Recipe no. 561 from Jean-Baptiste Reboul's La Cuisinière provençale (1909), page 248.
Ingredients
- plums
- water
- sugar
- brandy
Preparation
- Preparing the plumsTake 2 kg of fine plums, not too ripe, cut off the end of the stalk and prick them with a pin to prevent the plum from peeling during cooking.
- Lightly cookingThrow them as you go into a basin full of cold water, then set on the heat. When the water is nearly boiling, move it aside; leave the plums thus only 4 to 5 minutes.
- DrainingTake them out with a skimmer, laying them delicately on a sieve, and, once well drained, put them into an earthenware dish.
- First infusion in syrupPut 1 kg of chopped sugar into a basin with a litre of water; bring to a boil and bring the syrup to 32 degrees. Pour the boiling syrup very gently over the plums, and leave them thus 10 to 12 hours. Drain the whole gently onto a sieve set over a basin.
- Second pass in syrupBring the syrup to a boil, raising it 2 degrees further, pour it over the plums put back into the dish and leave for another 8 to 10 hours.
- Adding the brandy and bottlingArrange the plums in a jar; add a litre and a half of brandy to the syrup, pour it over and cork.
Reboul's text
Take 2 kilos of fine plums, not too ripe, cut off the end of the stalk, prick them with a pin (this last step has the effect of preventing the plum from peeling during cooking), throw them as you go into a basin full of cold water; then set on the heat. When the water is nearly boiling, move it aside; leave the plums thus only 4 to 5 minutes; then take them out with a skimmer, laying them delicately on a sieve, and, once well drained, put them into an earthenware dish.
Put 1 kilo of chopped sugar into a basin with a litre of water; bring to a boil and bring the syrup to 32 degrees; pour the boiling syrup very gently over the plums, and leave them thus 10 to 12 hours. Drain the whole gently onto a sieve set over a basin.
Bring the syrup to a boil, raising it 2 degrees further, pour it over the plums which you will have put back into the dish and leave for another 8 to 10 hours. Then arrange the plums in a jar; add to the syrup a litre and a half of brandy, pour it over and cork.
Small Provençal glossary for this recipe
Reboul writes in French: no Provençal word appears in this recipe, apart from the dish's name itself. The table below gives the Provençal equivalents of the words used, in mistralian spelling, translated by Lingua Nostra. Each form is attested in our Provençal-English dictionary; click to open the entry.
| Provençal | English |
|---|---|
| pruno | plums |
| aigo-ardènt | brandy |
| sucre | sugar |
| sirop | syrup |
| bouie | boil |
| escumadouiro | skimmer |
Source: Jean-Baptiste Reboul, La Cuisinière provençale, Marseille, 1909, recipe no. 561, page 248. Public domain. Transcription, formatting and Provençal glossary by Lingua Nostra.