Plums
Peak season in the Midwest · up 11% this week
This fruit is at its local-harvest peak from June through September, and is generally in stores from May through October. This week it's peak season in the Midwest — buying it in season usually means better quality and, as the regional prices below show, a lower price.
Per a typical 66g serving, scaled from the per-100g figures in USDA FoodData Central (Plums, raw).
- 1 SouthwestCheapest $1.99/lb
- 2 Southcentral $2.20/lb
- 3 Midwest $2.34/lb
- 4 Northeast $2.74/lb
- 5 Southeast $2.79/lb
- 6 Northwest $2.99/lb
Buying plums in the Southwest saves about 33% versus the Northwest this week.
- How to pick a good one
- Look for a dusty white bloom on the skin, which is natural and a sign the fruit has not been over-handled. A ripe plum gives slightly at the shoulders near the stem. Rock-hard plums soften off the tree but gain little sweetness.
- What a good price looks like
- Plums run $2 to $3.50 a pound from July to September. Under $2.50 is a good price. They are usually cheaper than peaches or cherries in the same case and keep noticeably longer, which makes them the practical stone fruit to buy when you are not sure how fast you will get through it.
- What you actually get
- A pound is five or six plums and gives about 2 cups halved. The pit is 6 to 8% of the weight, the lowest waste of the common stone fruits. A pound roasts down to roughly a cup and a half of soft fruit and syrup.
- How to store it
- Counter to finish ripening, then refrigerate for up to five days. They go from firm to overripe quickly, so check them daily.
- In the kitchen
- Plums are one of the few stone fruits that are better cooked than raw when the price is low, because heat concentrates their acidity into something far more interesting than the raw fruit. Halve and pit them, cut side up, roast at 200°C for twenty minutes with a little sugar. The skins carry most of the tartness and colour, so leave them on.
- Getting the most out of it
- Plum skins are tart and the flesh is sweet, which is the whole appeal — do not peel them. They cook down into a jam or compote faster than most stone fruit, and roasting halves with a little sugar concentrates a mediocre batch into something good.
- Pear and Plum Puff Pastry Tart with Blue CheeseRecipe by Foodie Crush~$0.70 / serving 2 in-season
- Plum Good Pie RecipeRecipe by Natasha's Kitchen~$0.69 / serving 1 in-season
- Fresh Plum Cake with NutsRecipe by The Mediterranean Dish~$0.50 / serving 1 in-season
- Vanilla Plum ShrubRecipe by The Modern Proper~$0.82 / serving 1 in-season
- Gluten-Free Plum Crisp with Pistachio, Oat and Almond ToppingRecipe by Cookie + Kate~$1.24 / serving 1 in-season
- Sicilian-Style Fish Stew RecipeRecipe by The Mediterranean Dish~$5.75 / serving 4 in-season
See all 17 recipes with plums →Filter by diet, time, budget, and macros.
Price from the USDA National Retail Report. Nutrition per typical serving, computed from USDA FoodData Central.
Plums — FAQ
When can you buy plums in season?
This fruit is at its local-harvest peak from June through September, and is generally in stores from May through October. This week the Midwest has plums marked peak season.
What's the price of plums right now?
As of the week of September 4, 2026, the price of plums in the Midwest is $2.34/lb, up 11% from last week. It's cheapest in the Southwest at $1.99/lb.
How many calories and how much protein are in plums?
A typical 66g serving of plums has about 30 calories, 0.5g protein, 7.5g carbohydrates, 0.2g fat, and 0.9g fiber, per USDA FoodData Central.
What can I make with plums?
SeasonSort indexes 17 recipes that use plums, each with its cost per serving computed from this week's prices — starting from about $0.34 a serving. The cheapest are listed on this page, with a link to the full filtered list.