First British plums of the season at Waitrose
The first batch of homegrown 'Herman' variety plums are being delivered to 30 Waitrose shops across the country today, making them the first supermarket to stock this British fruity favourite this year. The plums will then be available in all of the supermarket's branches in two weeks time. Herman plums are grown by Michael and Christiana Bentley from Castle Fruit Farms in Gloucestershire. The Bentley's have grown plums for Waitrose for 12 years and the farm's orchard has produced fruit for the retailer for 30 years.
The Herman plum is traditionally the first plum variety to be picked each season. It has a purple shiny skin and is 'free stone' which means its stone is small and falls easily away from the flesh, meaning it's fuss free to eat. The plums are harvested carefully by hand to prevent bruising so they are in perfect condition when they arrive into shops.
Waitrose has committed their support to the British plum industry by stocking even higher volumes of British plums this year. They'll have ten different varieties available too which will change over the season. They'll include Opal, an early variety with red mottled skin and a sweet flavour; Reeves Seedling, a beautiful yellow flesh plum with a reddish purple finish; Victoria, the traditional yellow and pink blushed plum and Marjorie Seedling, a dark purple variety harvested late in the season.
Amy Lance, Waitrose fruit buyer says, ‘The British plum season is always exciting, seeing this beautiful and delicious home grown fruit hit our shelves again. The really warm start to our summer has led to the fruit tasting exceptionally sweet this year. Our shoppers love plums for their versatility. They are perfect for summer desserts or jam making, lend themselves well in sauces to accompany poultry dishes or how I like them best, unadulterated straight from the fruit bowl."
Says plum grower Michael Bentley from Castle Fruit Farms, " The warm spring was conducive to an excellent fruit set and the summer so far has been perfect for developing a good crop. The fruit is wonderfully sweet, and is looking fabulous due to increased light levels, higher than average temperatures and the low rainfall in recent months. We are picking Herman plums now and will follow with Opal plums in late July. We pick our British plums at optimum ripeness for shoppers to enjoy at their very best."
For more information:
Karla Graves
Waitrose
Tel: +44 01344 825 080
www.waitrose.com