08/05/2026
UPDATE 8/14/26 mostly gone, I'll be picking the remaining ones that are not yet spoiled and pitting/freezing them this evening.
FYI you can NOT use groundfalls plums (even if you watched or made them fall) as these can be deadly.
THE FACTS
Why You Should Never Cook with Spoiled Fruit
Mycotoxins survive heat: Molds on plums can produce a toxic chemical called patulin. Boiling the fruit destroys the live mold, but it does not destroy the toxin, which stays in the sauce and can make people sick.
Ruined flavor: Even a small amount of rot or fermented fruit will give the entire batch of fruit a musty, bitter, or alcoholic taste.
Canning failures: Spoiled fruit alters the natural acid levels of the apple. If you plan to can the sauce in a water bath, this drop in acidity can allow dangerous bacteria to grow in the jars.
avoid squishy plums. While you can be a bit more flexible with overripe plums than with apples, fully squishy plums cross the line into unsafe territory very quickly.
The Danger of Squishy Plums
High moisture accelerates rot: Plums are much juicier than apples. Once they get squishy, mold and bacteria spread through the soft flesh in a matter of hours.
Hidden fermentation: Squishy plums often start fermenting right on the tree or counter, creating a sharp, vinegary, or alcoholic flavor that ruins jams, sauces, or wine.
Patulin risk: Just like apples, moldy plums can contain heat-resistant mycotoxins that boiling will not destroy.
Safe vs. Unsafe Plums
Safe to use: Plums that are soft to a gentle squeeze, slightly wrinkled near the stem, or have minor bird pecks (that you can cut out). These are high in sugar and great for cooking.
Discard immediately: Plums that leak juice on their own, feel completely hollow or slimy, have white or gray fuzzy mold, or smell like alcohol or vinegar.
The strict rule using only firm fruit even for wine is actually a necessity for two reasons:
Wild yeast contamination: Squishy, split plums carry high amounts of wild, airborne yeasts. These will fight with your commercial wine yeast and can ruin your ferment, creating off-flavors or turning your wine into vinegar.
Pectin breakdown: As plums become overripe and squishy, their natural pectin breaks down. If you try to use them for jam, the jam will turn out runny and fail to set (even with added pectin as the sugar and acid ratios will be off)..
Babies and toddlers should absolutely never be given jam made from ground-fall or squishy plums.
Infants and young children have highly sensitive, developing digestive and immune systems.
Toxins like patulin (from hidden molds) or contaminants from the soil can make a baby very sick, even in amounts that might only give an adult a mild stomach ache.
Why Mirabelle "Ground-Falls" are Unsafe
Impact damage: Mirabelle plums are small and delicate. When they hit the ground, the skin almost always micro-fractures, creating an instant gateway for soil bacteria, bugs, and mold spores to enter.
Rapid spoilage: Because they are already overripe and squishy when they fall, they spoil from the inside out within minutes of hitting the dirt.
Invisible mold: Even if the plum tastes okay, the beginnings of mold and bacterial growth are invisible to the naked eye.
The "Blush" rule: Pick only the firm yellow ones with the beautiful pink-red blush. These are at the absolute peak of flavor, acidity, and natural pectin—perfect for a jam that sets beautifully.
The "Two-Second" test: Give the branch a very gentle shake. Plums that stay attached are perfect for picking. Any that drop instantly into the grass should stay on the ground.
Pick from the tree: Ensure every single plum going into the basket is hand-picked directly from the branch, never collected from the grass.
