8 Plum Recipes to Make This Summer

How can you tell if a plum is perfectly ripe?

Ripe plums will have a sweet fragrant smell and will give slightly when gently squeezed. Look for fruit that has smooth, blemish-free skin. Hard fruit will continue to ripen after picking, but avoid very soft and squishy fruit.

What are Italian plums?

Italian plums, also referred to as Italian prune plums are much smaller and darker than plums grown in the US. They have an oblong egg shape and are about the size of a large strawberry.

How should fresh plums be stored?

If your plums are still a little firm and unripe when you bring them home, store them at room temperature until they smell fragrant and have softened slightly. Once your plums are ripe, store them in the refrigerator inside an open plastic bag or an old egg carton.

What’s the difference between plums, pluots, plumcots, and apriums?

Surely you’ve noticed some kinda kooky names attached to the plethora of plum-like creatures proliferating in produce aisles in recent years. Pluot. Plumcot. Aprium. Each of them are slightly different yet still largely the same in terms of being a cross of plums and apricots.

In contrast to the rather tart tang of old-fashioned plum varieties, these new-fangled stone fruits have a sweet-tart flavor. They’re all good in our book. Just slightly different from one another.