Plum vs Apricot: What's the Difference?
Short answer: Plum (Prunus domestica or salicina) and apricot (Prunus armeniaca) are both stone fruits in the genus Prunus. Plums have smooth, hairless skin in purple, red, green, or yellow, juicy flesh, and a sweet-tart flavour with a tangy skin. Apricots are smaller, orange, with a soft velvety skin and firmer, drier, more floral flesh. The two cross-breed: a pluot is mostly plum, an aprium mostly apricot. Smooth skin means plum; velvety orange means apricot.
| 🟣 Plum | 🧡 Apricot | |
|---|---|---|
| Taste | 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. | Ripe apricots are honeyed and musky with apricot's unmistakable perfume and a velvet skin; underripe (most supermarket fruit) they're mealy and mute. Dried, the flavor concentrates to caramel-tang. |
| Type | Stone fruit | Stone fruit |
| Peak season | Summer, Autumn | Summer, Spring |
| Origin | Multiple domestications: European plum near the Caucasus, Japanese plum in China | Central Asia and northwestern China (the "armeniaca" name records Rome's supply route, not the birthplace) |
| Calories (per 100 g) | 46 | 48 |
| Sugar (per 100 g) | 9.9 g | 9.2 g |
| Vitamin C (per 100 g) | 9.5 mg | 10 mg |
| Typical price | Budget | Mid |
Plum and apricot are close enough to hybridise, yet a glance usually tells them apart.
A plum (Prunus domestica or Prunus salicina) has smooth, hairless skin that can be purple, red, black, green, or yellow, often with a dusty bloom. The flesh is juicy and sweet, with a characteristic tang concentrated in the skin. Plums are the larger, wetter fruit, ranging from tiny sugar plums to fist-sized Japanese types.
An apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is smaller and always some shade of orange, wrapped in a soft velvety skin. Its flesh is firmer and drier, and the flavour is sweet-tart with a floral lift. Because both are Prunus, breeders cross them: a pluot leans plum, an aprium leans apricot, blurring the line in the best way.
The quick test: smooth skin in any colour is a plum; velvety orange skin is an apricot.
Frequently asked questions
Are plums and apricots the same kind of fruit?
They're siblings in the stone-fruit genus Prunus, along with peaches and cherries, but distinct species. Plum is Prunus domestica (European) or Prunus salicina (Japanese); apricot is Prunus armeniaca. Both have a single hard pit, but their skins, colours, and textures differ.
What are pluots and apriums?
They're plum-apricot hybrids. A pluot is more plum than apricot, with smooth skin and intense sweetness; an aprium is more apricot, with a hint of fuzz and floral flavour. The fact that they cross so readily shows how closely related the two fruits are.
Which is better for eating fresh versus drying?
Plums are juicier and great fresh, and certain varieties dry into prunes. Apricots are firmer and drier, which makes them the classic dried fruit, but both are lovely eaten ripe off the tree.