Beautifully sweet and juicy, the mirabelle is perhaps queen amongst plums. The golden skin is flecked with rosy markings and the flesh inside is tender and almost jelly-like when perfectly ripe. Eat raw to invoke the essence of a Mediterranean summer or cook for a fragrantly sweet addition to jams and pies.

Thought to have originated in Asia Minor as a wild fruit, the Mirabelle plum is now a speciality of the Lorraine region in France. Traditionally plums were harvested by shaking ripe fruit from the tree and although the system is now  mechanised, the principle remains the same so only the best plums drop.