Plum Orchard

When the plums were ripe, Hooft liked to invite his friends to the Muiderslot. He often concluded his letters with his famous greeting, “Until plum time. The plum orchard was thus not only a place where fruit was grown, but also a place where people came together.

At the end of the last century, the plum orchard was recreated. You can discover many different historic plum varieties here. What is striking is that the trees have short trunks. They were deliberately grown this way so that they were easier to prune and harvest.

Collections expert and castle chef Siebren tells more about food at the Muiderslot, with a special focus on prunes and sugar. What was eaten, how was cooking done and why were some ingredients special? In this video he connects the orchard with the castle kitchen.