Italian Prune Plums

zvetschkenkuchen

My German friend inspired me to make a plum cake called zwetschkenkuchen, kind of a mouthful. As it turns out, the plum variety used to make it in Germany is piled high in our Monterey Market right now. It’s no wonder. Seventy percent of the world’s prune crop is from this cultivar and its French cousin, and California produces ninety-nine percent of the nation’s prunes. Italian prune plums are so named for their native growing region and flourish along Italy's Mediterranean coastline. They are immediately noticeable as they are uncommonly egg-shaped and have deep purple, blue skin with a powdery white/blue “bloom” like that of a blueberry. The flesh is greenish yellow and the fruit itself is densely packed around a pit that is easy to remove when the fruit is mature. Italian prune plums are in high season from July through early Fall.