


Plums and prunes are both known for their laxative effect. Plus, they contain several antioxidants and are considered a top antioxidant food, accounting for the numerous plum benefits. The fruit is juicy and delicious when eaten fresh, and it can also be dried, used in jam-making and added to other recipes. Plum juice can even be fermented into plum wine.ĭried plums (or prunes) are also sweet and juicy. The taste of the plum ranges from sweet to tart. The red plum tends to be the most common and popular variety. Some are much firmer-fleshed than others, and the colors range from yellow to white, green and red. Plums come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. That means the fleshy fruit surrounds a single hard seed. Plums are in the same family as benefit-rich cherries and peaches, as they are all flowers that make a fruit with a groove running down one side and a smooth stone or pit.Ĭommercial plum trees are medium-sized, usually pruned to 16 feet in height. The plums are usually between one to three inches in diameter, and their shape is globe-like or oval. Plums are characterized as drupes. What Are Plums?Ī plum is a fruit of the subgenus and genus Prunus. Read on to learn more about this wonderful fruit and the plum benefits you can get from eating it.


When you dig a little deeper into plum nutrition, it’s easy to see why this fruit is valued in traditional medicine for its healing and nourishing effects. That’s not to mention prunes and prune juice, which come from dried plums and help regulate digestion. Those round red plums that you pass in the grocery store during the summer and autumn months are choke-full of antioxidants that help to fight disease and signs of aging, along with a whole host of other plum benefits. Did you know that plum remains have been found in Neolithic Age archaeological sites along with olives, grapes and figs? In fact, plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans, and when you take into consider the wide range of plum benefits there are, it makes perfect sense.
