WHETHER you fancy some prolific, czar, opal, heron or, of course, Victoria, your needs will be well catered for at your next Worcestershire farmers’ market.

Yes, the plum season is well under way and here in Worcestershire we are blessed with the best plums to be found anywhere in the country.

Growers at your farmers’ market know from years of experience that people really enjoy the flavour of ripe plums picked from the tree.

Plums in your supermarket will have been picked well before they are ripe, so they won’t have had time to develop such a good flavour – but your farmers’ market will have stalls piled high with the delicious, ripe fruits that haven’t been picked until they are ready.

Everyone, it would seem, is lauding the British plum at the moment and chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recently wrote about this year’s bumper crop in a national newspaper article. He offers up recipes for roast plum sorbet and plum salsa, recommending the ubiquitous Victoria as the best for cooking. My favourite is this recipe:

SIMPLE PORK FILLET WITH PLUMS

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp plain flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g pork fillet cut into four pieces
50g butter
500g fresh plums, with stones removed
pinch ground cinnamon
150 ml red wine
chopped parsley to garnish

METHOD

Season the flour with the salt and pepper and use to coat the pork.

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the pork, fry until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a casserole dish. Mash the plums to a lumpy puree. Then, stir in the cinnamon and the wine and pour it all over the pork. Cover and cook in a pre-heated moderate oven, 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes. Serve hot garnished with parsley.

Today’s farmers’ market is in High Street, Bromsgrove, from 9am until 5pm. Tomorrow’s market is in Angel Place, Worcester, from 9am until 3pm.

Next weekend’s market, on Saturday, August 21, is in Abbey Road, Malvern, from 9am until 2pm.