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Ever since Little Jack Horner stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum, stone fruit and desserts have been linked in the minds of English speakers. Plums and their stone fruit cousins, nectarines and peaches, make wonderful pies. But to limit such diverse fruits to just the dessert course would be to miss out on world of opportunity to play with these luscious gems. With summer officially underway this weekend, now is the time when the stone fruit shows its best stuff. What better occasion to experiment in giving these fruits more of a starring role in your nightly meal?
Stone fruits such as peaches, plums, and nectarines are part of a category of fruits called drupes. A drupe is when an outer fleshy layer surrounds a shell, otherwise known as a pit or stone. This category is fairly broad and includes everything from almonds and cherries to coffee and olives. But most commonly when we think of stone fruits that you might find clustered together in the farmers market, we would expect to find a variety of plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries and even pluots.
Peaches, one of the most common stone fruits, have potential far beyond the pie lattice. One of the easiest ways to incorporate peaches into your main course is by making a simple relish or salsa. This technique is especially useful when you go a bit overboard at the market and then realize you have several pounds of fruit you might never be able to eat when they are ripe.
Use the abundance of peaches to trim down the supply when they are still a bit on the hard side. A couple of diced peaches mixed with minced onion, a seeded diced cucumber, a minced Serrano chili, some lime juice, and a bit of sugar makes perfect foil to grilled chicken or pork. A relish is much like a salsa but the ingredients are often cooked. Try sauteing minced onion in some vegetable oil with some minced jalapeno. Add diced peaches along with some curry powder, lime juice, and bit of honey or sugar. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes or so. This curried relish would give a distinctive Caribbean spin to shrimp fritters or jerk chicken.
It should be a rule that all summer salads contain fruit. The nectarine, with its slightly firmer flesh than a peach makes it an easy addition to any dish, especially salads when segments are grilled or sauteed. Tossed with sugar and sauteed in melted butter, segments of nectarine develop a lovely caramelized crust. Mix those segments with baby spinach, almond slivers, goat cheese and red wine vinaigrette for a delectable first course, or add Herbs de Provence seasoned grilled chicken tenders for a satisfying main course. Grill nectarine slices drizzled with a bit of honey until lovely char marks develop. Layer those slices side by side with some grilled beefsteak tomato slices. Top the platter of fruit and tomato with crumbled feta for tang and a nice chive and white wine vinegar dressing for a summer salad worthy of a barbecue spread.
Just like its stone fruit cousins, the plum will take well to just about anything, from salads to salsas. But the milder flavor and the more distinct acidity the plum has that the others do not make it an even more versatile fruit for main courses. Poached plums in white wine and spices such as star anise and ginger are a lovely complement to a rich meat such as seared duck breast. A plum salsa will even pair well with a grilled salmon fillet where once again the acidity of the plums helped cut through some of the fattiness of the fish.
There is a reason plum sauce features heavily in Asian cuisine. Try making your own by sauteing garlic in oil with minced ginger. Add rice vinegar, sugar, sliced plums (peeled and pitted), ground cloves and a bit of water. Simmer for 20 minutes until tender then run the sauce through the blender to puree. Use as a dipping sauce for egg rolls or grilled shrimp, or as a glaze for grilled meats like short ribs.
The stone fruit has come a long way from being relegated to the dessert table. Plums, peaches, and nectarines among other fruits in this category have a way of giving savory courses a dose of flavor that is distinctive to the height of summer. If Jack Horner were a real boy today he might very well still be sitting in a corner eating his Christmas pie. But I’d like to think that today’s boy might have stuck his thumb into a plate of star anise seasoned duck breast and pulled out a plum then exclaimed “what a good boy am I.”
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
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A Plum Recipe for Summer Meals
Stone fruits such as peaches, plums, and nectarines are part of a category of fruits called drupes. A drupe is when an outer fleshy layer surrounds a shell, otherwise known as a pit or stone. This category is fairly broad and includes everything from almonds and cherries to coffee and olives. But most commonly when we think of stone fruits that you might find clustered together in the farmers market, we would expect to find a variety of plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, cherries and even pluots.
Peaches, one of the most common stone fruits, have potential far beyond the pie lattice. One of the easiest ways to incorporate peaches into your main course is by making a simple relish or salsa. This technique is especially useful when you go a bit overboard at the market and then realize you have several pounds of fruit you might never be able to eat when they are ripe.
Use the abundance of peaches to trim down the supply when they are still a bit on the hard side. A couple of diced peaches mixed with minced onion, a seeded diced cucumber, a minced Serrano chili, some lime juice, and a bit of sugar makes perfect foil to grilled chicken or pork. A relish is much like a salsa but the ingredients are often cooked. Try sauteing minced onion in some vegetable oil with some minced jalapeno. Add diced peaches along with some curry powder, lime juice, and bit of honey or sugar. Let the mixture simmer for 5 minutes or so. This curried relish would give a distinctive Caribbean spin to shrimp fritters or jerk chicken.
It should be a rule that all summer salads contain fruit. The nectarine, with its slightly firmer flesh than a peach makes it an easy addition to any dish, especially salads when segments are grilled or sauteed. Tossed with sugar and sauteed in melted butter, segments of nectarine develop a lovely caramelized crust. Mix those segments with baby spinach, almond slivers, goat cheese and red wine vinaigrette for a delectable first course, or add Herbs de Provence seasoned grilled chicken tenders for a satisfying main course. Grill nectarine slices drizzled with a bit of honey until lovely char marks develop. Layer those slices side by side with some grilled beefsteak tomato slices. Top the platter of fruit and tomato with crumbled feta for tang and a nice chive and white wine vinegar dressing for a summer salad worthy of a barbecue spread.
Just like its stone fruit cousins, the plum will take well to just about anything, from salads to salsas. But the milder flavor and the more distinct acidity the plum has that the others do not make it an even more versatile fruit for main courses. Poached plums in white wine and spices such as star anise and ginger are a lovely complement to a rich meat such as seared duck breast. A plum salsa will even pair well with a grilled salmon fillet where once again the acidity of the plums helped cut through some of the fattiness of the fish.
There is a reason plum sauce features heavily in Asian cuisine. Try making your own by sauteing garlic in oil with minced ginger. Add rice vinegar, sugar, sliced plums (peeled and pitted), ground cloves and a bit of water. Simmer for 20 minutes until tender then run the sauce through the blender to puree. Use as a dipping sauce for egg rolls or grilled shrimp, or as a glaze for grilled meats like short ribs.
The stone fruit has come a long way from being relegated to the dessert table. Plums, peaches, and nectarines among other fruits in this category have a way of giving savory courses a dose of flavor that is distinctive to the height of summer. If Jack Horner were a real boy today he might very well still be sitting in a corner eating his Christmas pie. But I’d like to think that today’s boy might have stuck his thumb into a plate of star anise seasoned duck breast and pulled out a plum then exclaimed “what a good boy am I.”
Salad of Sugared Caramelized Nectarines, Almonds, and Goat Cheese
Made with olive oil, salt and pepper, butter, sugar, nectarines, fresh baby spinach, almond, goat cheese, red wine vinegar, herbs de provence
Made with olive oil, salt and pepper, butter, sugar, nectarines, fresh baby spinach, almond, goat cheese, red wine vinegar, herbs de provence
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 nectarines
- 8 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup almond slices
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon herbs de provence
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Heat butter over medium low heat in a large saute pan. Slice nectarines and remove pit. Toss nectarine slices with sugar. Place slices in melted butter and cook over medium heat for about five minutes monitoring slices so they caramelize and brown on all cut sides. Remove from heat and let cool.
Divide spinach between plates. Evenly distribute almond slices. Crumble goat cheese and divide between plates.
In a small bowl mix vinegar, herbs, a bit of salt and pepper, and olive oil. Taste dressing and adjust seasoning for additional salt and pepper. Arrange nectarine slices among plates. Drizzle with dressing and serve.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/913-stone-fruit/