Organic Badoual Mirabelle Plum

The Mirabelle Plum Badoual Organic is a vigorous, hardy variety that ensures abundant and regular harvests. It produces a round, round Mirabelle plum with thin skin and a yellowish-green colour, turning pinkish at ripeness. Its yellowish flesh is juicy, melting, and pleasantly sweet, with hints of honey. Harvesting takes place from late August and continues throughout September. The fruits are consumed as they ripen. It is a pleasant fruit to enjoy fresh, cooked in many sweet and savoury recipes, or preserved. Like all Mirabelle plum trees, the Mirabelle Badoual is partially self-fertile. It adapts to ordinary, filtering, fresh, deep, and rich soil, but not too chalky and without stagnant moisture.

Plant from Organic Farming.

The Prunus domestica (Common Plum) is a fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, just like the apricot tree, almond tree, and peach tree. It originates from Syria, where it sometimes grows up to an altitude of 1000 metres (3281 feet). The plum tree was introduced to France during the Middle Ages, and during the Renaissance, it experienced its development and spread throughout the territory. Traditionally cultivated in Lorraine (France), without a doubt, the Mirabelle plum finds its ideal territory in Alsace. Possibly originating from northern Brittany, the Badoual variety has relatively unknown origins.

The Badoual Plum forms a fruit tree with a reasonably rounded structure, reaching a final height of about 5 metres (16 feet), producing numerous branches grouped in spreading crowns. Its habit is well-suited for free forms on high, medium, or low stems. Its deciduous foliage comprises obovate leaves, 6 to 8 cm (2 to 3in) long, with serrated edges and crenate, slightly pubescent undersides, dark green. By late March or early April, the white flowers, 1.5 to 2.5 cm (1in) in diameter, appear solitarily before the leaves on the previous year's branches. The flowering is sensitive to spring frosts but so abundant that frost rarely compromises the harvest. It is a remarkably decorative spring flower and is particularly attractive to bees and nectar-loving insects. It is a hardy tree, tolerating temperatures down to -20°C. This variety is self-fertile, so it does not require a companion to bear fruit, but the presence of another variety of plum nearby will increase production.

The Badoual Plum is a fertile variety with rapid fruiting. The fruits are harvested from late August to mid-September as they ripen. Since plums are quite fragile, they are harvested with a picking pole or manually using a ladder, but always with delicacy. On average, a plum tree produces between 35 and 60 kilograms of fruit per year. The fruits are consumed as soon as they are harvested. It is a large Mirabelle plum, ovoid in shape, 3 to 4.5 cm (1 to 2in) in diameter, with smooth and delicious flesh. The plums can be eaten fresh from the tree, either raw or mixed in a fruit salad or as a dessert. They are also exquisite in making clafoutis, cakes, crumbles, or tarts and as an accompaniment to savoury dishes with white meats (turkey, chicken, veal, etc.) or tagines. They are also perfect for making jams, compotes, or preserved in syrup. Surprisingly, the combination of plum and rhubarb produces a flavourful jam.

The plum is a light and balanced fruit. Low in calories, it is rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, with a significant supply of iron. Its vitamins C, B, E, and K content, phenolic antioxidants, and fibre make the plum a health asset. It is invigorating, energising, and rehydrating. The fruits can only be stored for a few days at room temperature. However, they can be frozen once washed, dried, pitted, or preserved in jams or syrup.

In the Plum - Mirabelle category, the Prunus x institiae Badoual is a highly versatile variety in its culinary uses, and its advantages as a fruit tree make it a top choice in a nourishing garden. It is easy to grow in good conditions, generous in fruit production, and resistant to diseases. Extremely popular, thanks to its fruits, the plum tree finds its rightful place in the garden for the enjoyment of young and old alike. With a wide range of varieties, it is easy to find the one that best suits your desires.