A French gage with the classic gage-like flavour, yet whereas most gages prefer warm climates, Oullins Gage also grows well in the cooler climates of the UK and northern Europe. Rated by the noted Victorian writer Hogg as having "exquisite flavour and handsome appearance".
Oullins Gage gets its name from the town of Oullins near Lyon in France, where it was first discovered. It is also known as Reine Claude d'Oullins.
The fruit is large by gage standards - more like a small plum (and reckoned by some experts as a gage-like plum rather than a true gage). It is a particularly attractive golden colour, with faint red dots - very pretty in a fruit bowl.
Oullins Gage is equally good for fresh or culinary use. Eaten fresh, the flesh is sweet and gage-like - perhaps not as good as some others, but far better than most shop-bought plums. For culinary use, pick slightly early when it is still firm. The flavour of Oullins Gage is also fairly consistent between seasons, and it will perform well even in a poor summer.
The stone is semi-clinging.
It is interesting to compare Oullins Gage (a gage-like plum) with one of its offspring - Opal. Opal is a true plum but best considered as a gage-like plum, since it inherits some of the gage-like flavour of Oullins Gage.
The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.
Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.
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The following tree nurseries offer Oullins Gage gage trees for sale:
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