Best tasting plum trees.

[realfood]

Gardening Which has just published the results of their taste tests on plums.
Avalon. This is a large, sweet, juicy, early plum which came top in an independent taste test. Slightly chewy skins but it is a freestone plum. Flowers April. Harvest mid August in the South UK, partially self-fertile but better if other plums, such as Victoria, and gages are close by. Available on Pixy, St Julien A, VVA-1 (Krimsk 1), rootstocks.
Burbank’s Tangerine. This is a sweet, juicy plum with some acidity and chewy skins which was well rated in an independent taste test. Flowers April. The harvest is in late September, so probably not suitable for the North. It is not self-fertile, so you need other plums to flowering in April to pollinate it.
Haganta. This is a large, sweet, juicy, aromatic plum with slightly chewy skins and a free stone. Flowers April. Harvest late September/ October, so probably not suitable for the North. Partially self-fertile, so best with other plums that flower at the same time. Well rated in an independent taste test.
They were rather sniffy about Jubilee, saying that it had tough skins, not very juicy fruits and the fruits tasted under ripe.
Has anyone grown these varieties and do they have a similar opinion?

[orangepippin]

I would agree Avalon has a very good flavour, definitely one to consider.

Haganta is also very pleasant. I've generally found Jubilee to be pretty good too.

I have never heard of Burbank Tangerine.

Did they include Cambridge Gage or Early Transparent or Oullins? They are widely available and I think would be on many people's top plum lists.

Does it say when the test was carried out? The reason I ask is that all these varieties seem to be relatively late-ripening, so I am wondering if they excluded the earlier varieties for practical reasons?

The National Fruit Collections usually have a plum day in August where many of these are available to try.

[yummersetter]

There have been some very iffy Which best fruit lists. Remember the best apple one?
But I'm pleased as I have Avalon and Burbank's Tangerine planted but they've not got to flowering age yet, so I hope they're right.
Of the ones which have got fruit, I have lots of different types of favourites, for different uses - Kirke's Blue, Early Transparent, Mirabelle and Satsuma are totally different but all very good.

[orangepippin]

Ariel and Seneca are also very good plums.