Our Plum Salad makes an exotic addition to your dessert menu. Luscious plums are perfumed in exotic cardamom rose syrup, transforming them into morsels of sublime flavour.
Our gorgeously perfumed Plum Salad makes a wonderfully refreshing dessert option that I like to serve after a spicy curry, just what you need to cool off!
But honestly, this salad is so sublime that whenever I see a wide variety of plums on offer, I like to make a big batch of it to snack on during the week.
Table of contents
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Plums - with over twenty different plum varieties to choose from, all with varying hues, it is just a case of choosing your favourites or whatever you can easily find. We have used a combination of dark purple plums, red plums and oh sooo cute sugar plums. Plum choosing tips below ⬇️.
I have also made this salad with some peaches and nectarines, it was just as delicious.
- Blackberries - added here for a contrast in colour and texture; you can swap with blueberries or leave them out altogether; it is up to you.
- Cardamom Syrup - for some lush flavour and an out of this world aroma. If you don't have the time to fuss with a syrup, whisk up a quarter of a cup of lime juice, 1-2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup and two teaspoons of cardamom seeds or powder instead.
You Will Need
Step-by-Step Instructions
1MAKE SYRUP
Split the cardamom pods in half with some small kitchen scissors, careful though, they tend to fly off in all directions! TIP -cut them in a small plastic or paper bag.
Add the sugar, water, split cardamom pods and rose petals to a small pan. Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
Remove from the heat, and as we need to allow the syrup to cool before adding the lime juice and rosewater (otherwise, their flavours evaporate), we are just going to go ahead and prepare our plums.
ADD INGREDIENTS TO PAN PLACE ON HIGH HEAT BRING TO BOIL SIMMER UNTIL SUGAR DISSOLVES
COOL, ADD LIME & ROSE WATER STRAIN SYRUP & COOL
2PREPARE FRUIT
First, wash your blackberries under gently running cold water and let them stand to drain.
Wash, then dry all the plums, start at the fruit's stem end, cut to the pit, follow the indentation and cut around the pit until you come full circle. Trust me, following the indentation, makes it so much easier.
Twist both “halves” of the fruit in opposite directions, separate, then pull them apart.
Use a small sharp knife to prise the pit from the plums; for stubborn pits, you may need to cut around the pit to dislodge it.
For super, duper stubborn pits (I hate those), just slice around the pit in sections until you can wiggle the pit free. Then cut all your gorgeous plums into wedges.
Time to finish off the syrup! Add the lime juice and rose water to the cool syrup and stir through. Strain the syrup and discard the cardamom pods and rose petals.
LET STAND TO DRAIN RINSE BLACKBERRIES CUT AROUND PLUM TWIST PLUM PULL APART PLUM HALVES SLICE PLUMS COOL, ADD LIME & ROSE WATER STRAIN SYRUP
3ASSEMBLE SALAD
Place all the plums and cardamom seeds in a mixing bowl, pour over the cooled syrup (the syrup needs to be cool so that your plums don't soften) then toss well to combine.
Arrange in a salad bowl, garnish with the washed blackberries and let it chill in your fridge until you are ready to serve.
ADD PLUMS & CARDAMOM TO BOWL POUR OVER SYRUP MIX WELL TO COMBINE 
GARNISH WITH BLACKBERRIES 
SERVE & ENJOY!
How to Serve It
Great on its own, or serve it with some whipped cream, yoghurt, or ice cream.
For a fancy dinner party, try it with some cardamom saffron panna cotta;
just leave out the syrup in the recipe.
Tips & Questions
- Look for plums that give slightly to the touch and avoid hard or green ones as they will be immature and won’t develop a good flavour.
- Choose ones that are free of punctures, bruises or any signs of decay.
- Good quality plums will have a rich colour and a whitish bloom, which means they have not been handled too much.
The waxy coating on plums is epicuticular wax but is commonly known as the “bloom”. It is meant to protect your plums from moisture loss and insects.
Plum Salad can be made several hours in advance and kept chilled in the fridge until ready to serve.
You will just need to give it a good stir before serving - ahh ice-cold, plums on a hot day, magic!
Best stored in an airtight container in the fridge which should make it last approximately a week (without the blackberries, but who leaves those behind!).
- This salad is still great if kept in the fridge even after a few days.
- It makes a great topping for pancakes or oatmeal.
- Makes a wonderful alternative to the berries in this summer berry pudding.
- Sensational on top of lime cheesecake.
More Fruit Salad Inspiration!
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon rose petals
- 1 tablespoon cardamom pods
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons rose water
- 500 grams plums (approximately 18oz)*
- 500 grams red plums (approximately 18oz)*
- 500 grams sugar plums (approximately 18oz)*
- ½ teaspoon cardamom seeds
Instructions
- Split the cardamom pods in half, small kitchen scissors are perfect for this.
- Add the sugar, water, split cardamom pods and rose petals in a small pan.
- Bring to the boil and then lower the heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from the heat and cool for five minutes, then add the lime juice and rose water (otherwise, the flavours will evaporate).
- Strain the syrup and discard the cardamom pods and rose petals.
- In the meantime wash blackberries under gently running cold water let them stand to drain. Wash then dry all the plums.
- To cut plums, start at the fruit’s stem end, cut to the pit, and follow the indentation to to cut around the pit.
- Twist both “halves” of the fruit in opposite directions, separate and pull them apart.
- Use a small sharp knife to prise the pit from the plums, for stubborn pits you may need to cut around the pit to dislodge it.
- For super, duper stubborn pits just slice around the pit in sections until you are able to wiggle the pit free.
- Then you can slice your plums into wedges.
- Place all the plums and cardamom seeds in a mixing bowl, pour over the cooled syrup and toss well to combine.
- Arrange in a salad bowl, garnish with the washed blackberries.
- Keep it chilled in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have the time to fuss with a syrup, whisk up a quarter of a cup of lime juice, 1-2 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup and two teaspoons of cardamom seeds or powder instead.
- Use any combination of plums in whatever quantities suits you best, so long as you have a total of 1.5kg/3.3lbs of plums.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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