-le-Bois. This will be a cold entrée, the French appetizer.
With thanks to Gordon Joly for his identification
of this pie.www.flickr.com/photos/21203562@N04/6280443188/
Carpaccio de Poires et sa Mousseline de Reine-Claude - A dessert Carpaccio of pears served with a moose made with Greengage plums.
Foie-Gras de Canard “Mi-cuit“, Chutney de Reine Claude au Wasabi - Fattened duck liver, fried very lightly, served with a chutney made from Greengage plums spiced with Japanese wasabi.
Greengage jam.www.flickr.com/photos/vvvanessa/3232632866/
La Tarte Sablée aux Reine-Claude et Amandes - A tart of Greengage plums and almonds made with shortcake pastry.
Nectarine
and Greengage juice
Photograph courtesy
of Alexandre Duret-Lutz
www.flickr.com/photos/gadl/196822186/
Pintadeau en Saucisson, Rémoulade de Chicon, Reine-Claude et Oeuf Poché - Sausages made from Guinea hen meat accompanied by a poached egg and served with sauce remoulade. Sauce rémoulade is a mayonnaise and mustard sauce made with cooked egg yolks, oil, and mustard, usually prepared with parsley and sometimes with added cornichons. In this menu listing the remoulade is flavored with the slightly bitter Belgian endive and the sweet Greengage plum. (The endive, the Belgian endive, witlof or whiteleaf is called a chicon in Northern France and Belgium.
Soupe de Reine Claude, Yaourt – A cold soup made with Greengage plums and yogurt.
Greengage blossom.
Photograph courtesy of Gordon
Joly
www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/8668452991/
Terrine
de Bœuf et Compote de Reine-Claude – A beef pate accompanied
by a thick compote of Greengage plums. English compotes will not be thickened
like the compote in this menu listing; this compote will have been cooked
until it is close to a jam. (The word and the original recipe for
compotes came from France. For more about the French influence in the English
kitchen click
here).
The French Greengage plum’s history
Despite the Greengage plum’s French history, all plums originated in Asia. The Reine-Claude came to France with the usual suspects, the Romans. The Romans brought a host of fruit trees to France including plum trees, peach trees, almond trees, cherry trees, apricot trees, and many others. Since the Romans brought the first plum tree the French have, over the last 2,000 years, developed many unique French cultivars and hybrids and among them the Reine-Claude.
The very best French Greengages are said to grow in the department of Maine et Loire in the region of the Pays de la Loire and the departments of Lot in Occitanie and Lot et Garonne in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Nevertheless, as far as I am concerned Greengages are a tasty plum wherever they are grown.
A Reine-Claude brandy
Goutte de Reine-Claude Doree
Laurent Cazottes NV, France
Photograph
courtesy of Chambers Street Wines
Growing up with Greengages
I loved the single, Greengage plum tree in our garden. Every year our tree produced an enormous crop of plums. Then, a long stick and a ladder were all the equipment we had to bring down the plums from the 4 meters (12 feet) high upper branches. At that time, I learned how to pick only the Greengage plums that were ready to put on the table. We would choose the largest plums and gave the plum a light test squeeze before picking. The only problem was the birds who liked Greengages ripe or not. The birds won the picking war on the upper branches that were difficult to reach. Watching the birds enjoy Greengages was quite an event. We had to wash the plums on the lower branches very well!
