Beach plum

Prunus maritima

fruit

Small purple plums, sour and slightly astringent, picked on the dunes and cooked into jelly, Cape Cod's “beach plum jelly”.

Origin

Dunes of the US Atlantic coast (New England)

Where to find it

On the dunes of Cape Cod, Long Island and New Jersey; the jelly is sold in Cape Cod grocery stores and markets in late summer.

Season (United States)

August to September · grows in your region

Preparation

The plums are cooked whole for about twenty minutes, then strained to remove stones and skins; raw, they are astringent.

Molecules

In small amounts, not counted Pectins · Anthocyanins · Insoluble fibers

Did you know?

It grows in dune sand, where almost nothing else survives.