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Benefits and harms of plum

Plum is known to mankind for a very long time, at least 2 000 years ago on the shores of the Adriatic, and the Nile river in Egypt there was the plum gardens. There is a hypothesis that plum was the result of random mating of wild cherry plums and sloes. It is possible that the crossing was not the result of random pollination, and was carried out deliberately by plant breeders of antiquity.

In Russia, this culture has appeared from an easy hand of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1654, the tree was planted in his garden in Izmailovo. Reverent attitude to the sink is still observed in the UK. This favorite fruit of Queen, the day she is eating a plum for Breakfast. The word for plum, is used toponymy, name of pubs and spirits.

At present, there are over 250 varieties of this fruit culture, the existing Amateur and commercial orchards almost all regions from North to South. Red, white, blue, black, purple, red fruit delight with its perfect harmonious taste and appearance. Little what fruit has such a variety of colors, shapes, sizes of fruits.

The content of the article:


What is the use of plum?

Harmonious taste, rich vitamins and minerals contained in the sink, make this healthy fruit is one of the most favorite desserts. In addition to great taste, plum has many useful properties.

Use plums:

  • Strengthens the immune system thanks to vitamin-enzyme complex contained in the fruit.

  • Normalizes metabolism, as it has a balanced set of key dietary components, organic acids, cellulose.
  • Useful at low acidity of gastric juice as it stimulates collagen production.
  • Helps to increase hemoglobin because of the high iron content in its composition.

  • Potassium in plums composition has a diuretic effect, lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol, prevention of cardiovasculardiseases

  • Normalizes the secretion of bile, helps with abnormalities of the gallbladder.
  • Removes toxins and wastes through treatment and effects on the liver cells.
  • Is a mild laxative, is used to stimulate lazy intestines, stimulates the digestive tract.
  • The B vitamins strengthen the nervous system, stimulate the production of endorphins.

  • It is used to prevent osteoporosis in women during menopause.

  • Acts as a mild antiseptic to disinfect the mouth with enough use.
  • Coumarins contained in the sink, is a prophylactic against thrombosis.
  • The antioxidants in plums help fight free radicals, premature aging of human cells.

Mask from the pulp of plums refresh and rejuvenate skin and are used successfully for cosmetic procedures.

Composition plum

Nutritional value of plums is very small – only 49 calories per 100 grams.

Basic food components:

  • Carbohydrates – 9.6 g;
  • Fiber – 1.5 g;
  • Proteins – 0.8 g;
  • Fats – 0,3 g.

The greatest practical value to human health have such components of the chemical composition of plum as iron and potassium. The first is used for the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia, the second is useful for control of blood pressure, heart rate, prevention of ischemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension.

Chemical composition of plums:

  • Micro and macro elements (copper, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, molybdenum, silicon);
  • Vitamins of groups A, B, C, D, E, K, Niacin, Pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, thiamine, folate, Riboflavin;
  • Monosaccharides and disaccharides – 9.5 g;
  • Starch is 86.3 g;
  • Organic acids – at least 1 year;
  • Ash – 0.5 g;
  • Dietary fiber – 1.5 g

The use of plums

Both fresh and dried plums are widely used in cooking, folk medicine and cosmetology.

  • Cooking. Withusing this fruit preparing jams, marmalade, jam, candy, fruit drinks. Very popular among lovers of wine uses some slivovitz is homemade plum wine. On the basis of plum extract make strong tincture. Plums are harvested not only as desserts, they are marinated for use in meat dishes.

    The famous sauce "Tkemali" is made from certain varieties of plums and spicy greens. Wood plum wood used in Smoking meat and fish, cooking barbecue, because the smoke from the wood gives the product a special taste.

  • Traditional medicine. The pectin and cellulose of plums are used for the prevention of constipation, the flowers of fruit tree used for the treatment of hepatitis and metabolic disorders. The bark of the tree used for the preparation of antipyretics fees, chips of wood as a component diaphoretic. In the treatment of colds prepare a compote of fresh, healthy plums or dried fruit to reduce fever. Tincture of the seed of plum is used to treat cough, bronchitis.

  • Home beauty. The juice and pulp of plums used for powering all types of skin, support the tone of the aging of the epidermis.


How to store plum?

It is best to eat this fruit immediately after purchase, but in the season of preparations for the winter it is sometimes necessary in storage of plum for several days, and it is important to save all useful properties. Not all plum varieties suitable for storage, so if there is no information about the variety, you need to check the fruit for damage. A single instance is rotten can spoil the whole batch of fruit.

Rules of storage of plums:

  • Storage choose slightly unripe plums, each of which is wrapped in paper and placed in a single layer in a shallow fruit crate.
  • Boxes store in a cool place in the dark, in a well-ventilated area. In such circumstances, the plums can be stored without loss of quality for several days.
  • Unripe plums can be stored on up to 3 weeks if you pack them in packages of 1.5-2 kg and send in the refrigerator compartment with a temperature of +1 to+6°C. an Overripe fruit so stored can't.
  • For an indefinitely long period of storage, you can lay the drain in the freezer where they put the washed plums, laid out on containers or packages. Such procurement canto use for filling the pies, making jelly, compote, the taste of which will not differ from the taste of fresh fruit.
  • Storing unripe plums, taken early before the threat of frost, involves the simultaneous ripening of the fruit. Healthy plums are laid out on a Sunny windowsill for 3-4 days for ripening. The second way to store the plums in a covered container or in a package with apples. The ethylene gas emitted by apples, plums helps to ripen faster.

Another way of storing – cooking plum compotes, jams, preserves, pastes or dried plums in the dryer, the oven, in the sun. When cooking and preservation plum does not retain all its useful properties, but the dried plums remain as good as fresh.


How to choose a tasty plum?

Because of the abundance of plum varieties it is very difficult to make your choice in the season of harvest. Blue, black, red, yellow, green fruits have different taste, sugar content, separability of seeds from the fruit, keeping quality, transportability and other characteristics. First you need to decide what is purchased plum – for use as a dessert or for preparations for the winter.

For dessert, choose ripe plums with a juicy pulp, no dents and skin defects. Raw materials for preservation requirements are not so strict, but here unacceptable rotten fruit with cracks and mechanical damage. Allowed the presence of a longitudinal defect of skin with smooth edges. This lack of appearance appears very ripe plums. They need to be consumed within a few hours after purchase, otherwise the drain will become unusable.

Guidelines for choosing plum:

  • Ripe fruit gives in slightly when pressed, but it can not be dented. To this rule there are exceptions – some varieties of plums remain solid even in full ripeness.
  • By visual inspection the color of plum skin quality completely homogeneous, dark spots talking about damage and decay.
  • Ripe plum fragrant smell, although here there are exceptions.

Plums from local orchards are offered for sale from June to September – early October.

What are the varieties?

Plum is a very common fruit tree. Its varieties are early and late puberty. The most popular are the varieties: "the Award Neman","Perdigon", "Venus", "Stanley", "Edinburgh". In Europe grown "Greengage"and"Hungarian". In Siberia, the Ussuri and grow vesselinova hybrids. Some trees come into bearing the third or fourth year after planting, there are varieties whose fruits appear already in the second year.

Yellow plum. There are several varieties of yellow plums. They are all dessert fruits, which differ sweet taste and juiciness of the pulp. The excellent qualities of the fruit varieties "Vetraz", "Alenushka", "Memory Timiryazeva", "Early Loshitsa", "Altai jubilee" and many others. With proper care, although all types of unpretentious to the soil and watering, the trees provide good yields, resistant to frost and diseases.

Plum black. Black plum, or Canada, can withstand temperatures down to 55 degrees, the flesh its sweet, tart and juicy. In the sink there is the Riboflavin, contributing to strengthen the nervous system. This substance is able to improve protein balance during heat treatment all useful elements are retained.

Plum prickly. Prickly plum (Chernosliv) grows naturally in mixed forests, on forest edges, in the highlands, on the banks of rivers. Its fruits are rich in sugars, organic acids. Viscosity and astringency of taste give pectic compounds and tannins. A lot of the pulp of vitamin C. the Fruits can be stored fresh up to three weeks.

A useful decoction of thorn-plum to normalize digestion. They are treated with cough and hoarseness. Water infusion recommended to children as a laxative. Fruit fix, the juice in thickened form is used in dysentery.

The leaves of this plant are used in folk medicine to prepare a positive effect on metabolism and immunity. The roots and bark have diuretic and antipyretic properties. This tree is an excellent honey plant.

Plum red. Good winter hardiness and ruggedness plum red allow her to adapt in many Northern regions of the European part of Russia. This view gives a good annual harvests, the fruits ripen quickly. The trees are long-lived. Regular consumption of the fruit in season is good for the health of the body. They are useful for prevention of many ailments. A few pounds of plums, are eaten during the harvest, enrich the organs and systems are useful, active, alive nutrients.

Plum yellow

Plum black

Plum prickly

Plum red

Find out more: a List of plum varieties with names and photos


Harm and contraindications to the use of plums

  1. It is not necessary in large quantities to use the sink for those who suffer from diabetes because of high sugar content in its composition.

  2. Similar damage can cause the fruit to persons with high body mass.

  3. Rheumatism and gout in history – contraindications for the use of plums as the fruit moves fluid from the body.

  4. Increased secretion of gastric juice with the inclusion of plum in the diet of patients with gastritis with high acidity complicate the course of the disease.

  5. You should not eat a lot of plums young children and lactating women, as the fruit causes flatulence and flatulence. Intestinal colic in babies can be a sad result of the inclusion of the plum in the menu.