Never have plums matured as early as they have this year. Like apples and various other fruits they have ripened several weeks before their usual time but have lost none of their juicy flavour because of this.

They are best when eaten ripe from the tree, and one of the best places to acquire them at their peak is Q Gardens, Milton Hill, Steventon, where you can pick your own.

Their earliest varieties are ready to pick now. These are the Opal and a mystery blue variety that has no name, but tastes delicious. They are now available at Q Gardens at £2.50 a kilo, from their pick-your-own site across the road from the farm shop on the A4130. Some years, their plum crop is so prolific that the branches on which they hang break from their weight.

There are more than 300 varieties of plums in England, but worldwide there are thousands of different varieties and they all come in different guises. Some are tart and only suitable for cooking, while others are so sweet you want to eat them straight from the tree, allowing the juices to run where they may. Eating them freshly picked is a delight and a true sign we have reached mid-summer.

They come in a range of rich hues from light greens and yellows to dark reds and purples. As with so many of our fruits and vegetables, we have the Romans to thank for bringing them over here, though the wild plum is possibly a native of The British Isles and plums are thought to originate in south-eastern Europe. This is the plum that our forbears preserved, as they were reliant on fruits such as these during the winter months when fresh fruits were not available. They were grown in medieval monasteries and referred to by writers such as Chaucer.

Apart from tasting delicious, plums are a great source of potassium, fibre and vitains A and C. They are also rich in antioxidants.

Not all chefs and cookery writers rate plums as highly as I do. In her book on Summer Cooking, the legendary food writer Elizabeth David said: “Cold stewed plums must be one of the dullest dishes on earth. Accompanied by custard it is one of the most depressing. English plum tart runs it pretty close.”

Perhaps she didn’t cook them when they were on the firm side of ripe, which is the ideal point when you add them to the cooking pot.

Modern cookery writers value the fruit rather more highly. Sarah Raven gives us several splendid plum recipes in her Garden Cookbook (Bloomsbury, £30). Her recipes include roast plums with bread and butter pudding, plum crumble, Tuscan plum tart and plum sauce, which can be used to brush on lamb, beef, pork and fish before barbecuing. She also includes a savoury plum jam in her recipe collection that can be used in cheese sandwiches or as a compote served with yoghurt, crème fraiche or ice cream.

If you can’t get to the Q Gardens’ pick- your-own, when buying plums look for plump, smooth and well-coloured fruits that yield to gentle pressure and have an inviting aroma.

If you have no choice but to buy firm plums, don’t worry; they will continue to ripen when you get them home — though obviously they are best if purchased when ripe.

Firm plums will ripen in a few days if kept at room temperature and ripe plums can be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. If you are freezing them it is best to remove the stones to prevent the flavour from being tainted by them.

Greengages — a cultivar of the plum identified by their green or light golden skin — are ripening now. Given their colour, the name has stuck, but since they were domesticated in France they are also known as Reine Claude. While you can use them in any recipe listed for plums these beautiful oval-shaped fruits are a delight when eaten raw. Try placing a bowl of ripe greengages on the table instead of a dessert and you will find that the bowl empties within minutes They are that good.

Certain types of plums are dried and turned into prunes, which are also good when eaten just as they are straight from the packet and particularly useful when you want to add flavour to game and meat dishes. Try adding them to a rabbit pie or casserole; you will be thrilled with the results.

Because they will last for a considerable time if stored correctly, they are a useful ingredient to keep in the larder for that moment when you want to add a rich flavour to an otherwise dull dish. Try chopping them small and adding them to cakes, too, that works well.

Plums will be ready to pick throughout August and are a wonderful way of adding one of those five fruits or vegetables to your daily diet while they are in season.