Greengage

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Scientific classification Edit this classification
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Trinomial name
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(Borkh.) Gams ex Hegi
Synonyms[1]

Prunus italica Borkh.

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The greengages are a group of cultivars of the common Middle Eastern plum. Greengages are grown in temperate areas and are known for the rich, confectionery flavour. They are considered to be among the finest dessert plums though they are also consumed unripe when they are pleasantly tart, hard and crunchy.

Description

Greengage fruit are identified by their round-oval shape and smooth-textured, pale green flesh; they are on average smaller than round plums but larger than mirabelle plums—usually between Page Template:Fraction/styles.css has no content.2 and 4 centimetres (1 and 1+1⁄2 in) diameter. The skin ranges in colour from green to yellowish, with a pale blue "blush" in some cultivars; a few Reine Claudes, such as 'Graf Althanns', are reddish-purple due to crossbreeding with other plums.[citation needed]

Taxonomy

Greengage fruit originated in the Middle East.[2] Though "Green Gages" were previously thought to have been first imported into England from France in 1724 by Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet,[3] a greengage seed was found embedded[<span title="Script error: No such module "decodeEncode".">clarification needed] in a 15th-century building in Hereford.[4] Supposedly, the labels identifying the French plum trees were lost in transit to Gage's home at Hengrave Hall, near Bury St Edmunds.[5] More recent research indicates that it was a cousin and namesake Sir William Gage, 2nd Baronet of Hengrave who was responsible for introducing the greengage to England.[6]

The name Reine Claude (French for "Queen Claude"), by which they are known in France, is in honour of the French queen Claude (1499–1524), Duchess of Brittany. A greengage is also called Script error: No such module "Lang". (French for "the good Queen") in France.[7]

Although the Oxford English Dictionary regards "gage" and "greengage" as synonyms,[8] not all gages are green, and some horticulturists make a distinction between the two words, with greengages as a variety of the gages, as Prunus domestica subsp. italica var. claudiana.[9][2]

Cultivation

File:Greengages.jpg
Freshly harvested Reine Claude Verte

In the Czech Republic, they are known as Script error: No such module "Lang"., in Poland as Script error: No such module "Lang"., in Hungary as Script error: No such module "Lang".,[10] in Slovakia as Script error: No such module "Lang"., in Slovenia as Script error: No such module "Lang"., and in Portugal as Script error: No such module "Lang".. They are widely grown, typically for eating out of hand or stewing in syrup to make a compote. In Portugal, however, they make up a delicacy invented by Dominican nuns in the 16th or 17th century (when confined to their convents) in the town of Elvas, where they are boiled in a sugary syrup several times, over the course of several weeks, to then be preserved whole in syrup or dried, coated in sugar and eaten either with a local dessert, sericaia, made from eggs, sugar, milk, cinnamon and flour or eaten with rich cheeses.

File:Prunus domestica italica flowers.jpg
Flowers of P. domestica subsp. italica

The green cultivars are bred more or less true from seed. Several similar cultivars produced from seedlings are now available; some of these include other plum cultivars in their parentage. Widely grown cultivars include:

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  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (Turkey)
  • Boddarts Reneclode (Germany)
  • Bryanston (UK)
  • Cambridge Gage (UK)
  • Denniston's Superb (US)
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". or Göy Alça (Azerbaijan)
  • Golden Transparent (UK)
  • Graf Althanns Reneklode (Germany)
  • Green Vanilla (Mount Pelion, Greece)
  • Große Grüne Reneklode (Germany) / Reine Claude Verte (France)
  • Laxton's Gage (UK)
  • Laxton's Supreme (UK)
  • Meroldts Reneclode (Germany)
  • Rainha Cláudia (Portugal)
  • Script error: No such module "Lang". (Italy)
  • Reine Claude de Bavay (France)
  • Reine Claude d'Oullins (France)
  • Uhinks Reneklode (Germany)
  • Washington (US)

Uses

They are considered to be among the finest dessert plums.[11] Anna Pavord calls them the "most ambrosial of all tree fruit",[12] and David Karp described them as "the best fruit in the world".[11] A greengage jam can be spread on toast, used in jam tarts or eaten with scones.[11][13]

In culture

Greengages were cultivated in the American colonies, being grown on the plantations of American presidents George Washington (1732–1799) and Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826).

The fruit is referenced in the British novel The Greengage Summer (1958) by Rumer Godden, which was adapted into a film in 1961.

Greengages are mentioned in a Monty Python's Flying Circus sketch as a form of dangerous fruit (as in a food fight).

More recently, the tree features in the novel The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (2017) by Iranian-Australian author Shokoofeh Azar.

References

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  1. ^ Script error: No such module "template wrapper".
  2. ^ a b Andrew F. Smith Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia (3 Volumes, 2013), p. 681, at Google Books
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Howse, Christopher. "The gooseberry is always greener". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hensich, Bridget Ann. Fast and Feast. Penn State Press. p. 115.
  5. ^ (Chambers's 20th Century Dictionary, 1903).
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Curse of the Greengage". February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ "Greengage" at Bartleby.com which provides the text from Brewer, E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898). Accessed 22 January 2007.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN 978-0199206872.
  9. ^ Melinda Smale (Editor) Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and Economic Change, p. 130, at Google Books
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Hungarian-English dictionary". szotar.sztaki.hu. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Karp, David (1 September 2004). "A Finicky Fruit Is Sweet When Coddled". New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
  12. ^ Anna Pavord, "Plum job: A juicy guide to greengages and plums" Independent (12 August 2011).
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Madalene (2015-03-20). "Greengage jam". The British Larder. Retrieved 2025-08-15.

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