• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Tree Top Home
  • Consumer Products
  • Foodservice
  • Ingredients
  • Contract Manufacturing
Tree Top Food Ingredients
Fruit Ingredients
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blogs
  • Fruit Products
      • Fruit Purées
        • Single Strength
          • Apple Blend Purée
          • Apricot Purée
          • Blackberry Purée
          • Blueberry Purée
          • Organic Apple Purée
          • Organic Peach Purée (Cling and Freestone)
          • Organic Pear Purée
          • Peach Purée (Cling and Freestone)
          • Pear Purée
          • Plum Purée
          • Raspberry Purée
          • Strawberry Purée
          • Apple Sauce
      • Fruit Purées
        • Concentrated
          • Apple Purée Concentrate
          • Apricot Purée Concentrate
          • Blackberry Purée Concentrate
          • Blueberry Purée Concentrate
          • Organic Apple Purée Concentrate
          • Organic Apricot Purée Concentrate
          • Peach Blend Purée Concentrate (Cling and Freestone)
          • Pear Purée Concentrate
          • Plum Purée Concentrate
          • Red Raspberry Purée Concentrate
          • Red Tart Cherry Purée Concentrate
          • Strawberry Purée Concentrate
      • Fruit Juice Concentrates
        • Apple Juice Concentrate
        • Blackberry Juice Concentrate
        • Blueberry Juice Concentrate
        • Pear Juice Concentrate
        • Raspberry Juice Concentrate
        • Strawberry Juice Concentrate
      • Dried Fruit
        • Dried Apples – Low Moisture
        • Dried Apples – Intermediate Moisture
        • Dried Apples – Regular Moisture
        • Dried Fruit Powders
        • Dried Pumpkin Flake Powder
      • Fruit Preparations
      • Pet Food Ingredients
      • Specialty Markets
        • Hard Ciders and Alcohol
        • Reduced Sugars
      • Northwest Naturals
  • Resources
      • Specification Sheets
        • Dried Fruit
        • Fruit Purees
        • Apple Sauce
        • Fruit Juice Concentrates
        • Frozen Fruit
        • Fruit Preparations
      • Regulatory Documents
        • Quality Compliance Summary
        • Kosher Certificates
        • Organic Certificates
        • Storage & Shelf Life
        • Other Documents
        • New Customer Packet
      • Product Brochures
        • About Tree Top/Overview
        • Fruit Ingredient Full Product Catalogs
        • Dried Fruit
        • Strawberry Products-Frozen
        • Dairy
        • Hard Ciders
        • Pet Food
        • Northwest Naturals
        • Contract Manufacturing
        • Fruit Serving Calculations
        • Fruit Acid Cards
        • Seasonal Fruit Harvest Chart
      • Videos
      • Webinars
      • White Papers
      • Calculators
      • Market Trends News
      • Contract Manufacturing
  • Applications
      • Biscuits – Scones
      • Breads
      • Cakes
      • Cookies
      • Drinks
      • Entrees
      • Frozen Novelties
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Sugar – No Sugar
      • Muffins
      • Other Desserts
      • Pet Food
      • Pies
      • Plant Based
      • Salads
      • Sauces
      • Sides
      • Smoothies
      • Snack Bars
      • Snacks
      • Soups
      • Vegetable
  • Crop Info
        • Crop Report Blog

        • General Crop Info

        • Meet our Growers & Field Reps

        • Crop Information
        • Apples
        • Blackberries
        • Cherries
        • Grapes
        • Peaches
        • Pears
        • Raspberries
        • Strawberries
  • Samples
  • Fruit Products
    • Fruit Purées
    • Fruit Juice Concentrates
    • Dried Fruit
    • Fruit Preparations
    • Pet Food Ingredients
    • Specialty Markets
      • Hard Ciders & Alcohol
      • Reduced Sugars
    • Northwest Naturals
  • Resources
    • Specification Sheets
    • Regulatory Documents
    • Product Brochures
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Calculators
    • Market Trends News
    • Contract Manufacturing
  • Crop Info
    • Crop Report Blog
    • General Crop Info
    • Meet Our Growers & Field Reps
  • Blogs
    • Crop Report Blog
    • R&D Blog
    • Market Insights Blog
    • Pet Scoop Blog
    • Quality Food & Safety Insights
  • Sample Request
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Applications
  • Tree Top Sites
    • Tree Top Home
    • Consumer Products
    • Foodservice
    • Ingredients
    • Contract Manufacturing

Tree Top Fruit Ingredients

More Fruit, More Forms

Hide Search

Is It A Plum?  

Becky Douglas · Mar 12, 2019

Plums are the fruiting bodies from plants that belong to the subgenus Prunus (1). They have a smooth pit and a groove running down one side of the fruit. Plums have been cultivated all over the world since prehistoric times. Like other fruits such as apples, plums are available in many different varieties. The earliest known plums are believed to have originated in China around 470 BC with introduction to Europe of these same fruits around 500 years later. Additional geographical isolations have yielded the South Asian Cherry Plum and a number of American Plums (2).

Plums can be broadly divided into three groups within the subgenus based on variations in how they flower:

  • Prunus – or Old-World Plums which include such varieties as Damson, Japanese, Italian and Sloe or Blackthorne plums.
  • Prunocerasus – or New World Plums which include a number of varieties native to North and Central America.
  • Armenica – Which includes the apricot, Chinese Plum and Siberian apricot. (1, 4)

Today China is the leading harvester of plums, followed by the E.U., Romania, Serbia and the United States. Within the US, major production of plums happens in California (1). Advances in breeding methods and the number of cultivations has yielded many improvements in plums including

disease resistance, drought or frost tolerance, extended growing seasons and everyone’s favorite reasons – sweetness and flavor. By cross breeding varietals, nurseries have been able to supply hardy plants that will yield better tasting fruits year after year without genetic modification.

When plant varietals are interbred at the nursery, we end up with interspecific hybrid species. Such is the case with a wide variety of plum fruits that have come to be labeled Interspecific Plums

(IS Plums). These include hybrid crosses within the Prunus subgenus that have the outward appearance of a plum. We have heard them called plumcots, apriums, apriplums and Pluot®. These names can include any number of hybrid crosses between Prunus species. It is commonly stated that the Pluot®, developed and trademarked by Floyd Zaiger, is a cross between Old World and Armenica species with approximately 25% of

the parentage being Prunus armeniaca (apricot or Armenian Plum) (5, 7); however, testing to date has shown no distinct genetic alleles that can be identified as coming directly from Prunus armeniaca within the Pluot® (3).

The USDA states the visual grade standard for any fruit marked as Pluot® or IS Plum will be plum as long as the outward appearance of the fruit is similar to that of a plum (6). It is a misconception

that Pluot® are not plums. Pluot® are hybrids fruits that come from trees that belong fully to subgenus Prunus and are therefore plums. To provide transparency for our customers on this subject,

we are now listing ingredients as “Plum and/or IS Plum” in items that contain plum ingredients to reflect the similar handling and classification of the hybrid and heritage varieties that we process.

Plums contain an assortment of healthy components, vitamins, and minerals. According to USDA National Nutrient Database, they are an excellent source of vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), folate, and vitamin K (phylloquinone). They are also a good source of vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B-6, and vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol). The minerals present in them include potassium, fluoride, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, and zinc. They also supply dietary fiber and offer very low calories without any harmful fats. 

For the complete technical bulletin, download PDF. 

1) Wikipedia contributors. (2019, February 21). Plum. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:01, March 1, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title=Plum&oldid=884342469 2) Birwal P, Deshmukh G, Saurabh SP, et al. Plums: A Brief Introduction. J Food Nutr Popul Health. 2017, 1:1, March 16, 2017 http://www.imedpub.com/articles/plums-a-brief- introduction.pdf 3) Ahmad, Riaz & Potter, Daniel & Southwick, Stephen. (2004). Identi®cation and characterization of plum and pluot cultivars by microsatellite markers. Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology. 79. 164-169. 10.1080/14620316.2004.11511743. 4) Shi, Shuo & Li, Jinlu & Jiahui, Sun & Yu, Jing & Zhou, Shiliang. (2013). Phylogeny and Classification of Prunus sensu lato (Rosaceae). Journal of integrative plant biology. 55. 10.1111/jipb.12095. 5) Brantley, Chip (2009-08-19). “Plu-What? What’s the difference between pluots and plumcots”. Slate. 6) USDA Fruit and Vegetable Program. (May 2004). Plums and Prunes: Shipping Point and Market Inspection Instructions. 7) Wikipedia contributors. (2018, October 21). Prunus armeniaca. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 16:16, March 4, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Prunus_armeniaca&oldid=865003750

Blog Categories

Sign Up For Our Latest News

Receive the latest news and research right in your inbox!

Blog Home

Categories

  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Cherries
  • Concord Grapes
  • Crop Report Blog
  • Market Insights Blog
  • Nectarines
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Pet Scoop Blog
  • Plums
  • Quality Food and Safety Insights
  • Raspberries
  • Research and Development Blog
  • Strawberries
  • Uncategorized
  • Weather Conditions
  • Ingredients Products
  • Fruit Purées
  • Apple Sauce
  • Fruit Juice Concentrates
  • Dried Fruit
  • Specialty Markets
  • Fruit Preparations
  • Resources
  • Request Samples
  • Spec Sheets
  • Regulatory Documents
  • Crop Information
  • Harvest Chart
  • Applications
  • Sales Materials
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • Market Trends
  • About Us
  • Our Story
  • Facilities
  • Citizenship/Sustainability
  • Contract Manufacturing
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Blogs
  • Crop Update
  • Research and Development
  • Market Insights
  • Pet Scoop
  • Quality Food and Safety Insights
Northwest Naturals
Tree Top Ingredients Newsletter

Sign up to receive our monthly blog full of industry news and insights designed to keep you informed – delivered to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.