Have you ever eaten a Plum Pie? Until I saw a hundred-year-old for Plum Pie, and decided to give it a try, I’d never had one.
The Plum Pie was awesome. It was tart, but not too tart; and it was sweet, but not too sweet. In other words, it was just right. The pie was beautiful with a lovely reddish-purple filling.
Now that I’ve eaten Plum Pie, I can say with certainty that it is one of my favorite pies.
But now I’m confused. Plum Pies apparently were more popular a hundred-years-ago than what they are now. Why have they gone out of style?
Here’s the original hundred-year-old recipe:
Here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:
Plum Pie
2 cups sliced purple plums (plums that are still somewhat firm work best)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon butter
Pastry for 8 inch (small) 2-crust pie
milk
sugar
Heat oven to 425° F. In a bowl combine the plum slices and the lemon juice. Add the sugar and flour, stir gently to combine . Turn into pastry-lined pie pan, and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and flute edges. Brush crust with a small amount of milk; sprinkle with sugar. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; then reduce heat to 350° F. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and juice just begins to bubble.
A Hundred Years Ago 
It looks yummy! I have not ever had this either but I wonder if it went out of style because plums are sort of a mystery to some of us. I rarely buy them because I can never know which ones will be good and which will be mealy or hard or tart . . .
Maybe – I regularly buy plums during the summer months, but have definitely had a few bad experiences.
I haven’t had plum pair either!😳 And I have a plum tree… This one is a keeper .. But the pie will have to wait until then as the plum season is over.
I should have done this post earlier in the season. 🙂 Somehow I’m always surprised by how much the season for the various fruits and vegetables varies across regions.
I eat a lot of stewed plums in season but I too have yet to eat plum pie.
Stewed plums sound good. I like stewed prunes, but I don’t think that I’ve ever stewed fresh plums. I made have to give it a try.
Oh yum. Glad I have a plum tree. It’s winter now in Australia, but I’m patient.
It will be spring before you know it. (It’s already starting to feel a little like fall here. The days are getting shorter, and there’s just a bit of coolness in the air some evenings.)
Apparently it was a rage during Little Jack Horner’s childhood: Little Jack Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie; he put in a thumb and pulled out a plum, and said what a good boy am I.”
What a fun nursery rhyme! Until you mentioned it, I’d totally forgotten about Little Jack Horner and his Christmas pie. It’s intriguing how plum pies have declined in popularity across the years.
I found an article later about the origins, likely related to Thomas Horner who was involved in a scandal related to fraudulent land deals! Convoluted history. 🙂
Interesting. . . it’s hilarious that a child’s nursery rhyme originated as the result of a scandal.
That does look delicious. I have never had a plum pie.
Plum pie is very tasty. I think that you’d like it
Plums are a favorite fruit of mine and I never understood why they are not as popular as other fruits. I have made plum pies before and loved them. This pie looks wonderful! 🙂
I also can’t figure out why plums aren’t more popular. They are delicious.
I can and have done this when our plum trees were very young and fertile. I need a little help with crust, but every market in town has that help available. Just yummy Pie!!!
You’re so lucky to have plum trees. I’m slightly jealous. 🙂
I love plums too. But, I find making pies a challenge. Making the crust that is flaky and with oil, requires a special touch. Any suggestions???
Hmm. . . I’m not sure that I have any particular advice. I don’t generally use oil when I make pie crusts. Several years ago when I did a recipe for Rhubarb Sponge Pie, I included an old pie crust recipe – but it called for lard.
No lard for me, but I bet it makes a great crust. My husband seems to know the difference between homemade crust and store bought. I am always trying to make an oil crust, all natural. However, since it takes so much time, I end up not making him pie.😕
Your comments make me think that I should be looking at hundred-year-old cookbooks to see if they have any pie crust recipes that use oil.
That would be wonderful!
Lard is all natural the trick is finding real leaf lard which comes from pigs most professionals use leaf lard that’s the trick to amazing pie crust!
I would think a plum pie would be delicious, and yours does!
It’s lovely. 🙂
I have never had Plum Pie, that looks really good! Hope your week goes well sweetie! Hugz Lisa and Bear
I hope that you also have a wonderful week. My week is going well so far.
Plum pie used to be more common in Texas, but wild plums were preferred. It may be that a lack of plums and the availability of other fruits has made the difference. I do know women who still make plum jam, but they have to really hunt for the fruit. They refuse to use grocery store plums.
I don’t think that I’ve ever had wild plums, but they sound awesome. Your comments makes me wish that wild plums grew around here.
It looks delicious!
It is. 🙂
Plum tart is very popular here in France but in England Sunday lunch at grandma’s meant plum or cherry pie. I think we all have a fear because we may have been subjected to the dreaded prunes in custard at school! We have several plum trees so we make plum and ginger jam, (great for chinese dishes too), plum tart, crumble and compote.
mmm. . . my mouth is starting to water just thinking about plum and ginger jam, and plum tart, crumble, and compote. They all sound delicious. You may be right that people often don’t make plum dishes because they associate plums with prunes .
I’ve never had a plum pie, either. But the recipe looks easy and the pie looks delicious, so I think I’m going to give this one a try!
You should give it a try. I think that you’d like it.
I have never had plum pie either. Love the recipe as it is not loaded with sugar.
The natural sweetness of plums makes it unnecessary to add lots of sugar.
I will have to try this, my German Aunt used to make a Plum Kuchen although not a pie and not really a cake…it was delicious! I haven’t thought of that in years. If the pie is as good as that I know it will be a favorite for years to come!
I think that you’ll like this recipe. Since there are only a few ingredients, the pie has a nice plum flavor. Plum Kuchen sounds awesome. There are some wonderful old German recipes.
Yes indeed. As soon as it cools off I will have to try it.
I made your tasty plum pie yesterday when I was given fresh plum’s by a neighbor! It was so easy to make & the end result was amazing! So yum yum too! xxx
It’s wonderful to hear that you tried this recipe and enjoyed it.
🙂
Plum season is just beginning here in the UK. Perfect plum pie time. Gotta eat one of these at least once a season I find!
Plums are a fruit that I often ate as a child, then seldom ate for many years, and am now enjoying rediscovering how tasty and versatile they are.
That does look delicious. I have never had a plum pie.
This was the first time that I’ve ever had a plum pie. I can’t figure out why they aren’t more popular because it was very tasty.
My parents had plum trees. Mom would can sliced plums for pies. So yes I have had plum pie, cobbler and stewed while growing up. It made great jelly too.
mmm . . . it would be wonderful to have plum trees.
I always try to make a plum pie when they are in season and have made some good plum preserves, too.
mmm. . . Plum preserves sound wonderful. Maybe I’ll have to try making some next year. 🙂
This will be perfection! Thank you. I love sharing about things from our past.