The benefits and harms of plums
Plum has been known to mankind for a very long time, at least 2,000 years ago, plum orchards existed on the banks of the Adriatic and the Nile River in Egypt. There is a hypothesis that the plum was the result of an accidental crossing of cherry plum and wild thorn. It is possible that the crossing was not the result of accidental cross-pollination, but was carried out purposefully by breeders of antiquity.
In Russia, this culture appeared with the light hand of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1654, a tree was planted in his garden in Izmailovo. The reverent attitude towards the plum is still observed in the UK. This is the favorite fruit of the Queen of England, she eats plums every day for breakfast. The word for plum is used toponymy, in the name of pubs and spirits.
Currently, more than 250 varieties of this fruit crop are known, found in amateur and industrial orchards in almost all regions from north to south. Red, white, blue, black, purple, red fruits delight with their wonderful harmonious taste and appearance. Few fruits have such a variety of colors, shapes, sizes of fruits.
Content:
- Composition and calorie content
- What is the use of plums?
- Plum application
- How to store plums correctly?
- How to choose a delicious plum?
- What varieties are there?
- Harm and contraindications to the use of plums
Composition and calorie content
The nutritional value of plums is very low - only 46 kcal per 100 g of product.
- Fats: 0.3 g
- Proteins: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.4 g
- Water: 87.2 g
- Ash: 0.4 g
- Cellulose: 1.4 g
Vitamins (per 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 9.5 mg | 13.6% |
| Vitamin K | 6.4 μg | 5.3% |
| Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | 0.14 mg | 2.8% |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) | 0.26-0.60 mg | 2.7% |
Minerals (in 100 g): |
amount |
% RDA |
| Boron | 38.9 mcg | 55.6% |
| Silicon | 14 mg | 46.7% |
| Rubidium | 34.4 mcg | 34.4% |
| Molybdenum | 8 μg | 11.4% |
| Cobalt | 1 μg | ten% |
| Potassium | 157.0-192.0 mg | 8.5% |
Other important connections:
- Phytosterols - 7 mg (12.7% of the RDI)
- Purines - 6 mg (5% of the RDI)
- Oxalic acid - 11.9 mg (3% of the RDI)
Complete chemical composition ➤
Such components of the chemical composition of plums as iron and potassium have the greatest practical value for human health. The first is used for the prevention and treatment of iron deficiency anemia, the second is useful for controlling blood pressure, for the prevention of ischemia, atherosclerosis, hypertension.
What is the use of plums?
The harmonious taste, richness of vitamins and minerals contained in the plum make this healthy fruit one of the most favorite desserts. In addition to its excellent taste, plum has many useful properties.
Plum benefits:
- Strengthens the immune system thanks to the vitamin-enzyme complex contained in the fruit.
- Normalizes metabolism, as it has a balanced set of basic food components, organic acids, fiber.
- It is useful for low acidity of gastric juice, as it stimulates its production.
- Helps increase blood hemoglobin due to its high iron content.
-
Potassium in the plum has a diuretic effect, which lowers blood pressure and blood cholesterol, is the prevention of cardiovascular diseases
- It normalizes the secretion of bile, helps with pathologies of the gallbladder.
- Removes toxins due to the therapeutic effect on liver cells.
- It is a mild laxative, used to stimulate lazy intestines, stimulates the digestive tract.
- 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, disinfecting the oral cavity when consumed sufficiently.
- The coumarins in the plum are a prophylactic agent against thrombosis.
- Plum antioxidants help fight free radicals and premature aging of cells in the human body.
Plum pulp masks refresh and rejuvenate aging skin and are successfully used for cosmetic procedures.
Plum application
Both fresh and dried plums are widely used in cooking, folk medicine and cosmetology.
-
Cooking. Jams, marmalade, preserves, marshmallows, compotes are prepared using this fruit. Plum wine, homemade plum wine, is very popular with wine lovers. Strong tinctures are made on the basis of plum extract. Plums are harvested not only as desserts, they are pickled for use in meat dishes.
The famous Tkemali sauce is made from a certain variety of plums and spicy herbs. Plum wood firewood is used for smoking meat and fish, cooking barbecue, as the smoke from the wood gives the products a special taste.
- Ethnoscience. Pectins and plum fiber are used to prevent constipation, fruit tree flowers are used to treat hepatitis and metabolic disorders. The bark of a tree is used for the preparation of antipyretic charges, wood chips - as a component of a diaphoretic. In the treatment of colds, compote is prepared from fresh healthy plums or from dried fruits to reduce the temperature. Plum seed tincture is used to treat cough, bronchitis.
- Home cosmetology. The juice and pulp of plums are used to nourish all types of skin, to support the tone of the aging epidermis.
How to store plums correctly?
It is best to use this fruit immediately after purchase, but during the harvesting season for the winter, it sometimes becomes necessary to store the plum for several days, and it is important that all the beneficial properties are preserved. Not all varieties of plums are suitable for storage, therefore, if there is no information about the variety, you need to check the fruit for damage. A single rotten specimen can spoil an entire batch of fruit.
Plum storage rules:
- Slightly unripe plums are chosen for storage, each of which is wrapped in paper and placed in one layer in a shallow fruit box.
- The boxes are stored in a cool place, in the dark, in a well-ventilated area. Under such conditions, plums can be stored without loss of quality for several days.
- Unripe plums can be stored for up to 3 weeks if they are packaged in 1.5-2 kg bags and sent to the refrigerator, in a compartment with a temperature of + 1 + 6 ° C. Overripe fruit cannot be stored in this way.
- For an indefinitely long shelf life, you can put the plum in the freezer, where the washed plums are placed, laid out in containers or bags. Such blanks can be used for filling pies, making jelly, compote, the taste of which will not differ from the taste of fresh fruit.
- Storing an unripe plum, removed ahead of time before the threat of frost, implies the simultaneous ripening of this fruit. Completely healthy plums are laid out on a sunny windowsill for 3-4 days to ripen. The second way is to store plums in a closed container or in a bag with apples. The ethylene gas produced by apples helps the plums ripen faster.
Another way of storage is preparing plum compotes, jam, preserves, pastilles, or drying plums in a dryer, oven, or in the sun. When boiled and preserved, plums do not retain all their useful properties, but dried plums remain as useful as fresh ones.
How to choose a delicious plum?
Due to the abundance of plum varieties, it is very difficult to make your choice during the harvest season. Blue, black, red, yellow, green fruits have different tastes, sugar content, separability of the bone from the pulp, keeping quality, transportability and other characteristics. First you need to decide what the plum is purchased for - for use as a dessert or for preparations for the winter.
For dessert, choose ripe plums with juicy pulp, without dents and skin defects. The requirements for raw materials for conservation are not so strict, but rotten fruits with cracks and mechanical damage are also unacceptable here. A longitudinal skin defect with smooth edges is allowed. This lack of appearance appears in very ripe plums. You need to consume them within a few hours after purchase, otherwise the plum will become unusable.
Recommendations for choosing a plum:
- The ripe fruit gives in slightly when pressed, but it cannot be wrinkled. There are exceptions to this rule - some varieties of plums remain firm even in full ripeness.
- On visual inspection, the skin color of a high-quality plum is completely uniform, dark spots indicate spoilage and decay.
- Ripe plum smells fragrant, although there are exceptions here.
Plums from local gardens are offered for sale from June to September - early October.
What varieties are there?
Plum is a fairly common fruit tree. Its varieties are of early and late ripening period. The most popular varieties are: "Nagrada Nemanskaya", "Perdrigon", "Venus", "Stanley", "Edinburgh". In Europe "Renklode" and "Hungarian" are grown. In Siberia, the Ussuri and cherry-plum hybrids grow. Some trees begin to bear fruit in the third or fourth year after planting, there are varieties in which fruits appear in the second year.
The plum is yellow. There are several varieties of yellow plum. All of them belong to dessert fruits, they are distinguished by a sweet taste and juiciness of the pulp. The fruits of the varieties "Vetraz", "Alenushka", "Pamyat Timiryazeva", "Early Loshitskaya", "Altai Jubilee" and many others have excellent qualities. With proper care, although all species are undemanding to soil and watering, trees produce good yields, frost and disease resistance.
Black plum. Black plum, or Canadian plum, can withstand temperatures up to 55 ° C, its pulp is sweet, tart and juicy. The plum contains riboflavin, which helps to strengthen the nervous system. This substance is able to improve protein metabolism; during heat treatment, all useful elements are preserved.
Blackthorn. The prickly plum (thorns) grows naturally in mixed forests, on forest edges, in mountainous areas, on river banks. Its fruits are rich in sugars, organic acids. Pectin compounds and tannins give viscosity and astringency to the taste. There is a lot of vitamin C in the pulp. Fruits can be kept fresh for up to three weeks.
Decoctions from the thorny plum are useful to normalize digestion. They treat coughs and hoarseness. A water infusion of flowers is recommended for children as a laxative. The fruits are fixed, the juice in a condensed form is used for dysentery.
The leaves of this plant in folk medicine are used to prepare an infusion that has a beneficial effect on metabolism and immunity. The roots and bark have diuretic and antipyretic properties. This tree is an excellent honey plant.
The plum is red. Good winter hardiness and unpretentiousness of the red plum allow it to adapt in many northern regions of the European part of Russia. This species gives good annual yields, the fruits ripen quickly. Trees are durable. Regular use of fruits during the season has a great effect on the health of the body. They are useful for the prevention of many ailments. Several kilograms of plums eaten during the harvest period will enrich organs and systems with useful, active, living substances.
Black plum
Blackthorn
Plum red
Learn more: List of plum varieties with names and photos
Harm and contraindications to the use of plums
- You should not consume large quantities of plums for those who suffer from diabetes, due to the high sugar content in its composition.
- This fruit can cause similar harm to people with increased body weight.
- A history of rheumatism and gout are contraindications for consuming plums, as this fruit removes fluid from the body.
- An increase in the secretion of gastric juice when plums are included in the diet of patients with gastritis with high acidity will complicate the course of the disease.
- Do not eat a lot of plums for young children and lactating women, as this fruit causes flatulence and increased gas production. Intestinal colic in babies can be a sad result of the inclusion of plums in the menu.
[Video] What happens if there are plums all season?
The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist
Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).
