Plum

Plums are stone fruit from the genus Prunus, closely related to peaches, nectarines, and cherries. They come in a wide range of varieties — from small, tart damsons to large, sweet blood plums — with skin colours spanning deep purple, red, yellow, and green. The flesh is typically juicy and soft when ripe, with a flavour that ranges from honey-sweet to pleasantly tart.

Plums are delicious eaten fresh but also cook beautifully, making excellent jams, sauces, tarts, crumbles, and compotes. They pair well with spices like cinnamon and star anise, and complement rich meats like duck and pork.

In Australia, plums are a summer fruit, with the season running roughly from November to March. Popular varieties include blood plums, sugar plums, Angelina, and Queen Garnet. They are widely available at supermarkets, greengrocers, and farmers’ markets during the season.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Plum trees are deciduous fruit trees grown in temperate climates. They flower in spring and the fruit develops over summer, ripening on the tree. Plums are hand-picked when ripe or near-ripe, as they bruise easily. After harvest, they are sorted by size and quality, cooled to slow ripening, and distributed quickly due to their relatively short shelf life.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 46kcal
Protein 0.7g
Carbs 10g
Fat 0.3g
Fibre 1.4g Sugar 9.9g
Mass Distribution

1 fruit (2-1/8" dia) is about 66 g — roughly 30 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈0.71kg
Freshwater ≈180.01L
Land ≈0.81m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

Made from
Plum, fruit

In the kitchen

Used as

fresh stone fruit

Goes well with
almond cinnamon vanilla ginger pork
Classic dishes
  • Plum Tart
  • Plum Jam
  • Plum Sauce
  • Plum Cake

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromPlum, fruit goes well withalmond goes well withcinnamon goes well withvanilla goes well withginger goes well withpork shares a sourceBaby Food (Plum) shares a sourceCanned Plums shares a sourcePlum Jam shares a sourcePlum Sauce shares a sourcePrune (Dried Plum) shares a sourcePrune Juice
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