• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Policy
Family-Friends-Food
  • All Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Soups & Starters
    • Main Dishes
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
      • Fish
    • Side dishes & Salads
    • Baking & Desserts
  • Holiday Recipes
    • Chanukah
    • Purim
    • Pesach
    • Lag Ba’Omer
    • Shavuot
    • Rosh Hashanah
    • Succot
  • Get Updates
  • Shop
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • BREAKFAST
  • SOUPS & STARTERS
  • MAIN DISHES
  • – VEGAN
  • – VEGETARIAN
  • – FISH
  • SIDES & SALADS
  • BAKING & DESSERTS
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • ABOUT
  • GET MY BOOK
  • CONTACT
  • PRIVACY POLICY
×

Home » Side dishes & Salads » Pickled green plums – a Middle Eastern springtime treat

Pickled green plums – a Middle Eastern springtime treat

This page may contain affiliate links, which won't change your price, but may share some commission. For more information, please visit my Privacy Policy page.

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

Unripe plums are transformed into crunchy, moreish salty-sour-spicy delights! Pickled green plums are a seasonal treat in Israel & across the Middle East.

About a week ago I was in town and needed to buy some fruit and veg. I nipped into the nearest grocers, which happened to be one of Cambridge’s fabulous Middle Eastern shops. But when I got to the till, my purchases didn’t quite come to £5, which was the minimum for a credit card purchase. So, I quickly looked around and grabbed what I thought was a punnet of greengages, to make up the difference.

Overhead image of a jar of green plums packed in salt.

Sour green plums

Once home, I realised my mistake. These weren’t greengages, they were small, unripe, sour green plums! Picked early, before they have time to mature and develop, these fruits are a seasonal treat across the Middle East. They are usually eaten raw, dipped into salt, or else pickled. I tried one raw, but to my untrained palate it was much too sour! I consulted an Israeli friend, and she encouraged me to have a go at pickling, instead.

jar of green plums and star anise packed in salt.

Regional variations

There are numerous ways to pickle green plums, and a quick google search revealed regional variations from Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Morocco and more*. In the end, I settled on this simple recipe from Creative Jewish Mom, which is based on one from her husband’s Moroccan family. I didn’t fancy the chilis though, and was going to use an un flavoured brine. But at the last minute I threw in some coriander seeds and star anise. You know I can never leave anything plain, right?!

Jar of green plums in brine with star anise.

These pickled green plums were so simple to make, and they looked amazing. The plums are so very fresh and green and vibrant! I can see why these are seen as a herald of Spring. After a week, I tentatively opened the jar and tried a pickled plum…

Open jar of pickled plums in brine.

Sour-salt-spice

And it was delicious! Seriously good. I could probably have munched down half the jar, but I managed to control myself so that I could take some photos! As you can see, the once-green plums have changed colour somewhat, losing their bright green hue and becoming a mellow brownish yellow. They have also lost their overpowering sourness, taking on a wonderful sour-salt-spicy flavour while retaining their fabulous crunch.

Overhead image of an open jar of pickled plums, with the lid on the right.

I think these pickled green plums will be great with cheeses or humous, as part of a picnic or mezze platter, as the garnish in a dry martini, or anywhere you might serve olives or capers. Or you can just chomp them straight from the jar!

I don’t know how long the sour green plum season lasts, so look out for them now in your local Middle Eastern shops. 

Pickled sour green plums - a Middle Eastern Springtime treat.

Want deliciously easy, family-friendly recipes like this one delivered straight to your inbox? Click here to sign up. (Of course, I’ll never pass on your email address to anyone.)

jar of green plums and star anise packed in salt.

Pickled sour green plums

Prevent your screen from going dark
Unripe plums are transformed into crunchy, moreish salty-sour-spicy delights! Pickled green plums are a seasonal treat in Israel and across the Middle East.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 10 mins
Pickling time 7 d
Total Time 7 d 10 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Israeli, Middle Eastern
Servings 16
Calories 6 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 200-250 g unripe sour green plums
  • 1½ tablespoon coarse salt
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ teaspoon coriander seeds
  • Boiled water

Instructions
 

  • Wash the plums. Using a sharp knife score a line around each plum.
  • Sterilise a medium jar with boiling water. Pack the prepared plums into the jar.
  • Add the salt, star anise and coriander seeds to the jar, then poured boiled (but slightly cooled) water to fill the jar. Screw the lid on tightly.
  • Allow the water to cool completely, then put the jar in the fridge and allow to pickle for at least a week.
  • Eat and enjoy!

Notes

Store the pickled plums in the fridge once the jar has been opened.
 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Pickled sour green plums
Amount per Serving
Calories
6
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
1
g
2
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Sodium
 
654
mg
28
%
Potassium
 
21
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
 
1
g
0
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
1
g
1
%
Protein
 
1
g
2
%
Vitamin A
 
43
IU
1
%
Vitamin C
 
1
mg
1
%
Calcium
 
2
mg
0
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword plum
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Punnet of green plums next to a jar of plums in brine with star anise.

*These sour plums are known as shazifim yerakim in Israel, gojeh sabz in Iran, jarareng in Lebanon, erik in Turkey, and janarek in Jordan.

If you’re wondering what I did with the remaining plums in the punnet, I cooked them up with some sugar to make a green plum compote. It wasn’t bad, but the pickled green plums were better!

 

« Asparagus carbonara with sun dried tomatoes
Cafe hafuch – Israeli ‘upside down’ coffee »
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
click to subscribe

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Don Mear

    May 12, 2022 at 9:52 pm

    What size are the plums, like in terms of an olive?

    Reply
    • Helen

      May 13, 2022 at 8:21 am

      Hi Don. The plums are a bit bigger than an olive, probably about 3cm across (just over an inch).
      I hope this helps! All the best, Helen.

      Reply
  2. Tania Blak

    December 12, 2020 at 1:12 am

    Hi there
    I am wondering if they have to be pipped? I don’t think so from the instructions…and could I use up ripe red plums?
    Thx.
    Tania

    Reply
    • Helen

      December 12, 2020 at 11:22 am

      Hi Tania. No, you don’t need to take the stones out. I’m not sure this recipe would work with ripe plums – it’s designed for really hard green ones. You might be better off making a chutney or something similar if you want to preserve them. All the best, Helen.

      Reply
  3. DAVID GRAHAM

    July 21, 2019 at 2:51 am

    Just curious, the recipe ends with plums in the fridge, then with a note saying they need to be in the fridge after opening. When did they leave the fridge?

    Reply
    • Helen

      July 28, 2019 at 8:31 pm

      Um, every time you remove the jar from the fridge to eat one?
      Really it’s just a reminder to people that once pickled, the plums still need to be refrigerated. I’m sorry if that wasn’t completely clear.

      Reply
    • Pesco

      June 05, 2022 at 8:36 pm

      Great! Make sure everyone that you get Middle Eastern sour green plums which is called “Gojeh sabz” in Persian and “Jenerik” in Arabic. Other variety of plums while unripe are not good for this recipe.

      Reply
      • Helen

        June 08, 2022 at 8:32 am

        Thanks for the tips Pesco!

        Reply
  4. Annette Anderson

    January 04, 2019 at 8:23 pm

    Can I use unripe plums for this

    Reply
    • Helen

      January 04, 2019 at 8:27 pm

      Yes! This recipe is great for unripe green plums. I hope you enjoy them.

      Reply
  5. Coreen Lecocq

    April 21, 2018 at 11:16 pm

    Thanks so much. Went shopping with my 10 year old son yesterday and he wanted to buy these four green plums to try and to pickle – I wasn’t sure if they could be pickled but I was reaffirmed that they can. My son and I will have fun. Thanks so much

    Reply
  6. Tony

    September 11, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Not to my taste!

    BUT after 1 week, drain the brine and discard – refill the jars with distilled vinegar, replace lids – leave for another week AND then they truly are so delicious.

    Reply
    • Helen

      September 11, 2017 at 7:51 pm

      Glad you found a way to enjoy them! I’ll have to try your method next time.
      Although I found them totally addictive in the brine…

      Reply
  7. Caren Weinberg

    June 23, 2016 at 12:39 pm

    Gotta love those friends in Israel… 🙂

    Reply
    • Helen

      June 23, 2016 at 12:48 pm

      Where would I be without them?!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Find Recipes

Thanks for your support!

Featured Posts

Overstuffed bagel toast

Overstuffed bagel toast – this is so much more than a toastie!

A plate of golden brown crispy noodle latkes, with a blue cloth to the left and a metal server behind.

Noodle latkes – a Romanian Chanukah tradition

Overhead image of a metal bowl of arbes - chickpeas with salt and ground black pepper. Spoon to right, and blue and white cloth to left.

Arbes – simple but delicious Ashkenazi chickpeas

Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs   Copyright © 2023 Family-Friends-Food · Log in