1 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Annie Reese and 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren fog Obam, and today we're talking about plums. 3 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: Indeed we are plums. Despite having a plum tree in 4 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,160 Speaker 1: my backyard growing up, I really don't have much experience 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: with plumbs. Really, how did you not? I mean they 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: all it's a fruit that ripens like the whole tree 7 00:00:28,240 --> 00:00:32,479 Speaker 1: at once. I know you must have had like hundreds 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:38,200 Speaker 1: of plums on handy. And I was like, and don't 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: write in because people write into me all the time 10 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,319 Speaker 1: about not having tried things. I have had them. I 11 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: just haven't had a lot of them, especially as an adult. Anyway. 12 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,639 Speaker 1: I despite that, I when I was trying to pick 13 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: up a name to published stuff under a pen name 14 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: in middle and high school, because in no way I 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: was going to use my real name, I wanted to 16 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:07,240 Speaker 1: use plumb pickens. That's that's that's great. Yeah, everyone would 17 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:09,200 Speaker 1: have been like, oh Annie, No one would have been 18 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: fooled by that. And that is not to be confused 19 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: with my fan fiction name of August Wind came about 20 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: from an encounter with the police. I have a lot 21 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: of really bad fake names. Well there you go. Yeah, um. 22 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: During the research on this one. It's been interesting because 23 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: I find there was not a lot of documentation about 24 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: palms throughout history, but there were about like plum, dumplings, 25 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: um sugar plums, and I just want to throw in, 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: professor plumb. Absolutely, there's a lot of stuff about there. 27 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: It's not related to this. Yeah, there's there's lots of 28 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: pop culture to plumb. Oh sorry, no, no, don't apologize 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: and to happen. A quote to start out this episode 30 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: comes to us from a joke that California farmers allegedly 31 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: used to tell each other about the difficulty of growing plums. 32 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: A peach is like your mother, it's always there for you, 33 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,399 Speaker 1: and Nicktarine is like your girlfriend. It's something really dear 34 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: and special. A plum is like a harlot down the street. 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 1: It'll screw you every time. Oh snap, I know what 36 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:32,040 Speaker 1: a joke. I bet they got a good guffab about it. Absolutely. Yeah, 37 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: I've never tried to grow one, but sure. Yeah. So plums, 38 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:46,080 Speaker 1: what are they? Okay? There are a lot of species 39 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: and types of plums that differ in appearance and taste, 40 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,959 Speaker 1: but basically it is a fruit that would like fit 41 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: in the palm of your hand. Um. It has a 42 00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: single encased seed and its center called a stone or 43 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: a pit, and a groove down one side of the 44 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: fruit that looks a little bit like a butt um. 45 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: Their thin skin will be smooth and bright too, deep 46 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,920 Speaker 1: colored green, yellow, red, or purple, and the flesh can 47 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: be anywhere from pale yellow to scarlet. They can be 48 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: crisp or soft when they're ripe, juicy or dry and 49 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: sweet or tart or a little bit of both, and 50 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: tend to have a sort of like floral honey citrus 51 00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: spice type of flavor to them. They grow a natural 52 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: coating of wax, sometimes called a bloom, and it looks 53 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,080 Speaker 1: like this, this thin white film um, and it's like 54 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: a homegrown freshness seal. That's pretty awesome. Yeah um. When 55 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:38,880 Speaker 1: buying plums, look for that bloom and it means that 56 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: they're fresh and haven't been handled too much, all right. 57 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: They grow on a large shrubs slash smallish trees like 58 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: ten to twenty ft tall, and the blossoms are really pretty. 59 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,800 Speaker 1: They're they're small and growing these little clusters white or 60 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,000 Speaker 1: pink petals with these long sprays of yellow or white 61 00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: stamens in the center, and there are a lot of 62 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,320 Speaker 1: varieties of ornamental plum trees, and all of these are 63 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: in the genus Prunus. The two main species are P. Domestica, 64 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: or European plums, and P. Selasina, or Japanese plums. A 65 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: few varieties of Japanese plums are what you're likely to 66 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: find fresh at your grosser in the United States, and 67 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,239 Speaker 1: a few varieties of European plums are what you're likely 68 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: to eat dried as prunes. But you can use plums 69 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,279 Speaker 1: in all kinds of different ways. Uh, fresh, baked, jammed 70 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: and or jellied, dried, fermented into wine or brandy, pickled, 71 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:35,720 Speaker 1: and or salted. There's maybe some twenty to forty species 72 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: of plums, and some of those have up to like 73 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: three hundred different cultivars. They're somewhere over two thousand varieties 74 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: of plums ornamental and fruiting in total um and I 75 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: think that they're native to every continent except Antarctica. So well, 76 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,480 Speaker 1: Uh like if if you had no idea in our 77 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: Goblin Market episode what greengages, Bullis is or Damson's were, 78 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: they are all varieties of plums. I did have no 79 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: idea what those are. I remember we looked them up 80 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: at least one of them. I think we we were like, 81 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: what the heck is that? That? Can't beat it is? 82 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: And it's a plum, It's a green plum. But I 83 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: have a question, Yes, what about the plot? These are 84 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: a hybrid of plums and apricots, which are also in 85 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: the Prunus genus. Oh okay, yeah, if you crack open 86 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: a plum pit, the seed inside I just totally nerded 87 00:05:36,040 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: out about this during the research. And the seeds inside 88 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,040 Speaker 1: looks like an almond because almonds are also in the 89 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: Prunus genus. They bear fruit that looks like plums. It's 90 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: kind of leathery and texture. You pick them and then 91 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,280 Speaker 1: break open the pit to get almonds. That is. I 92 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:53,920 Speaker 1: did not know that either. I Oh, mind completely blown, 93 00:05:54,240 --> 00:05:56,000 Speaker 1: like mind blown for the second time. I think I 94 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:58,840 Speaker 1: mentioned this and in the Marischino episode two. But I'm 95 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,040 Speaker 1: just like it's having playing like after shocks of mind 96 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: blow widness. It is. It is, uh, nutrition wise, um, 97 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: even though plums are mostly sugars, they're still pretty good 98 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:13,040 Speaker 1: for you with us smattering of vitamins mostly C, K 99 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: and A and minerals like potassium and copper, plus a 100 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: plus a heap of fiber. What about a this laxative 101 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: effect I hear about, is that fact or fiction? It 102 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: is a fact um Well, maybe not laxative in in 103 00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 1: usual amounts of plums that you would consume, but certainly 104 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: anti constipatory. You know, prevents constillation, mostly because of their 105 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,640 Speaker 1: fiber content, but also because they are high in a 106 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: compound called sorbitol, which draws water into the large intestine 107 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: and thus stimulates bowel movement. Plums also have a bunch 108 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,680 Speaker 1: of antioxidant compounds, phenolic compounds, tannins, all the stuff that 109 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: researchers think have good effects in our bodies, you know, 110 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: anti cancer, pro cardiogascular health, row bone health, antibacterial action 111 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: in our urinary tract and guts, and a pro gut 112 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:10,120 Speaker 1: health in general because of the whole anti constipatory thing. Right, 113 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: Note here that fresh plums do contain like enough of 114 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: these things that it's a good thing to incorporate into 115 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: your diet. Um. But if you're looking for these medical effects, 116 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: you know, first you'd want to switch to dried plums 117 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,320 Speaker 1: um prunes, in which all that stuff is more concentrated. Seconds, 118 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: you'd want to wait for more research to be done 119 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: because there's like no scientific promises as to any of 120 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:38,800 Speaker 1: the stuff as of yet. Um. And third, you know 121 00:07:38,840 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: you should always consult doctor before you start taking medicinal 122 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: doses of anything. Yes, always, always, always, yes, please and 123 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:52,080 Speaker 1: thank you. But let's look at some plum numbers here, 124 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: meaning the actual fruit and not good necessarily, not bad necessarily, 125 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: just fruit specific. The world's just producers of plums are Serbia, China, 126 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: the US, and then Romania. Once again. The largest US 127 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 1: producer is California. Apparently plum brandy is really popular in 128 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: Eastern Europe. I'm like, you, sweet summer child, like that's like, 129 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: of course it is. I had no idea, but when 130 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: I was doing the research, it was coming up before plums, 131 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: like history of plum brandy, and I was like, wait 132 00:08:26,400 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: a minute, um. I read that the average Albanian family 133 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:34,560 Speaker 1: consumes two fifty leaders of rocky a k A plumb 134 00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:38,760 Speaker 1: liquor every year. A bottle of hornica, which is another 135 00:08:38,760 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: type of plumb liquor, is a popular wedding gift in 136 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: Romania and a celebratory drink as well. Couples gather and 137 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: present their godparents sacks of grain, corn, flour and plum brandy. 138 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,360 Speaker 1: In something called the gathering of the god Children, the 139 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,440 Speaker 1: couple purchases two shot glasses of the plum brandy, one 140 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: for each of them that they zent in it. I 141 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:05,280 Speaker 1: presume a very ceremonial fashion. For funerals, there is a 142 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,959 Speaker 1: similar but rightfully different tradition. Two shots of plum liquor 143 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: are consumed, one for the living self and one for 144 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: the deceased. A traditional passive a drink is the grain 145 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: free sleeveovizza, made of fermented, ground up bits of plum stones. 146 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: In Hawaii, you might find plumb crack seed, introduced by 147 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:30,719 Speaker 1: Chinese immigrants over a century ago, and plum sauce so 148 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,400 Speaker 1: good with duck, which is why it's sometimes called duck 149 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 1: sauce by Westerners. UM. It's a thick, brownish sauce that 150 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: is both savory and sweets a little tangy. And prunes. 151 00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 1: We've got to talk about prunes. In recent years, prune 152 00:09:46,679 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: producers have started marketing prunes, which are dried plums, as 153 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,800 Speaker 1: dried plums, due to the perception that prunes are for 154 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: older folks with constipation. UH. They apparently also tried to 155 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:05,120 Speaker 1: start marketing prune juice. UH. Huh as dried plum juice. 156 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: But the FDA was like, that doesn't make any dang sense, y'all. 157 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: It's a little confusing. Maybe plum juice, I know it's 158 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: I don't know. That's for the what is it called 159 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: that we're going to talk about later California Board of 160 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: Prune dried plums now to figure out? Not not me 161 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: and you. Nope, there's plum pudding, which is a traditional 162 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:31,600 Speaker 1: Christmas seafood of British. Yeah, sometimes called Christmas pudding. Describing 163 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: the writings of Washington Irving and Charles Dickens, it's better 164 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:38,480 Speaker 1: when made weeks ahead and can store for months, and 165 00:10:38,480 --> 00:10:41,199 Speaker 1: a lot of recipes I found I didn't have plumbing 166 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: it at all. Speaking of confusing things, the traditional serving 167 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,880 Speaker 1: method is with a sprig of holly on tap, and 168 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: back in its heyday, which was the Victorian era, it 169 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,840 Speaker 1: was baked with the silver coin inside. Yeah, weeks ahead 170 00:10:55,080 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: or the recipe I found in like Epicurious was for 171 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 1: a year ahead, preferably um. And if you've never had one, 172 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,080 Speaker 1: it's sort of like a fruitcake. Um. It's made with 173 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,000 Speaker 1: dried fruit and bread crumbs instead of raw flour, and 174 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:11,920 Speaker 1: it's steamed. Yeah, it's not like a not like a 175 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:14,439 Speaker 1: pudding the way that you think of putting here in America, 176 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: putting meaning dessert in British English. That's right. What a 177 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: tradition a year ahead? You know for sure, I'm gonna 178 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: want this year later. I'm going to be thankful that 179 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: I did it. Yeah, really interesting. I've never had one, 180 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: but now I want to. I am a person who 181 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: plans out meals way in advance. This seems like a 182 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: perfect fit food. Maybe I'll maybe, I'll get to the shot. 183 00:11:45,440 --> 00:11:48,920 Speaker 1: In his novel The Perfect Fruit, Chip, Brantley wrote that 184 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 1: most Americans see the plum as quote a little more adult, 185 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: a little more gourmet than peaches are nectarines. I would agree. 186 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:00,560 Speaker 1: In my case, I would agree. I can't speak for 187 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:06,199 Speaker 1: most Americans but for me, but plums have been around 188 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: for quite a while. Oh my goodness. Yes, And we 189 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,079 Speaker 1: will get into that right after we get back from 190 00:12:12,120 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: a quick break for a word from our sponsor, and 191 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: we're back. Thank you sponsoring, Yes, thank you. This is 192 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: another one that is fun when it comes to the dates, 193 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,839 Speaker 1: meaning not very fun at all. Nope, not for podcast 194 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: researchers anyway. Nope, sort of messy Nope. Plums were possibly 195 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 1: one of the first domesticated fruits. Of the stone fruits, 196 00:12:44,840 --> 00:12:49,079 Speaker 1: they are the most diverse and domestication took place on 197 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: three continents. Early The indigenous date plum was the first 198 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: fruit cultivated in ancient Egypt, and archaeologists have found evidence 199 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: of plums in Europe dating to the Neolithic times. In 200 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: three twentiesh BC, Alexander the Great introduced the plumb into 201 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: the Mediterranean basin, or the very least both happened around 202 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,680 Speaker 1: the same time, so it seems likely of the three 203 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: most popular cultivars, none are found in the wild, so 204 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:25,960 Speaker 1: that suggests that humans majorly cultivated them. Okay, so the 205 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: first common European plum, which sounds like an insult that 206 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:34,079 Speaker 1: I would very much enjoy receiving common European plum. Thank you, 207 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: It's nothing more annoying than someone being pleased with your insult. Um. 208 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: It probably is at least two thousand years old, originating 209 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:50,959 Speaker 1: somewhere in the Caspian Sea Cacaucus area. Ancient records indicate 210 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: a different plum, one that's not around anymore, was cultivated 211 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: in the Damascus area. Confusingly, the Japanese plum was first 212 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,599 Speaker 1: domesticated in I also thousands of years ago, and the 213 00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,680 Speaker 1: name is because the Japanese really went all in on 214 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: cultivating it. It was an important food crop in the 215 00:14:10,320 --> 00:14:14,280 Speaker 1: country by three hundred b c. E. Then we have 216 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: nothing else until toll stories, the plum story. No kidding, 217 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: but history does skimp on the details when it comes 218 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: to the plum um. Lauren was talking about this, we 219 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: were talking about it together, but she her theory is 220 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: that it's so ubiquitous, just so yeah, just omnipresent, and 221 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: so everyone was just like, we don't need to talk 222 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,040 Speaker 1: about that, We don't need to write about this thing 223 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:40,080 Speaker 1: that's everywhere everywhere. It's boring. Yeah. Some things say that 224 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: perhaps European plums were domesticated in two b c. E. Rome. 225 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: Other things suggest that the Duke of Anjou but plums 226 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: back with him when he was returning to Jerusalem after 227 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: the Fifth Crusade around twelve hundred CE. And plum poems, yes, yes. Meanwhile, 228 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: plumb poems first start up hearing in China from eleven 229 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: to third century b C. One poem focuses hard core 230 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,440 Speaker 1: on men picking up the good plums before they are gone, 231 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,880 Speaker 1: which was later interpreted to mean dudes get a lady 232 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: before they get old and gross. One poem from this 233 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,600 Speaker 1: era describes the most perfect plum tree turning into a 234 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: woman quote fairy lady White. And another later poem describes 235 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: a concubine of the emperors becoming the plum which and 236 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: thanks again to Confucius for writing and in this case 237 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:41,800 Speaker 1: praising plums. Quote the branches of the aspen plum to 238 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,680 Speaker 1: and fro this way. How can I not think of her? 239 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:52,240 Speaker 1: But home is far away? Well thanks Confucius. Legend says 240 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:55,720 Speaker 1: a well known philosopher Laos was born under a plum tree, 241 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: which is fortuitous since the plumb is scene as a 242 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: food of good fortune in Chinese culture. Legend of Three Kingdoms, 243 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:05,840 Speaker 1: which is a famous novel in China, features um a 244 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: scene where one of the characters brags about how he 245 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: once was able to lead a bunch of enemies away 246 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 1: with the promise of a tree full of plum. Later, 247 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,920 Speaker 1: around the fifth century CE, noble women in the Chinese 248 00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: court started wearing plum blossoms as as like personal decorations, 249 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: and then the artistic significance of the plum blossom would 250 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: really ramp up in the Tang dynasty around like seven 251 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,400 Speaker 1: d or thereabouts, and then really explode in the Song 252 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: dynasty around one thousand sea. It became one of the 253 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: four Nobles Um. This is one of the four flowers 254 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,200 Speaker 1: that represented like a keystone in the culture at the time. 255 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 1: Plum blossoms in the dead of winter, and so it 256 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: represents like grace and endurance and hope in the face 257 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: of hardship, and there are a lot of paintings and 258 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: poems concerning plum blossoms from the time. Though it was 259 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,160 Speaker 1: believed that the plum blossom so noble that only nobleman 260 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: could or should painted. Noble woman wouldn't understand. Nope, she 261 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to capture it's beauty. Plenty. The elder 262 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: believed that apricots were a type of plum, and that's 263 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:25,200 Speaker 1: where the kind of misleading Prunus armenica name comes from. Um. 264 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:29,080 Speaker 1: He also thought it was from Armenia. And this is 265 00:17:29,119 --> 00:17:31,400 Speaker 1: like sort of just a just a difference in classification, 266 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: because yeah, they're I mean, apricots are are in the 267 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,240 Speaker 1: same rightness, they are closely related. Um. Ancient Romans wrote 268 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,240 Speaker 1: about three hundred different types of plums. So I can 269 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:45,400 Speaker 1: understand the confusion. If you just sort of lump more 270 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,399 Speaker 1: stuff in there, I can as well. I can as 271 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: well in we get the famous nursery rhyme. Little Jack 272 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: Horner sat in a corner eating his Christmas pie. He 273 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: put in his thumb and pulled out a plumb. Said 274 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,280 Speaker 1: what a good boy am I, which was like her 275 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:07,320 Speaker 1: politicized in a chumba womba song. I don't remember that, 276 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: but oh look it up, cool up. The French were 277 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,520 Speaker 1: big on the plum, both the dried and fresh variety. 278 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 1: French immigrants carried plums with them to Quebec, and records 279 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:25,120 Speaker 1: described flourishing plum orchards by seventeen seventy one. They came 280 00:18:25,119 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: over to the rest of North America around the same time. 281 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,639 Speaker 1: Japanese plums have been available in the US since at 282 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: least the late nineteenth century. Native Americans had their own variety, 283 00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: but it isn't what we eat these days. Yeah, Prunus americana, 284 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,199 Speaker 1: I think is the species of that. And it's um 285 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,480 Speaker 1: really popular for for um jams and jellies um where 286 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: it grows, and also around hunting communities because deers like 287 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: it too. DearS deers like it. Deers like it? Yeah. 288 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,360 Speaker 1: In eree a little poem you may be familiar with 289 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 1: a visit from St. Nicholas, better known as it was 290 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,680 Speaker 1: the night before Christmas. And if you're not sure why 291 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: this bears mentioning, take this wine. The children were nestled 292 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: all snug in their beds while visions of sugar plums 293 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,920 Speaker 1: danced in their heads. Well, I've got some bad news 294 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:19,879 Speaker 1: where your folks, and that's going to ruin Christmas for 295 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,560 Speaker 1: you forever. Turns out sugar plums are not as you 296 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:27,720 Speaker 1: may guess, sugar plums. Oh no, No, these were pieces 297 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: of spices or scraps, or maybe seeds coated with sugar. 298 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:37,320 Speaker 1: No plums, not at this point anyway, So why would 299 00:19:37,320 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: you call them that to mislead people? There are a 300 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: couple of reasons why. It could be because the verb 301 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: plum with a bee at the end, like plumbing, was 302 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,880 Speaker 1: a verb meaning to immerse, first used in the fourteenth century. 303 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: Or it could be because a seventeen eighty instants of 304 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: plumb indicates it was used to mean desirable, which could 305 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: be where they're saying plumb good comes from the sugar plum. 306 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: Ferries of Tchaikowsky's The Nutcracker are another example of sugar 307 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:11,840 Speaker 1: plums and pop culture, um and and holiday pop culture specifically, 308 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,960 Speaker 1: sugar plums did eventually come to mean a confection of 309 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,679 Speaker 1: nuts and tried fruit, as described in Visions of sugar 310 00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: Plums cookbook by Mimi Sheraton, published in nineteen sixty eight, 311 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: and these o g sugar plums. Before that, they were 312 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 1: a major pain to make. You had to use a 313 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,720 Speaker 1: process called panning, where layer upon layer, upon their upon lair, 314 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: upon their upon layer, up layer of sugar was poured 315 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,800 Speaker 1: over whatever round ish vessel you were using, all the 316 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,359 Speaker 1: way up to thirty layers, and then you had to 317 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 1: wait for each layer to harden. One batch took days 318 00:20:48,200 --> 00:20:51,399 Speaker 1: before the Industrial Revolution came along, So yeah, it was 319 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: a rich person treat. When the Industrial Revolution did come 320 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: along and made sugar plums much more available, the words 321 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: shifted to include pretty much any bite sized, round dish 322 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:07,720 Speaker 1: sugary candy. Another etymology note. In the sixteen o eight 323 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:12,800 Speaker 1: Oxford English Dictionary, sugar plum was defined as something very 324 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:16,720 Speaker 1: pleasing or agreeable, especially when given as a sop or bribe, 325 00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,840 Speaker 1: so like mouthful of sugar plums or mouthful of sweet 326 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 1: sweet eyes. By the eighteenth century, a well off person 327 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: might be described as a plum professor plum. It's probably 328 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: just because he wore purfule maybe, but now the word 329 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: is labeled as obsolete. Tough times for the sugar plum. 330 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:44,000 Speaker 1: A French immigrant to California and vineyardist Louis Pelio started 331 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:47,679 Speaker 1: doing experiments with dried plum cultivation, eventually arriving at the 332 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,160 Speaker 1: California Dried Plum around eighteen fifty because he came over 333 00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: during the Gold Rush um, and they really took off 334 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,240 Speaker 1: in eighteen eighties after California growers got wind of the 335 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:02,360 Speaker 1: twenty two thousand tons of dried plums being imported from Europe. 336 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,879 Speaker 1: By seven, with the help of newly established railroads, forty 337 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:10,360 Speaker 1: six thousand tons of dried plums are being distributed across 338 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: the United States. By though California had way overdone it 339 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: on the dried plumb, the market was oversaturated and the 340 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 1: labor costs were too high for many growers. If one 341 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,639 Speaker 1: girl had the bright idea of bringing in five hundred 342 00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 1: monkeys monkeys, and then he monkeys, and then he'd split 343 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,360 Speaker 1: him in the cruise of fifty right um, and he 344 00:22:33,400 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 1: would set them off to go pick the plums. Did 345 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,280 Speaker 1: that work? They were good at it, but they were 346 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:44,679 Speaker 1: also really good at just eating them, so didn't really 347 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:48,880 Speaker 1: work out in the end. Another problem was poor quality 348 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: knockoffs that dogged the dried plum industry. World War Two 349 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,239 Speaker 1: actually helped save the American dried plum industry, as it 350 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: was one of the biggest, if not the biggest periods 351 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: of dried fruit purchasing in history. From the slump in 352 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,480 Speaker 1: the America prune dried plum markets, we got a couple 353 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: of things. Prune juice entered the market in the California 354 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,639 Speaker 1: prune board, which is now the Dry California Dried Plumb 355 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: Board was created to increase awareness and demand, and the 356 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: name change from prune to dried plum occurred in the 357 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:28,639 Speaker 1: ninety nineties because, and this is from the website quote 358 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: of consumers told us that they'd be more likely to 359 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:33,680 Speaker 1: enjoy the fruit if it were called a dried plum 360 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:38,399 Speaker 1: instead of a prune. Humans were so funny. Uh, if 361 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: you've ever wondered about prune juice, by the way, because 362 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: because I had this question, like, how how do you 363 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:47,040 Speaker 1: juice it? Prune I don't know, but we both got 364 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: our hands on our hips and are very skeptical about it. 365 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:53,240 Speaker 1: Prune juice is just a prune that have been like 366 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: like rehydrated and then sort of pulped um and then 367 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,760 Speaker 1: have like re rehydrated a little bit more. Yeah. So yeah, 368 00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:10,719 Speaker 1: it's just just like liquefied, rehydrated dried plums. That's weird. Huh. Okay, 369 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:15,200 Speaker 1: it's you know, it's it's it's it's more concentrated nutritional benefits. Hypothetically, 370 00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: fresh plums or fresh plum juice would be yeah, because 371 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: they really went all in on that marketing for the 372 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: health of it intensely. Plums and prunes are really big 373 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: and frans kind of like I mentioned earlier, but still yeah, yeah, 374 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,680 Speaker 1: some prunes are viewed as on the same level as 375 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,800 Speaker 1: fog raw. Wow. Yeah, I need to get ahold of 376 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 1: some of these prunes. Apparently you need to get some 377 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: some change in your pocket first. I don't know what 378 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 1: your pocket situation is, but I'm just saying they're expensive. 379 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:55,040 Speaker 1: From Grigor von Missouri's in nineteen seventeen memoir The Snows 380 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: of Yesteryear quote the Revolutionary Spirit of nineteen seventeen had 381 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:04,880 Speaker 1: degenerated into bloody madness. Gangs of plunders drifting about had 382 00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:08,720 Speaker 1: already targeted the ration warehouses of the departed Austrian Army 383 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,119 Speaker 1: as their first objective, but smirched with lard and plum 384 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:16,879 Speaker 1: jam totally inebriated with their bellies full, the howling gangs 385 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:19,680 Speaker 1: of rebels staggered past our house. They were more or 386 00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: less held in check during the day, but became menacing 387 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: at night. So yeah, plums were kind of tied up 388 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:32,880 Speaker 1: with this. I suppose food of luxury excess around that time, 389 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:37,080 Speaker 1: especially in Eastern Europe, which is really interesting. Another really 390 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:41,080 Speaker 1: interesting thing is um as. Photography, Yes, we're talking about 391 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:44,959 Speaker 1: photography improved towards the middle of the century. Like nineteen 392 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: fifties photographers in the UK advised saying prunes instead of 393 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,679 Speaker 1: cheese when they would take a picture for the tightening 394 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: of the lips, because they wanted you to maintain have 395 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: an expression and that you could hold for a little bit, right, 396 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 1: because the exposure times were a little bit longer back then, right, 397 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:09,280 Speaker 1: And it wasn't a fun or easy experience at the time. 398 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: So once it once it became a quicker thing, that's 399 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,200 Speaker 1: when we moved towards cheese, which, yeah, you just smile 400 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: naturally at the end. When let's see the five thousand 401 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 1: plus year old mummy was found in he had slows 402 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 1: in his belly water slows. I didn't know either. They 403 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:32,640 Speaker 1: are a wild plum whose sap was once used as 404 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 1: an ink called prunelier and when soaked in gin make 405 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: slogan Oh man, that's what that is. Yes, one of 406 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 1: the great mysteries of life. I thought it just took 407 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: a long time, and it was like an old timey 408 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: spelling that was slow, and I never questioned it enough 409 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,400 Speaker 1: to do any further research. But now I know, there 410 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: you go. Plum Brandy made another literary appearance in the 411 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:03,160 Speaker 1: Land of Green Plums. In it, the father character warns 412 00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:06,480 Speaker 1: his daughter she'll quote swallow her death, talking about the 413 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:10,320 Speaker 1: dangers of eating plums of the unripe green variety, which 414 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,280 Speaker 1: the daughter quote, which is death on her father, and 415 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:17,120 Speaker 1: eats and thinks this will kill me. The father also 416 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: quote drinks snops made from the darkest plums, and his 417 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,760 Speaker 1: songs for the Fear Her are heavy and drunken. Later, 418 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,679 Speaker 1: the narrator observes the police stealing and eating the poisonous 419 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 1: green plums from trees, which is sort of a metaphor 420 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:36,080 Speaker 1: for the short sightedness of a system poisoning itself. I 421 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: have not heard of this book, but I apparently need 422 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,520 Speaker 1: to go check it out. There's so many plum references 423 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,439 Speaker 1: in books. I gotta say, Um, we could do a 424 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:52,479 Speaker 1: whole like food stuff book club on just books that 425 00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:58,919 Speaker 1: mentioned plums, poetry and yeah, lots of lovely stuff. Yeah 426 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:03,160 Speaker 1: that's our our our take on plums and a little 427 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: bit of prunes. Sure, absolutely, yeah, And we have a 428 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,440 Speaker 1: little bit more for you, we do. But first we've 429 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: got another quick break for a word from our sponsor, 430 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, And 431 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:36,440 Speaker 1: it's time for listener doing my own sound effects now, 432 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: Katherina wrote, I was just listening to your cruise food 433 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 1: episode and it transported me back to my time at sea. 434 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: I work as a geophysicist at a research institute, and 435 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:51,640 Speaker 1: as part of my amazing job, I get to go 436 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: on cruises on research vessels. We normally go out for 437 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,960 Speaker 1: six to eight weeks without any port call, sometimes even 438 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,720 Speaker 1: for up to three months, which means, of course that 439 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: at some point during the cruise, all fresh food has 440 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: been eaten, and the kitchen team, depending on the ship 441 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,000 Speaker 1: between two and four, has to rely on mainly canned 442 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,479 Speaker 1: and frozen goods. Overall, they do an amazing job cooking 443 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,840 Speaker 1: three main meals a day for the up to one 444 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: hundred people on board. Since I was mostly sailing on 445 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: German ships, the food is very down to earth German, 446 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,920 Speaker 1: with lots of potatoes and meat, but they are also 447 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:29,360 Speaker 1: sometimes experimenting with newer flavors, mainly in the vegetarian options, 448 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,760 Speaker 1: which the older ship's crew is not very fond of. 449 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,560 Speaker 1: There are five meal times during the day, starting with 450 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:39,760 Speaker 1: breakfast at seven thirty, morning coffee at ten, launch at 451 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: eleven thirty, afternoon cake and coffee three pm, and finally 452 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,360 Speaker 1: after dinner at six thirty pm. You always have to 453 00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,719 Speaker 1: try to be as early as possible because the kitchen 454 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,560 Speaker 1: and steward's staff is eating after everyone else and you 455 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,360 Speaker 1: don't want to keep them waiting. I was really amused 456 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: by the idea that you can basically eat all the time. 457 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: Is a very important thing on a vacation cruise. On 458 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: our cruises, the availability of food is not only structuring 459 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: your day, but you can also tell which day of 460 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:11,360 Speaker 1: the week it is by remembering some crucial points. Saturday 461 00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: is stew date, mostly pea stew or lentil stew, and 462 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: there's junk food like fries or kebab's for dinner. Sunday 463 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,360 Speaker 1: there's Sunday roast and ice cream for lunch. Wednesday has 464 00:30:21,360 --> 00:30:23,920 Speaker 1: a special breakfast like rice pudding, which makes it my 465 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:27,000 Speaker 1: favorite day. And on Thursday we have more ice cream 466 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: for dessert after lunch. Friday is of course fish day. 467 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 1: Since we work seven in a shift system and there 468 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,480 Speaker 1: is normally not a good internet connection or other connection 469 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: to the outside world, you lose track of time quite easily. 470 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 1: To figure out which day of the week it actually is, 471 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:44,479 Speaker 1: we are not referring to our phones for a calendar. 472 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,080 Speaker 1: After a while, we just asked questions like did we 473 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: have ice cream yesterday? If so, it could be either 474 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: Monday or Friday. Therefore, the follow up question is, well, 475 00:30:55,480 --> 00:30:58,240 Speaker 1: did we have fish for lunch? The system is very 476 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:00,320 Speaker 1: effective and gives you a sense of time. I'm on 477 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 1: otherwise sometimes really repetitive watch system. Those rules are set 478 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: in stone across all the German research vessels, so just 479 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 1: imagine our confusion. We got served ice cream on a 480 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 1: Wednesday because the chocolate pudding that was prepared fell victim 481 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: to the heavy seas and needed to be mopped out 482 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: of the kitchen floor. On the same cruise, we ate 483 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: our way through a three month supply of new Tela 484 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,360 Speaker 1: within the first three weeks, which earned my research group 485 00:31:26,400 --> 00:31:30,760 Speaker 1: the nickname deud rappin the caterpillars. This resulted in me 486 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: having to suffer through night shifts without the chocolately deliciousness 487 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:39,080 Speaker 1: of nutell abruptin to keep me awake. Even worse due 488 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 1: to the lack of new tele peanut butter b game 489 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:43,720 Speaker 1: scares as well, which made me take an emergency peanut 490 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 1: butter jar on my next trip. Oh, I understand the 491 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: emergency peanut butter jar absolutely. I love that tilling the 492 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: day of week by what you ate? Yeah, that's that's 493 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,160 Speaker 1: really that's really great. That is that's beautiful. It seems 494 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: New Tell is not safe on any kind of keep 495 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,920 Speaker 1: that in mind, folks, not safe in general. I think 496 00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,520 Speaker 1: this is true. Yeah, Megan wrote, I just finished the 497 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: episode on the food and Drinks in the Hitchhiker's Guide 498 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,320 Speaker 1: to the Galaxy novels, and I thought I would write 499 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 1: in to share the appropriately silly story of how I 500 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,640 Speaker 1: got my copy of the books. My best friend and 501 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: I met at a library when we were three, and, 502 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:25,240 Speaker 1: as such a meeting might suggest, we were total bookworms. 503 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 1: She's actually a librarian at that library. Now, Oh, that's 504 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: so cool. Her parents were really into British humor, so 505 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,959 Speaker 1: they read Hitchhiker's Guide to her when she was younger, 506 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: and she recommended it to me one summer in middle school. 507 00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:38,520 Speaker 1: I think I read the five books in the trilogy 508 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:41,480 Speaker 1: in about two weeks, completing a whole cycle of the 509 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:45,920 Speaker 1: library's summer reading program. Fast forward to my friend's eighteenth birthday. 510 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:47,840 Speaker 1: She got a really lovely copy of The Lord of 511 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,200 Speaker 1: the Rings trilogy, leather bound, guilt edged pages, ribbon, and 512 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:53,880 Speaker 1: even a giant fold out map of Middle Earth, and 513 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,360 Speaker 1: I was very jealous. Her parents then said they'd get 514 00:32:57,400 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: me a book like it for my birthday a month later. 515 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,840 Speaker 1: I was expecting something of similar seriousness as The Lord 516 00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:05,080 Speaker 1: of the Rings, because you don't buy such a fancy 517 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 1: version of just any book. And then I got a 518 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: leather bound, gilt edged copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to 519 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:15,800 Speaker 1: the Galaxy, making it simultaneously the fanciest and silliest book 520 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 1: I own. It's great. This same friend and I also 521 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:22,200 Speaker 1: tried to make a child's version of the Pancalactic Cargo 522 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: Blaster for a class project in the sixth grade, but 523 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: since most of the ingredients are fictional alcohols whose real 524 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,040 Speaker 1: life equivalent would never tried, we gave up and made 525 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,880 Speaker 1: a Jovian sun spot from Babylon five. Can you tell 526 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 1: we were nerds? If I remember correctly, it was sprite, Rainbow, 527 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 1: Sherbert and Grenadine. That's so funny. I love it, all 528 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 1: of it. That's great. Indeed, Oh man, that's that also 529 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: sounds like a gorgeous book. It does. It does. Have 530 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: to look it up. Yeah, thanks to both of them 531 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:56,479 Speaker 1: for writing in. If you would like to write to us, 532 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:58,880 Speaker 1: you can. Our email is food stuff it has to 533 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 1: works dot com. Uh huh. We're also on social media. 534 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: You can find us on Facebook and Twitter at food 535 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:09,200 Speaker 1: stuff hs W and over on Instagram at food stuff. Uh. 536 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:11,759 Speaker 1: We have some changes coming up for you in the 537 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:16,040 Speaker 1: next month or so, so don't be afraid. They are 538 00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: of the plumb good vera absolutely and watch those social 539 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:24,560 Speaker 1: media feeds for a little bit more information sometimes soon 540 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,840 Speaker 1: as we'll work it out. Um, Thanks as always to 541 00:34:27,840 --> 00:34:30,960 Speaker 1: our super producer Dylan Fagan. Thank you to you for listening, 542 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:32,959 Speaker 1: and we hope that lots more good things are coming 543 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:49,359 Speaker 1: your way.