Fruit adds so much flavor and variety to our lives that it is hard to imagine our lives without them. Plums offer several health benefits, including lowering our blood sugar and helping prevent heart disease. These tiny purple fruits pack a healthy punch, but they often become soft quickly. It makes us wonder whether plums go bad.
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Do Plums Go Bad?
Yes, plums don’t stay fresh forever. Plums go soft within a few days, and if left longer, they can be prone to mold contamination. In addition, plums have a rich, dark purple color. However, when they become black or spotty, they are no longer fresh. Therefore, plums that have mold spots on them should never be consumed.
Additionally, plums with worms or larvae are no longer fresh and shouldn’t be eaten. Plums with shriveled skin are also past their best consumption date, and you should not eat them. Plums tend to lose their great color as time passes, and plums have gone rancid.
How Long Do Plums Last?
If you buy your plums unripened, they will take a day or two to be ripe enough to be enjoyed. It is best to wait until your plums are ripe before eating them. This is because unripened plums are hard and unpleasant to eat. Once your plums are mature, you’ll have about 3 to 5 days to eat them if you keep them in the fridge.
If you bought great quality plums and keep them in the refrigerator, you might be lucky enough to have your plums remain fresh for up to a week. However, if your plums are cut, this will shorten their shelf life dramatically. Cut plums tend to last up to two days in the fridge.
If you prefer to keep your plums at room temperature and you choose not to put them in the fridge, their shelf life will be much shorter. How long your plums will last outside the refrigerator depends on the weather, humidity, and sunlight in the room where you are keeping them.
This makes it hard to pinpoint the exact number of days in which your plums are fresh. However, it is recommended to consume your room temperature plums within two days to avoid disappointment.
If your plums are cut into slices, they need to be consumed within six hours or will not be fresh enough to enjoy. If you want your plums to last for a long time, freeze them. By putting your plums in the freezer, you can make them last up to a year.
| Pantry | Refrigerator | Freezer | |
| Whole plums | 1 or 2 days | 3 to 5 days | 10 to 12 months |
| Cut plums | 4 to 6 hours | 1 to 2 days | 6 months |
4 Tips to Tell if Plums Have Gone Bad
Although plums offer countless health benefits, biting into a plum that is past its best isn’t a pleasant experience. Therefore it is beneficial to know when a plum is no longer fresh. As with all fruit, there are ways to tell if it has gone past its best by smelling, touching, and examining the fruit.
Smelling your plums
By smelling your plums, you might be able to tell if your plums have become rancid. Fresh plums have a fresh and pleasant smell.
However, plums that have gone bad smell sour and foul. Therefore, if you smell your plums and they have a vinegary smell, chances are they have passed their freshness date, and you shouldn’t consume them.
Touching your plums
Feeling your plums will give you a good idea of whether they are still fresh enough to be enjoyed. If your plums feel squishy or mushy, it is best not to eat them.
Likewise, if they feel slimy or hairy, don’t consume them. If your plums are oozing at a gentle touch, they have gone past their consumption date. Plums that feel sticky or saggy should be avoided, too. Fresh plums feel plumb, and the flesh feels soft but firm enough not to feel squishy.
Looking at your plums
Fresh plums have a gorgeous dark purple color. Plums that are no longer fresh might become discolored or misshapen. Also, if your plums’ skin has become wrinkly, it is an indication that your plums aren’t fresh anymore. Plums that have spots, mold, or growths on them should never be eaten. Also, if your plums have worms or larvae, they are not suitable for consumption anymore.
If you are unsure about the freshness of your plums, it is recommended to open the fruit first and examine the pit and flesh. This way, you get to see clearly whether it is still suitable for consumption. Also, always wash your plums properly before eating them.
Cut your plums in half.
If you have touched, looked at, and smelled your plums and are still unsure whether they are fresh, you can cut your plums in half and look inside the fruit.
Fresh plums have a healthy pit that hasn’t split or isn’t moldy. The flesh inside the plum is juicy and tender. Most of all, there aren’t any worms or larvae in fresh plums.
3 Tips For Storing Your Plums
Knowing how to store your plums properly can lead to happy plum munching for much longer. However, there is a big difference in the shelflife of whole plums and plums that are cut. As with all fruit, the minute you cut fruit, the quality starts to decrease.
Storing your plums in your pantry
Keeping your plums at room temperature isn’t ideal if you want your plums to last. However, you might end up storing your plums outside of the fridge.
If you have whole plums, they will last up to two days outside of the refrigerator. Be sure to place them in a place where they won’t be exposed to direct sunlight and heat.
If you notice that one plum has gone bad, but the other still seems fine, remove the bad plum immediately. If you have cut plums, you should put them in an airtight container and consume them within six hours if they are left outside the fridge.
Storing your plums in the refrigerator
Your plums will last a great deal longer if they are kept in the refrigerator. Whole plums can last up to five days in the fridge. Make sure you wash them before storing them in the fridge.
Place your plums in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap for best results. If you have cut plums, place them in an airtight container, and they should remain fresh in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Storing your plums in the freezer
Plums will stay fresh for the most extended period if you freeze them. By placing your plums in the freezer, you will have fresh plums for up to 12 months if they are whole plums.
Cut plums will last about half of that amount. It is best to store your plums in a ziplock bag or container that is freezer-friendly. You can place your plums deep in your freezer so that there is no risk of defrosting.
When you are ready to eat your plums, remove them from the freezer and give them enough time to thaw completely before enjoying them.
The Risk of Consuming Plums That Have Gone Bad
It sometimes happens that we eat fruit that has gone rancid without intending to or even realizing it. Fortunately, it is most likely that nothing will happen if you eat plums that have gone bad.
Most people don’t feel any side effects from eating plums that aren’t fresh anymore. They might only end up with a bad taste in their mouth.
However, not all people are the same, and some are more sensitive to rotten food. Luckily, if you feel ill after consuming a plum, it will pass quickly, and your discomfort is only temporary. However, if you are nauseous after a day, you should see your doctor for safety’s sake.
Can You Freeze Plums?
Yes, plums freeze exceptionally well. You can freeze your plums as whole fruit or prepare them for more accessible storage in your freezer by cutting them in half, removing the pit, and slicing them up into slices.
It is best to keep your plums in a ziplock bag or airtight container suitable for a freezer. Your plums will remain fresh in your freezer for up to 12 months if they are whole fruit or six months if they have been cut into slices.
Thawing your frozen plums is a quick and easy process. Just remove your plums and place them in a container filled with water until they have completely defrosted.
They will taste fresh and delicious. Freezing your plums is the most effective way to keep them fresh if you aren’t intending to eat them within a day or two of picking or purchasing them.
Summary
Plums are excellent fruit that gives us nutrients and fiber. The sweetness of the fruit makes it a popular snack for people of all ages, and it is gentle enough to be cooked and used as one of a baby’s first foods. It is essential to know how to store your plums so that you can avoid your plums from going bad.