Field guide · Midsummer

Greengage

Rainha-cláudia in Portugal, reine-claude in France, Reneklode in Germany, Regina Claudia in Italy — nearly every language kept the queen, Claude of France, who held the title for nine years and died in 1524. Only English lost her, for Sir William Gage, a Suffolk baronet who brought the tree over from France around 1725 and had it named after him as a compliment. The mislaid label the story usually turns on is not in the oldest account of it. Portugal's Ameixa d'Elvas is this variety, not what an English speaker means by plum. The trap is the colour: green is ripe here, not unripe, so judge by give and a honeyed smell instead. Simplest thing to do with it: eat it standing over the sink.

Noted 2026-07-29