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Same with plums. I don’t even know why they sell them in the us. It’s like eating a ball of water. Think of the flavor of an ice slushie that’s just the ice. I

Same with plums. I don’t even know why they sell them in the us. It’s like eating a ball of water. Think of the flavor of an ice slushie that’s just the ice. I gave them plenty of chances, in every corner of the country, in every season I could find them. Always terrible.

namdnay 5y ago
I was shocked by Melon in the US. I’ve been to NYC, Dallas, SF, everywhere the melons have no taste whatsoever. The nice orange colour is there, but there’s little sweetness and absolutely none of the musk/nutmeg
pvaldes 5y ago
> It’s like eating a ball of water. We are talking about different fruits here: Prunus domestica, The Common or European plum, and Prunus salicina, the Japanese plum are, by far, the most cultured. European plums are sweet, acidic, fleshy and firm, with a rich taste. Japanese plums are sweet, acidic, have a less complex taste and are soft and --watery-- by nature. The best Japanese plums are decent fruits with an useful trait. Matures earlier, so if you buy plums in June are most probably Japanese plums. You will have a sweet-acidic ball of water all the times. Not much unlike cherries that mature at the same time, everybody loves and are basically sugar and water. The good part is that you can have plums off-season. They aren't the best, but is the best plum that you can have in May-June; and is the only that you can culture in warm areas. Their season extends to July and maybe August. European plums --require-- cold. Without a minimum amount of frost hours in winter will not bloom. A few mature as early as June or as late as October, but the common season ranges from mid July to mid Sept. Those fruits had much more time and sun to develop their flavor and are more diverse and different in nature, with several subgroups. Some are mostly acidic and some store a lot of sugar. Some have a very nice trait, a 'clinging seed' (can be detached cleanly from the edible part). Unlike Japanese, they can be dehydrated and stored as prunes for many months. In sum, a much more versatile fruit. And there are the new pluots an plumcots also. Hybrids from plum and apricot that taste like very good european plums. So you need to educate yourself in what to expect, or ask in your grocery. There are lots of different fruits in the Prunus genus.
- culopatin 5y ago
  I don’t know how to tell you which one is which. But I compare them visually and I know two. The one with red flesh, and the one with yellow flesh. (Could be the same one at different points in its life) My baseline is the plums I ate growing up in Argentina. The red ones are full of flavor, especially when ripe. The softer they get the juicer and sweeter they get. These are bigger in size. The yellow ones are more acidic, but get sweeter as they ripen. Also good. Smaller in size, I can fit a whole one in my mouth. I find the same red/yellow variants in the US. But without the flavor. They are also flavorless no matter what stage you eat them at. Ripe, not ripe, all the same: water. The yellow ones are just bleh. Acidic without the good side. I gave them plenty of chances at different times of the year and in different locations. The best ones I had were in upstate NY in September, but still about 7/10ths of the flavor of the ones in South America.
  - pvaldes 5y ago
    Your description fits well with a 'Golden Japan' (or 'Sungold') and a 'Methley'. Both are standard quality Japanese. Probably picked too early if they lack sugar (or cultured in an cloudy place, or stored in a fridge for too long...). The problem with spring fruits is that they need a long spring to be really good.

namdnay 5y ago

I was shocked by Melon in the US. I’ve been to NYC, Dallas, SF, everywhere the melons have no taste whatsoever. The nice orange colour is there, but there’s little sweetness and absolutely none of the musk/nutmeg

pvaldes 5y ago

> It’s like eating a ball of water. We are talking about different fruits here: Prunus domestica, The Common or European plum, and Prunus salicina, the Japanese plum are, by far, the most cultured. European plums are sweet, acidic, fleshy and firm, with a rich taste. Japanese plums are sweet, acidic, have a less complex taste and are soft and --watery-- by nature. The best Japanese plums are decent fruits with an useful trait. Matures earlier, so if you buy plums in June are most probably Japanese plums. You will have a sweet-acidic ball of water all the times. Not much unlike cherries that mature at the same time, everybody loves and are basically sugar and water. The good part is that you can have plums off-season. They aren't the best, but is the best plum that you can have in May-June; and is the only that you can culture in warm areas. Their season extends to July and maybe August. European plums --require-- cold. Without a minimum amount of frost hours in winter will not bloom. A few mature as early as June or as late as October, but the common season ranges from mid July to mid Sept. Those fruits had much more time and sun to develop their flavor and are more diverse and different in nature, with several subgroups. Some are mostly acidic and some store a lot of sugar. Some have a very nice trait, a 'clinging seed' (can be detached cleanly from the edible part). Unlike Japanese, they can be dehydrated and stored as prunes for many months. In sum, a much more versatile fruit. And there are the new pluots an plumcots also. Hybrids from plum and apricot that taste like very good european plums. So you need to educate yourself in what to expect, or ask in your grocery. There are lots of different fruits in the Prunus genus.

culopatin 5y ago
I don’t know how to tell you which one is which. But I compare them visually and I know two. The one with red flesh, and the one with yellow flesh. (Could be the same one at different points in its life) My baseline is the plums I ate growing up in Argentina. The red ones are full of flavor, especially when ripe. The softer they get the juicer and sweeter they get. These are bigger in size. The yellow ones are more acidic, but get sweeter as they ripen. Also good. Smaller in size, I can fit a whole one in my mouth. I find the same red/yellow variants in the US. But without the flavor. They are also flavorless no matter what stage you eat them at. Ripe, not ripe, all the same: water. The yellow ones are just bleh. Acidic without the good side. I gave them plenty of chances at different times of the year and in different locations. The best ones I had were in upstate NY in September, but still about 7/10ths of the flavor of the ones in South America.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  Your description fits well with a 'Golden Japan' (or 'Sungold') and a 'Methley'. Both are standard quality Japanese. Probably picked too early if they lack sugar (or cultured in an cloudy place, or stored in a fridge for too long...). The problem with spring fruits is that they need a long spring to be really good.