What is it?

Plums are small, round stone fruits with juicy, sweet-tart flesh and smooth skin that ranges in color from deep purple to red to yellow. Fresh plums are available from May to late October. And though some varieties are grown specifically to be dried into prunes, most plums are meant to be eaten out-of-hand eating or used in both sweet and savory cooking.

A plum is a plum is a plum. Or so it would seem, given that most stores label them simply red, black, purple, or yellow. But, in reality, there are at least 200 varieties. Once harvested, plums don’t store well and must be shipped and sold within 10 days. So growers produce several varieties that ripen on a staggered schedule from mid-May through October to ensure constant supply. What this means is that the red or purple plums you saw on your last market visit are probably not the same varieties you’ll find on your next.

Don’t have it?

Pluots or apricots made a good substitutes.

How to choose:

Choosing plums for baking:Go for firm-ripe plums. The ideal plum for baking is neither supersoft nor rock hard but somewhere in between. Take a plum and squeeze it gently in the palm of your hand. It should smell fragrant and feel firm yet springy. These plums are easy to slice, and during baking they become tender without losing their shape or releasing too much juice. If you can find only very firm plums, let them ripen in a paper bag at room temperature for a couple of days.For eating, choosefirm plums that give slightly to light pressure. Whatever color they may be, plums should feel heavy for their size, smell fragrant, and have smooth, taut skin. Don’t be put off by the silvery-gray film on a plum’s skin; it’s natural and an indicator of ripeness. Avoid any fruit with cracks, blemishes, or soft spots.

How to prep:

To remove the pit, start at the stem end of the plum and following the natural indentation, use a sharp paring knife to cut through the flesh to the pit, running the knife all the way around the plum to finish where you started. Gently twist the plum halves in opposite directions until one half comes free of the pit. Remove the pit by prying up the pointed end with your fingernail or the tip of the knife.

How to store:

Unripe plums can be ripened in a day or two if you store them at room temperature in a paper bag with an apple or banana. Once ripe, refrigerate in a plastic bag for up to 4 days.

Recipes

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  Recipe

  Plum Tarte Tatin

  This dessert is the perfect showcase for juicy, ripe plums. Frozen puff pastry provides a great upgrade for the traditional pastry crust. This recipe is excerpted from 5 Ingredients: Quick…

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  Recipe

  Steak Salad with Plums and Gorgonzola

  This simple but elegant main-dish salad features grilled skirt steak, ripe juicy plums, fresh greens, and Gorgonzola. What’s not to like?

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  Recipe

  Whole Grilled Trout with Charred Corn and Black-Plum ChowChow

  Marked by the grill, the silver skin of a whole trout looks beautiful on the plate. If you don’t want to grill trout on the bone, it’s easy enough to…

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  Recipe

  Warm Kamut, Chicken, and Plum Salad

  The sweetness of plum counters the nuttiness of kamut and peppery arugula in this main dish salad. Substitute whatever stone fruit is in season if you prefer—apricots, peaches, or cherries…

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  Recipe

  Baked Plums with Cardamom Nut Crumble and Cream

  Warm, tender plums topped with softly whipped mascarpone and a crumble fragrant with cardamom are a simple, fuss-free dessert that also happens to be plate-licking good.

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  Recipe

  Rosemary Plum Cobbler

  The piney essence of rosemary adds complexity to this sweet summer plum cobbler, while a little semolina flour in the biscuits gives them a toothsome texture.

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  Recipe

  Plum, Ginger, and Poppy Seed Galette

  A double dose of ginger—ground and candied—adds fragrant warmth to this sweet, juicy tart. Poppyseeds in the crust add a hint of crunch as well as toasty goodness.

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  Recipe

  Turkish Lamb Köfte

  Found all over Turkey and the Middle East, köfte (KOF-ta) are essentially meatballs, often made from lamb. They’re traditionally served with warm flatbread, raw onions, and plain yogurt, but they're…