Waitrose is taking advantage of this year's bumper plum crop in the UK by offering customers a range of varieties throughout the season.
The larger crop is a result of regeneration following the poor 2008 season, during which cold weather prevented sufficient germination in much of the country's fruit.
'It's been a great year for plums, as they like a balance of sunshine and rain,' said Waitrose producers Michael and Christina Bentley of Castle Fruit Farm. 'As the plums are English they do not have to travel far, we don't need to pick them until they are at perfect ripeness which means they develop lots of flavour.'
On offer at Waitrose stores this year are Opal plums, which was on shelves between July and the beginning of August; Reeves Seedlings, available this month; Jubileum, available from mid-August to mid-September; Victoria, around between mid-August and mid-September; and Marjorie's Seedlings, which will hit shelves in mid-September and will be available until early October.
'At Waitrose we always support British producers whenever possible,' said Waitrose fruit buyer Nicki Baggott When we heard that there would be an abundant crop of British plums this year, we made plans to source additional supplies from our British growers. 94 per cent of our plums are British, with the remaining 6 per cent being varieties that do not grow well in the British climate.
'We have made every effort to promote British plums to our customers by giving them extra space in branch, featuring them in our in-store publications and offering money-saving offers,' Ms Baggott added. 'For the first time this year, we also have a bumper 1.8kg pack of plums for keen bakers and jam makers.'
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