Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Plum Soup (a German dish). — Dissolve two ounces of fresh butter in a small stewpan, add an ounce of flour, and stir the mixture smoothly together until it is lightly coloured. Pour over it a quarter of a pint of boiling water, add a little cinnamon for flavoiu-ing and as many ripe plums as the liquid will cover. Boil the plums to a pidp. Press all through a sieve. Sweeten the juice, and mix with it equal portions of water and claret until it is of the consistency of thick cream. Return the soup to the saucepan. Throw into it a dozen or more ripe plums. When these are soft, without being broken, serve immediately. Time, about an hour. Probable cost, 8d. a quart, exclusive of the wine. Sufficient for four or five persons. Plum Tart. — Line the edge of a tart-dish with puif-paste or with good short crust. Fill the dish 'nath plums, and sprinkle a little moist sugar over them. The quantity of sugar required will depend upon the quahty of the plums. Cover the dish with pastry, bake in a moderate oven, and serve the tart hot or cold. The appearance of the tart will be improved if it is glazed. To do this, take it from the oven before it is quite done enough. Brush it over with white of egg which has been whisked to a froth, and cover with finely-sifted sugar. Sprinkle a few drops of water over it, and return it to the oven to set the glaze. Almost all kinds of plums may be used for tarts. Time to bake, about an hour. Probable cost. Is. for a moderate-sized tart. Sufficient for four or five persons. Plum. Tart, French (see French Plum Tart). Plum Vol-au-vent. — Boil six oimces of loaf sugar in half a pint of water for ten minutes. Take off the stalks from a pound of plums, wash and drain them, and then put them into the syrup. Let them boil up once, then draw the saucepan to the side, and simmer them very gently for about throe minutes, or until they are quite tender without being broken. Lift the plums out carefully, boil the syrup until it is considerably reduced and very thick, strain it, and when cold pour it over the fruit. Plums prepared in this way may bo used for large and small vol-au-vents. The fruit should not be put into the pastry untH the moment before it is to be served. Plum Wine. — A wholesome wine is occasionally made from plums with or without other fruits and ingredients. Plums, Compote of. — Boil half a pint of water with from six to ten ounces of loaf sugar for ten minutes. Put in a pound of plums, and let them simmer until they are tender without being broken. Lift them out, place them on a compote dish, and pour the syrup over them. The amount of sugar used, and the length of time the fruit is boiled, must be regulated by the quality of the plums. Plums, French, or Dried. — French