Cherry vs Plum: What's the Difference?
Short answer: Cherries and plums are both Prunus stone fruits, but a cherry is small, round, and eaten whole off its long stem, with firm sweet or tart flesh, while a plum is larger, softer, and juicier, with a groove down one side and a bigger flattened stone. Cherries ripen in early summer and are eaten by the handful; plums come a little later and are often larger, meatier, and used for both fresh eating and cooking.
| 🍒 Cherry | 🟣 Plum | 🔴 Cherry plum | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taste | Sweet cherries are juicy, snappy, and winey-sweet (Rainiers add a honeyed, low-acid delicacy); sour cherries are bright, almond-scented, and made for sugar and heat rather than raw eating. | Sweet flesh under tart, tannic skin is the plum signature — a built-in sweet-sour contrast. Greengages are pure honey; damsons astringent and jam-bound; Japanese plums juicy and mild. | Sweet-tart and juicy with a thin skin and soft, sometimes clingy stone; flavor ranges from bright and refreshing to richly sweet depending on color and ripeness. |
| Type | Stone fruit | Stone fruit | Stone fruit |
| Peak season | Summer, Spring | Summer, Autumn | Summer |
| Origin | Black Sea and Caspian region (Anatolia to the Caucasus) | Multiple domestications: European plum near the Caucasus, Japanese plum in China | The Balkans, the Caucasus, and Central Asia |
| Calories (per 100 g) | 63 | 46 | 46 |
| Sugar (per 100 g) | 12.8 g | 9.9 g | 9 g |
| Vitamin C (per 100 g) | 7 mg | 9.5 mg | 9 mg |
| Fiber (per 100 g) | 2.1 g | 1.4 g | 1.5 g |
| Potassium (per 100 g) | 222 mg | 157 mg | 190 mg |
| Typical price | Premium | Budget | Budget |
Cherries and plums are close relatives in the genus Prunus, the stone fruits, alongside peaches and apricots. Each is a single hard stone wrapped in juicy flesh and thin skin, but their scale and use differ.
A cherry is small and round, eaten whole off its long stem, often by the handful. Sweet cherries (Prunus avium) are firm and sugary; sour cherries (Prunus cerasus) are softer and sharp, destined for pies and jam. Cherries are among the first stone fruits of summer.
A plum is larger and softer, with a telltale groove running down one side and a bigger, flattened stone. Plums range from juicy round Japanese types eaten fresh to small oval European plums like damsons grown for cooking. They ripen a little later than cherries and are meatier in the hand.
Bridging the two is the cherry-plum (Prunus cerasifera) - a genuine plum shrunk to cherry size, round and red or yellow, and usually the earliest plum of the year. It shows how blurry the line between these cousins can get: same genus, same stone, different scale.
Frequently asked questions
Are cherries and plums related?
Yes, closely. Both belong to the genus Prunus, the stone fruits, which also includes peaches, apricots, and almonds. Cherries and plums share a single hard stone and thin edible skin, but differ in size, texture, and sweetness.
What is a cherry-plum?
The cherry-plum (Prunus cerasifera) is a true plum that happens to be about the size of a cherry - a small, round red or yellow fruit, usually the earliest plum to ripen each year. It's a plum in flavour and structure despite its cherry-like size.
Which is sweeter, a cherry or a plum?
It depends on the type. Sweet cherries are very sugary, while sour cherries are sharp; ripe dessert plums are sweet and juicy, but cooking plums like damsons are tart. At their best, a ripe sweet cherry and a ripe dessert plum are similarly sweet, with the plum juicier.