The Unique Yellow Plums That Are (Nearly) Impossible To Get In America
There's a type of plum that's plumb hard to get your hands on in the United States during stone fruit season. It's the Mirabelle plum. These shining yellow orbs are prized for their sweetness and exotic (well, compared to normal plums) notes of pineapple and even banana. Mirabelle plums are typically smaller than the average plum, and grow well in the U.S., England, France, Poland, and the Czech Republic. I couldn't help but wonder why I had never heard of nor seen these plums until researching this article. Since I'm a bit of a stone fruit fanatic, I leapt at the chance to learn more.
The reason you (and I) may not have heard of Mirabelle plums is due to French agricultural laws, under which these fruit are protected. For a plum to be designated as a Mirabelle, it must come from the Lorraine region of France, which produces 80% of all Mirabelle plums. Add in the fact that Mirabelle plums are extremely delicate, and you can see why they might not make it to American grocery store shelves.
Are mirabelle plums illegal in the United States?
It's important to note that unlike certain meats and tonka beans, Mirabelle plums are not illegal to consume in the United States. What isn't allowed is importing and selling Mirabelles that are not from France. The U.S. and France are part of TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement), which means the U.S. (along with every other TRIPS member) honors France's Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) laws prohibiting the import and sale of Mirabelles from regions outside of Lorraine.
These laws are very similar to those imposed on sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region of France, which can't be labeled as champagne without that geographical designation. This may seem overly bureaucratic, but the IGP system was created to protect France and consumers from fake, adulterated, and low-quality cheese, butter, wine, and yes, plums. You can absolutely grow your own Mirabelle plum tree, but don't try to sell the plums at your local farmer's market!