Sirha international food show 2007
The magic of plum oil
Plum oil was first used in the food service industry in France for its ability to replicate the taste of almond oil and provide a rich almond flavour to sweets. It does not have a "plum aroma" but a rich and typical almondy , marzipan like flavour , more complex than that of almond oil. Because of this, it was first used by chefs as a substitute for almond oil, mixed with neutral tasting oils or balanced with other flavours to create original culinary partitions. But the use of prune oil goes beyond sweets and also capitalises on the growing trend for new oils pioneered by restaurants and food companies looking for original tastes in food. Rich in vitamin E (French food and safety agency), plum oil has not trans fats and can be heated to 180ºC during frying.
From entrées to bakery
It can be drizzled over entrées, incorporated into marinades, used as an ingredient in bakery, salad dressing, vinaigrette and sauces or employed as a finishing oil to bring an "accent" to hot meals. Such is the richness of plum oil aroma that a subtle balance between sweet , salty and other flavours is essential for its successful inclusion in recipes . It explains combinations such as Armagnac and plum oil in ice creams , strawberry and plum oil in salad dressing , dark chocolate and plum oil in bakery or plum oil on sushi or with tapas . Plum oil can be mixed with other oils (as an example, with olive oil and green lemon juice for a vinaigrette) or used as such sprinkled on a fresh lettuce. The flavour is very rich so you will need only a few drops.
An explosion of flavours
When frying with plum oil, marinating fish or balancing it with other spices, you will notice how its perfume delicately mixes with other ingredients and brings you a new culinary experience that has inspired more than one.
Slideshows
Press
WHAT THEY SAY
Cherry
Sweet
Almond-like
Aromatic
Very rich
Unique
Fragrant
Intense body
Delicate and smooth
Balanced
Delicious after taste
Pleasant
Original
Well rounded aroma
USING IT
Vinaigrette & Sauces
Strawberry salad with plum oil. Gastric sauce and apricot sautéed in plum oil. Balsamic vinegar mixed with plum oil, on an avocado salad. Steamed turbot fish with lemon juice and plum oil vinaigrette. Salad perfumed with plum oil. Milanese sauce and lemon jam. Lobster drizzled with a blender vinaigrette of apple juice and plum oil. Apple juice and plum oil blender sauce served with a cod gratinated with star anise...
Vegetables
Lentils purée with plum oil. Goat cheese polenta with plum oil. Green asparagus and plum oil truffle cream. Sautéed foie gras, amaretto potato purée with plum oil. Veal scallops and a selection of vegetables perfumed with plum oil. Salad of marmande tomatoes and fruits ; Almond milk ice cream perfumed with plum oil...
Meat & Fish
Duck carpaccio with plum oil. Roasted fish, a few drops of plum oil. St. Jacques Shells carpaccio drizzled with plum oil. Foie gras roasted in plum oil with an almond duck sauce. Monkfish marinated in plum oil and poached in milk (canned fish). Almond jelly with crab, almond gazpacho, plum oil, herring roe & sweet corn custard...
Desserts
Plum oil yoghurt cake. Pistachio paste perfumed with plum oil. Chocolate cream perfumed with plum oil. Red fruit turnovers on a plum oil ice cream. Plum oil banana muffin with chocolate chips. Prune and Armagnac clafoutis with plum oil ice cream. Marzipan mousse with a fruit puree perfumed with plum oil. Passion fruit cake with plum oil on an almond “calisson“ biscuit. Plum oil cream with bits of dark chocolate and caramelised almonds. Almond and plum oil crême brulée with sheep milk yoghurt ice cream. Plum oil flavoured crême brulée and cubes of peach (macaroon filling cream). Chilled soup of summer fruits perfumed with plum oil, green verveine crême brulée...
FRUIT TIME!
STRAWBERRIES , PEARS , APRICOTS , LEMONS , PISTACHIOS , NECTARINES AND PLUM SEED OIL
For 8 brochettes
1 pear,1 nectarine, 8 strawberries,1 tbsp of plum seed oil, 8 g of sugar, 1/2 vanilla bean, 1/2 lemon
Clean the nectarines and divide them into 8 slices.Peel the pear, divide it into 8 slices and soak them in the lemon juice for 15 seconds.Clean the strawberries and remove their leaves.
Put the fruits in a big bowl with the plum seed oil . Mix well. Marinate for 15 minutes. Prepare vanilla sugar by removing vanilla seeds from the bean and mixing them with sugar. Put aside.
Arrange the fruits slices on 12 cm long brochettes by alternating pear , nectarine and strawberry slices. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar and brown under hot grill for one to two minutes until sugar caramelises.
Depending on the season, you can use other fruits as well : Apples for example, are a good candidate for autumn if you select very sweet varieties such as Akane apples or Fuji apples.
Wash your apples and wipe them. Use a fruit centrifuge to extract 600g of apple juice . Reduce the juice by boiling it lightly to 200g. Leave to cold. Add virgin plum seed oil and vigourously beat. The seasoning should be light and fruity. Adjust ingredients if necessary to obtain a light and fruity mixture. With shrimp, lobster, avocados.
300g Bergeron apricots, quartered. 100g seedless Muscat raisin. 60g acacia honey. 30g chopped shallots. 1tbsp plum seed oil. 1tbsp sweet vinegar, 2tbsp orange juice. Salt and freshly ground pepper. A bit of sweet vinegar.
Brown the shallots in plum oil. Once golden, add honey and simmer. De-glaze with orange juice and vinegar. In a saucepan, lightly fry apricots and raisins with the reduction until syrupy. De-glaze with a bit of sweet vinegar. Salt and pepper. Keep warm
(For 12 muffin type moulds)
50 Mirabelle plums, 1 tin of condensed milk, 2 eggs, 120g flour, 5g dehydrated yeast, 20cl milk 2 tbsp plum seed oil
Wash the mirabelle plums, wipe them and pit them. Mix throughoutly all the ingredients, finishing with plum seed oil. Fill one third of each mould with the paste and add four mirabelle plums on the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 190°.
Pistachio paste : 35g of green pistachio (from Sicily) , 1 tea spoon of grape seed oil, 1 table spoon of plum seed oil
Slightly roast pistachios. Leave to cold and finely mix with a robot mixer. Add grape seed oil and plum seed oil.
Marble cake: 75g of white chocolate , pistachio paste , 175g of sugar , 175g de butter, 4 eggs yolks and whites separated ,125g of flour , 75g of almond powder
Preheat the oven to 180°.
Melt the chocolate in a bain marie. At the same time, in a big salad bowl, beat together butter and sugar until the mixture gets foamy. Add egg yolks one after the other , inserting one table spoon of flour in between. Add almond flour.
Firmly beat the whites with salt until you have stiff peaks . Add the rest of the flour to the mixture , then the mixture in the big salad bowl.
Divide the content of the salad bowl into two parts . Add white chocolate to the first part and pistachio paste to the other.
Using a spoon, pour the paste in a buttered and floured cake mould, alternating the white chocolate preparation with pistachio paste.
Bake in oven for 40 minutes
For a big pastry mould (Tefal type).
30g whole milk , 20g plum seed oil , 2 tsp dehydrated yeast , 200g flour (T45 or pastry type) ,1 pinch of salt, 25g sugar , 130g eggs , 200g butter in small cubes ,2 tbsp of floured , preserved lemon
Put the flour , salt and sugar in a big bowl, add 1/3 of the eggs then the yeast diluted in milk and oil. Knead and add the rest of the eggs. Continue kneading until dough is smooth and elastic. Slowly incorporate butter and the chopped lemon. Knead until they are throughoutly mixed. Surround the paste by a plastic film and leave to rest for 1h30 at ambient temperature. Beat down the paste, divide it into 4 parts and put them side by side in a pastry mould. Brush with egg-wash and leave to rest 30 min. Brush with egg-wash again, decorate by slicing the surface with a fork and bake for 20 min at 200°.
Fragrances of lemon, hints of almonds, a perfect desert.