What Are Plums and How Can I Use Them?

If plums have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 119 recipes to try them in.

What are plums?

Plums are a juicy stone fruit, round to oval, with smooth skin that runs from yellow and red to a deep blue-purple, and a single hard pit at the center.

The flesh is sweet with a tart edge, especially right under the skin, which is where a lot of a plum's character lives.

There are two broad families worth knowing. Japanese plums are the big, round, juicy ones you eat fresh out of hand. European plums are smaller, denser, oval, and less juicy, which is exactly why they bake and dry so well.

That second group is the prune connection: a prune is simply a dried European plum, usually an Italian or d'Agen variety bred to hold its shape and sweetness once the water is gone.

Cooking With Plums

Fresh is the easy win. A ripe plum eaten over the sink, juice running down your wrist, needs nothing. Slice them into a fruit salad or a Sacramento Fruit Bowl, or onto a cheese board next to something salty.

Baking is where plums really come into their own. Their tartness keeps a dessert from turning cloying, and their juice bleeds into the crumb.

German Plum Cake and Pflaumenkuchen (Plum Cake) are the classics, built on dense Italian plums halved over a yeasted base, while Phyllo Plum Tart and Cinnamon Plum Tart show off the fruit fanned across pastry.

They cook down into jam beautifully thanks to the pectin in their skins. Roast halved plums with a little sugar and they collapse into a sticky compote for yogurt or ice cream. Plums even churn into Ben & Jerry's Plum Ice Cream.

Pairing and a Common Mistake

Plums love warm spice and almond. Cinnamon and ginger flatter them, vanilla and a touch of star anise deepen them, and toasted almond is why so many plum cakes carry a whiff of marzipan.

They pair with other stone fruit too, sitting happily beside peaches in a Fresh Peach & Plum Tart.

On the savory side, their sweet-tart juice cuts through fatty meat, so plums and pork or duck are an old match, and they thicken into chutney for cheese or curry.

Here is the mistake almost everyone makes: buying plums that are rock-hard and expecting them to be good. A hard plum at the store is underripe, and while it will soften on the counter, it never gets as sweet as one that ripened on the tree.

So pick fruit that already has a little give, and let it finish at home. A firm plum left at room temperature for two or three days, ideally in a paper bag, will soften and sweeten. Once it yields gently to a thumb and smells faintly floral, it is ready.

Substitutes

The closest swap is another stone fruit. Pluots and apricots step in for fresh eating and baking, bringing a similar sweet-tart juiciness, though apricots are smaller and less sharp.

For baking specifically, peaches and nectarines work in any plum tart or cake, just with a softer, sweeter flavor and a little more juice to manage. Fresh cherries can fill in where you want tart red fruit.

When a recipe calls for dried plums, prunes are the same thing; you can also reach for dried apricots or dates, though each shifts the flavor. Out of season, canned plums in syrup, drained, will stand in for cooked uses.

Buying and Storing

Choose plums that are plump and heavy for their size, with smooth, unbroken skin. A dusty, silvery sheen on the surface, called bloom, is natural and a good sign of freshness, so do not rub it off chasing a glossy look.

Skip any with brown spots or splits, along with shriveled or wrinkled fruit. Gently squeeze near the stem end, where a ripe plum gives slightly without feeling mushy.

Underripe plums belong on the counter, not in the fridge, where cold halts ripening and can turn the flesh mealy. Once they are ripe, move them to the fridge to slow things down, and they will keep for three to five days.

Bring chilled plums back to room temperature before eating, since cold mutes their flavor. To freeze, halve and pit them, lay the pieces on a tray until firm, then bag them; they hold for several months and drop straight into later jam or baking.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find plums: Plums are usually found in the produce section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Plums are a member of the Fruits and Fruit Juices US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

李子

British (UK) term

Plums

en français

prunes

en español

ciruelas pasas

How much do plums weigh?

Related

Fruits and Fruit Juices

Recipes using plums

There are 119 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Breakfast Fruit Focaccia

Breakfast fruit focaccia uses thawed frozen bread dough as a shortcut base, topped with sliced plums, butter, and cinnamon sugar. Tastes like a Tuscan breakfast pastry without the dough work.

Pork Hock with Pickled Sweet Red Pepper

I like this sour flavor. The best over buckwheat, but all is fine when over rice, potatoes, noodles, or just with lettuce mix. You may use pickled grilled red pepper.

Plum Ice Cream Souffles with Spiced-Plum Sauce

A great summer time dessert, lots of ripe and sweet plum give the souffles delicious flavor!

Plum Ice Cream Souffles with Spiced-Plum Sauce

A great summer time dessert, lots of ripe and sweet plum give the souffles delicious flavor!

Plum Ice Cream Souffles with Spiced-Plum Sauce

A great summer time dessert, lots of ripe and sweet plum give the souffles delicious flavor!

Homemade Kid Friendly Dessert

One of the most delicious desserts. Easy to make and wonderfully sweet. Try this recipe.

Veggie & Plum Flatbread

Onions, bell peppers and plums are arranged over the bread dough or pizza dough that's brushed with garlic olive oil. It's a cheese free flatbread but still so yummy.

Paperbark Smoked Duck with Lllawarra Plum Sauce

Paperbark smoked duck, garnished with mushrooms and finished with Illawarra Plum Sauce.

Cornish Hens & Plums on Baby Spinach

Grilled Cornish hens with a honey-cumin plum rub tucked under the skin, served on baby spinach with grilled plums and balsamic vinaigrette. A showstopping summer grill dinner.

Pork Shoulder in Chanterelle Sauce over Buckwheat

Pork shoulder in chanterelle sauce over buckwheat: tender pressure-cooked pork in a fragrant wild-mushroom sauce with herbs, spooned over nutty buckwheat. A rustic, comforting Eastern European plate.

Pork Ribs in Sour Cabbage

Nothing new under the sun, just my rendition of very popular dish in Eastern Europe, inspired by various cuisines of Carpathian Mountains. Cooked quite quick in a pressure cooker.

Spring Cabbage with Bacon & Chorizo

for fans of spring cabbage and typical combinations..

Cold Plum Soup

Silky cold plum soup with red wine, brandy, sour cream, and warm cinnamon, chilled until velvety smooth. A refreshing Eastern European fruit soup that works as an elegant starter or a light summer dessert.

Homemade Fruit Dessert

One of the easiest desserts and also very tasty and healthy. Kids will love this dessert. Try it!!

Decadent Plum Clafoutis

Fresh and seasonal plums, creamy and rich custard are baked together to make this irresistibly decadent plum clafoutis.

Glazed Plum Bundt Cake

Glazed plum bundt cake with chopped fresh plums, walnuts, cinnamon, and a warm brown sugar glaze. A late-summer fruit cake with juicy plum pockets and a tender, oil-based crumb.

Peach & Almond Bread with Maple Glaze

Fresh stone fruits, nutty almond and pure maple syrup make this delicious and fruity bread. Unlike peach pie, this peach bread has a fluffy and crumbly texture, with the maple-glazed peaches on top, it is a great joy to have it.

Spiced Italian Prune-Plum Cake

A spiced Bundt cake studded with Italian prune-plums and walnuts, laced with cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, then finished with a mocha-cocoa frosting. A stunning fall dessert.

Plum & Strawberry Galette

No sophisticated baking skills are required to make this super fruity and delicious galette. Slice up the plums and strawberries, roughly roll the dough into a round, placed the fruits over the dough, rustically fold the edges around the fruits. How simple is that, and it tastes absolutely delicious!

Peach & Apricot Preserve

Peach apricot preserve combines summer stone fruit with plums and lemon juice into a small-batch jam with no added pectin. Perfect for spreading on toast, swirling into yogurt, or gifting in jars.

Cinnamon Plum Tart

A famous Scottish style pie or tart. Plums baked in a rich and creamy custard.

Fresh Peach & Plum Tart

Inspired by the fresh peach tart recipe I made a few days ago, yesterday came out this fresh peach and plum tart recipe. This time I used a lot both freshly seasonal peaches and plums, and also made a 11-inch tart to satisfy my fruit tart craving. It came out beautiful and delicious, definitely the kind of dessert that I love to have in summer!

Grandma's Best Plum Cake

Loved this cake very much. The plums became juicy and sweet after baking, which added a great addition to the cake. With a cup of coffee or tea, a perfect afternoon snack.

Sacramento Fruit Bowl

This fruity delicious dish is made with pineapple, honeydew melon, cantalope and nectarines.

Ben & Jerry's Plum Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's plum ice cream layers macerated plum juice into a sweet cream base, then swirls plum puree in at the end of churning. Vermont custard with bright fruit ribbons in every scoop.

Pflaumenkuchen (Plum Cake)

Pflaumenkuchen: traditional German plum cake on a buttery shortbread base with quartered Italian prune plums and peach jam glaze. Late summer pastry heaven.

German Plum Cake

German plum cake (Zwetschgenkuchen) layers fresh plum wedges over a yeast-and-baking-powder dough, finished with cardamom sugar. A late-summer Bavarian classic for coffee hour.

German Plum Cake (Healthier Version)

By using most whole wheat flour and olive oil makes this German plum cake much healthier but still tastes super moist and delicious.

Phyllo Plum Tart

Sweet, sour, refreshing and tasty. This is a great dessert that's easy to put together and comes out delicious. Light enough, so you don't have to worry about putting on too many calories, and still satisfies your sweet tooth.

Hot Fruit Compote

Baked hot fruit compote with plums, peaches, and mandarin oranges in a brown sugar-lemon glaze. A warm, easy dessert or brunch side from pantry staples.

Plum-Almond Tart

Plum-almond tart on puff pastry with toasted almonds, fresh sliced plums, lemon zest, and a built-up pastry border. Uses store-bought puff pastry for an elegant dessert in 40 minutes.

Perach Kisan "Custard Fruit Pie"

Perach Kisan is similar to Prusah Kisan but differs in fruit and the arrangement

Five Spice Plum Sorbet

Five spice plum sorbet purees canned plums with dry sherry and Chinese five spice powder, then churns into a fragrant Asian-inspired summer sorbet. Five ingredients, no added sugar.

Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Plums & Rosemary

Pork tenderloin seared and roasted until juicy, served with plums slow-roasted in balsamic, vanilla bean, and rosemary. A bistro-style main that reduces its own pan liquid into a glossy, sweet-tart sauce.

Poppy Seed & Vanilla Pound Cake with Citrus Plum Compote

This buttery, moist and delicious cake is served with spiced and citrus plum compote, perfectly paired!

Red Plum & Almond Tart with Cream & Sour Cream Topping

Fluffy puff pasty filled with red plum and almond, after baking it comes out juicy inside and crispy outside, topped with cream and sour cream mixture, giving the extra creaminess!

Plum Brandy

Homemade plum brandy infused with fresh plums and sugar in gin. A 3-ingredient fruit liqueur that steeps for 3-4 days and strains into a smooth, sweet sipper.

Plum Good Pie

Plum good pie with fresh plum wedges arranged like petals over a buttery from-scratch crust, dusted with cinnamon sugar, and bound with beaten eggs into a custard-fruit hybrid.

Ripe Plum Filling for Pierogies

Ripe plum filling for pierogies uses fresh peeled plums with sugar and cinnamon tucked inside pierogi dough. A traditional Eastern European sweet dumpling filling with three ingredients.

Blueberry Ketchup

Blueberry ketchup blends ripe berries with tomato, plums, ginger, and warm spice into a savory-sweet condiment. Pair with grilled meats, cheese boards, or burgers for unexpected depth.

Autumn Dessert Cake

Autumn dessert cake, a moist hazelnut and pecan torte topped with juicy plums and brushed with a lime marmalade glaze. Nutty, fruity, and barely any flour, finished with a scatter of almonds.

Damson Cheese (Zwetschgenmus)

Traditional German Zwetschgenmus (damson plum cheese) slowly cooked for hours into a thick, spreadable fruit butter with just plums and water. No added sugar needed.

Giglio's Fruit Salad [T]

Fruit salad with plums, peaches, bananas, and grapes dressed in hot pepper-infused champagne and rice milk. A dairy-free salad with unexpected heat and elegance.

Fruited Rice Pudding

Fruited rice pudding made with skim milk and brown sugar, topped with fresh nectarines and plums. A creamy, low-fat stovetop dessert you can serve warm or chilled.

Fruity Sangria

Use white wine if you prefer but again, something light and fruity.

Nori Rolls (Murreita)

Vegetarian nori rolls (murreita) wrap brown rice, mung sprouts, carrot, cucumber, daikon, and umeboshi plum in toasted nori. A macrobiotic-style sushi roll with no fish required.

Citrus Spiced Plum Pavlovas

This light dessert is so refreshing, pavloas is made from egg whites, which is light and fluffy, spiced plum adds the fruity flavor. Perfect dessert after a heavy main dish!

Ginger Peach Plum Butter

Ginger peach plum butter: a 10-minute microwave fruit spread with diced peaches, plums, and warm ginger. Sugar-free and ready for toast, yogurt, or scones.

Pear-Plum Spread

Pear-plum spread made with fresh pears, red plums, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger with no added sugar. A spiced fruit butter you can process for canning or store in the fridge.

Skewered Fruit

Grilled fruit skewers with peaches, plums, mango, and papaya brushed with butter and sprinkled with cardamom sugar. Served with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

All 119 recipes