Today I'm taking you to discover a plum that, in my opinion, hides one of the most beautiful lessons a market can teach: Black Splendor.
It has a purple skin so intense that it seems black, a ruby red pulp, firm, juicy and with a perfect balance between sweetness and a light sour note.
But the real protagonist of this fruit is not the color. It is that thin whitish coating that covers the skin.
Many people think it's dust. Someone even believes that the fruit is dirty. It's actually called pruina.
It is a very thin natural wax that the plant produces to protect the fruit. It reduces water loss, protects it from external agents and helps to preserve its freshness.
Every time I look at this pruina, an episode that my father often tells me comes back to me. As a child, he went to the market and, intrigued, picked up a plum.
With his fingers, he removed part of that whitish coating. The merchant rebuked him so decisively that, even today, every time we watch plums together, that episode reappears in his memories. As a child, it seemed like an exaggerated reaction to him. Today, however, we fully understand the reason. The plum is one of the first indicators of the quality of a plum.
If it is still intact, it means that that fruit has been manipulated as little as possible and has preserved its natural protection.
Sometimes quality is not recognized by what is added. You can recognize what you have managed to preserve.