The Flavor Purple

A constantly changing bounty of fruit has been available since the beginning of the growing season here in the Philly area. And there's plenty more on the horizon, as we're now moving out of berry season, into the heart of melon and stone fruit season, with pears, apples and their cousins still to come. The show stopper of what's come thus far, at least to this nibbler, has to have been the Purpleheart Plum from North Star Orchard. The skin of the fruit barely hints at what's lurking inside, flesh so vibrantly and purely purple that, to quote Jay Kerschner, "It'll stain your shirt." I'm told that the Kerschner's, owners of North Star Orchard, have only one Purpleheart tree. If true, it's a shame, as these are outrageously good. If someone were to scribe a dictionary of color/taste associations, this plum should get the entry, hands down, for the flavor purple.