An ode to Maid Marian’s plums

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Seasonal fruits make for delicious treats, their taste as fleeting as their availability. April is the season for buah kundang, also known as the marian plum.

Native to South-east Asia and grown in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, the marian plum (Bouea macrophylla) isn’t actually a plum. In fact, it is more closely related to the mango. A pale green when young, the fruit turns a sexy apricot hue when ripe, inviting you to take a bite...

Could its name refer to Maid Marian of the Robin Hood legend? Perhaps the independent-minded 16th-century noblewoman had a particular fondness for this dusky fruit, so succulent and fragrant? Perhaps she admired its shape, so round and plump yet dainty and discreet? A most voluptuous delicacy for the fair lady.

However, given that the marian plum is a tropical fruit and Maid Marian belonged to the more temperate climes of Merrie Olde England, this theory seems highly improbable. (Without refrigeration, Maid Marian’s plums would be rotten mush long before any trading ship sailing from Malaya reached the shores of Avalon, much less Sherwood Forest.)

In reality, the name marian plum is likely a derivative of mapraang, which is what the fruit is called in Thai. Other aliases include ramania in Indonesian and thanh trà in Vietnamese. It has also been marketed, somewhat less romantically, as a plum mango.

Like the mango, or at least its unripe variant, the marian plum can be used to make rojak buah when it’s still green. In Indonesia, it is also pickled and added to spicy sambal.

Its taste is hard to describe — truly a mix of plum-like texture and mango-like flavour, with a mild scent of pine. Sweet and slightly sour, it’s a good thing the marian plum is small in size for you can never stop at just one!

Apricot-hued marian plums (also known as buah kundang in Malay and mapraang in Thai) (left). Peeled to reveal its luscious flesh (right).

RECIPE 1: ICED MARIAN PLUMS IN LIGHT SYRUP

Short of eating ripe marian plums as they are, the simplest way to enjoy these luscious fruits is to serve them chilled in a light syrup. This will allow the natural sweetness and slight tanginess of the marian plums shine through.

Ingredients
150g granulated sugar
650ml water
6 ripe marian plums, peeled and seeds removed
Ice cubes

Method
To prepare a very light syrup, combine the sugar and water in a pot. Heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from heat and allow to cool. (This should make about 600ml of syrup, enough to use in other recipes. Keep the extra syrup in an airtight container.)

Once cool, add sliced marian plums to the syrup and chill further in the fridge for at least three hours. Serve in small bowls with desired amount of ice.

Cool down with some iced marian plums in light syrup (left). Rosemary add a subtle fragrance to the marian plums (right).

RECIPE 2: NO-BAKE CHEESE TART WITH ROSEMARY-SCENTED MARIAN PLUMS

For something more complex in flavour and texture, yet not too labour-intensive, why not try a simple no-bake cheese tart? (The fridge doesn’t get enough praise as a helpful kitchen tool.) The use of Greek yoghurt here ensures the cheese filling is creamy-soft rather than too firm (as is the case with some no-bake tart fillings that utilises gelatin).

And while it’s creamy, this tart is not too rich, making it a wonderful showcase for the juicy marian plums. Many tart toppings that involve fruits either use them raw or macerated in sugar. Here, infusing them with some rosemary-scented syrup (making use of the light syrup made in the first recipe) adds another dimension — not overpowering but subtly present.

Ingredients for the tart base
300g shortbread biscuits
80g butter, melted
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the filling
250g cream cheese
175g Greek yoghurt
120ml raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of half a lemon

Ingredients for the topping
200ml light syrup (see first recipe)
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
10-12 ripe marian plums, peeled and seeds removed

Method
First, preheat the oven to 200°C. Prepare the crust for the tart by crumbling the biscuits by hand into a mixing bowl. Add melted butter, cinnamon and salt to the biscuit crumbs and mix until well combined.

Transfer this mixture to a 24-centimetre non-stick tart pan, pressing it down to form a thin base. Press the excess mixture up the sides of the pan to create the crust to hold the cheese filling. Bake the tart base in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until it has set. Remove and let it cool completely before adding the filling.

Crumble some shortbread biscuits for the tart base (left). No baking is required for this buttery tart (right).

To make the filling, bring the cream cheese to room temperature before adding it to a food processor. Combine with Greek yoghurt, honey, vanilla extract and lemon juice until smooth. Pour this cheese-yoghurt mixture over tart base and keep chilled in the refrigerator for about six hours until set.

For the topping, simmer sprigs of rosemary in the light syrup for at least 10 minutes before removing from the heat. Allow to cool, then add the marian plums. Keep chilled in the refrigerator with the tart until the tart is ready.

Once set, top the tart with rosemary-infused marian plums (sans the syrup liquid). Slice and serve with an optional sprig of rosemary on each slice for decoration.

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