Food: The arrival of plums is an autumnal treat

Mouth-watering local fruits and berries are available in shops and markets, and if you're lucky enough to have the space and patience to grow your own dessert ingredients, the season is a real treat.

All good things must come to an end, and with summer winding down into autumn, it's time to say goodbye to the likes of strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants for another year, making sure we have stocked up on enough fruit preserves to keep us supplied through winter.

The beginning of September doesn't necessarily spell the end of recipes using locally harvested fruits, however. Several varieties of apples and pears are at their best during the coming months and, of course, scouring hedgerows for wild brambles is a pleasant way to keep the kids occupied on a sunny autumn afternoon.

Aficionados of all things fruity will especially look forward to this time of year as it means the arrival of plums in their kitchen gardens or at their local grocers.

On a kitchen or dining room table, nothing suggests autumn better than a big bowl of fresh plums with all their rich colours, ranging from yellows and oranges through to reds and dark purples, and they come in a variety of flavours too, from agreeably sour to incredibly sweet.

For many people, plums are best simply washed and eaten beautifully ripe and fresh, but cooks and chefs will find many sweet and savoury uses for them on an autumn menu.

With the current craze for retro British cooking you can expect to see the likes of plum cobbler and plum crumble appearing on seasonal restaurant menus, while plum and almond tart is a true classic.

A spoonful of plum compote makes an excellent base for a crme brulee, and similarly plum clafoutis, fresh plums baked in a sweet batter is a fairly straightforward dinner-party favourite.

Although you can find many recipes for plum jam, you may find that once made it tends to remain at the back of the larder much longer than its summer fruit equivalents. With that in mind, if it's a preserve you fancy, a plum chutney may be a better option, especially in a recipe together with apple which should provide that sweet and tart combination that a chutney needs to compliment cold meats.It's best to buy plums that are still on the firm side of ripe and eat or cook with them within two or three days.

If you find yourself with a surplus, you could make a plum compote with sugar and a little butter and pop it in the fridge for use later in a sauce or as a dessert flavouring, or you can find that they freeze surprisingly well, so long as you halve them and remove the stones first.

The third option is to soak them in alcohol, such as brandy, and pour the liqueur over ice-cream, or simply use it to toast a long and mild autumn.

• Andy McGregor is chef/proprietor at Blonde Restaurant, 75 St Leonard's Street, 0131-668 2917.