A plum role

Jonathan Spain considers the Cambridge gage, a variant of our old English greengage, the story of which ranges from the Caucasus Mountains to the Chivers jam factory in Histon Cambridgeshire

- Jonathan Spain

Prunus domestica 'Cambridge Gage' yields delicate white blossom and plump, yellowy-green, honey-flavoured fruits

ONE of the delights of August in Cambridgeshire is a harvest of Cambridge gages, succulent, honey-sweet plums. A local variant of the old English greengage, the Cambridge gage has a close historical connection with the eastern counties. It became the mainstay of the fruit industry that developed in the Cam Valley in the late 19th century, when, thanks to the railways, fresh fruit could be sent to markets in expanding cities. The same period saw the rise of the jam industry, notably the stellar growth of the Chivers jam factory at Histon, north of Cambridge.

The origins and development of this small green plum offer a fascinating insight into not only the history of our hardy fruits, but the global history of fruit. A likely point of origin is the wild groves of greengages growing in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, discovered by German botanist and explorer Prof Karl Koch (1809-79) in the early 19th century. This supposition was eventually confirmed in the 1930s, by the Soviet botanist Nikolai Vavilov (1887–1943).