A few years ago, I planted a plumcot tree in my front yard. A plumcot is a cross between a plum and an apricot. Two years ago I had a moderate harvest, and last year nothing. But this year, I have an abundance of fruit that I have been eating, preserving, cooking, and giving away.
Plumcots on tree
So far, I’ve had minimal bird damage and almost no other pest damage, but I know from past experience that birds and possums can ruin the crop overnight. So I’ve been picking the fruit when they are mostly ripe, but not fully soft, and then letting them finish ripening on the kitchen table.
Harvested Plumcots
Last weekend, I needed to bring a dish to a celebration, so I made a crisp based on Judy’s rhubarb crisp recipe. I added cardamom, and a little more cinnamon, but otherwise the recipe is identical.
Filling
- 6 cups pitted and quartered plumcots
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Mix and let stand for 15 minutes
Topping
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Place the plumcot mixture in a shallow greased baking dish. Combine dry ingredients, add melted butter, mixing until crumbly. Sprinkle over plumcots. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
Plumcot Crisp
Note that when I made the crisp, the plumcots were still slightly tart. If they had been ripe to the point of being soft, I probably could have cut back on the amount of sugar used.