Produce

June Plum

Tart-sweet tropical fruit eaten green with salt or juiced when ripe.

June plum, known as pommecythere or ambarella, is a tropical fruit with crisp, golden flesh and a spiky central pit. Green and firm it is eaten with salt and pepper or pickled, while ripe it turns soft and is blended into refreshing juices and stewed into preserves. It has a bright pineapple-mango tartness popular across the Caribbean and Southeast Asia.

June Plum (Spondias dulcis) is a tropical fruit of the Anacardiaceae family—kin to mango and cashew—that grows on hardy, prolific trees throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. The fruit is celebrated for its dual personality: harvested green, it offers a firm, snappy crunch and bright tartness that stands up to bold seasoning, while fully ripe it transforms into a sweet-tart fruit with pineapple-mango notes and softer flesh. Polynesian in origin, the tree traveled with voyagers across the Pacific and became entrenched in Caribbean kitchens during the colonial era, where it earned dozens of regional names including Ambarella, Pomme Cythère, Golden Apple, Otaheite Apple, and Jew Plum.

The fruit measures 4–10 cm in diameter and is round to oval with subtle ribbing or ridging. Unripe, it is bright lime green with flesh that scores around pH 2.5–3.0—highly acidic, which makes it excellent for pickling and long simmers without turning mushy. The large central pit is woody and covered in spiny projections; it accounts for roughly 30–40% of the fruit's weight and is difficult to remove cleanly, which limits commercial processing but poses no obstacle to home cooks who work around it. Ripe fruit turns yellow to golden orange, may develop brown speckles, and keeps 2–3 days refrigerated. Unripe fruit can be stored at room temperature for up to a week, or refrigerated to extend its shelf life. The tree produces abundantly and the fruit remains widely available and inexpensive in tropical markets, making it a pantry staple rather than a luxury.

In the kitchen, June Plum's high acidity is an asset: it holds texture through cooking, balances rich proteins, and integrates well with sugar for preserves. The unripe fruit's crunch makes it ideal for quick-pickling and fresh applications; the ripe fruit's sweetness suits juices, jams, and infusions. Whether eaten on a Caribbean street corner with salt and pepper or transformed into a Trinidadian chutney, June Plum demonstrates how tropical ingredients achieve complexity through contrast—tart against sweet, crunch against softness, bold seasoning against the fruit's bright acidity.

Measured in: piece
Storage: Fridge

Types & varieties

Common June Plum

Standard type found throughout Caribbean; green-eating cultivar with tart, firm flesh

Yellow June Plum

Ripe-fruiting variant with more pronounced golden color; slightly sweeter when ripe

Dwarf or Compact Varieties

Shorter trees grown in home gardens; fruit similar to standard type

Regional Names

June Plum travels well across languages and cuisines, collecting names that reflect its journey through tropical markets worldwide. In the Anglophone Caribbean it is called Golden Apple (Barbados, St. Lucia) or June Plum (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica). The French Antilles know it as Pomme Cythère. In South Asia and Sri Lanka it is Ambarella; in the Pacific Islands, Otaheite Apple or Jew Plum. Despite the name variation, the fruit and its culinary uses remain consistent across regions—a testament to how thoroughly it has naturalized in tropical food cultures.

Golden Apple — Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica
Ambarella — Sri Lanka, India, Southeast Asia
Pomme Cythère — Guadeloupe, Martinique, French West Indies
Otaheite Apple / Jew Plum — Pacific Islands, historical English colonial name

Working with the Pit

The large, spiny pit is June Plum's most significant handling challenge. It is woody, irregularly shaped, and covered in projections that can irritate skin and mouth. Removing it cleanly requires patience and the right approach.

Cut the fruit around the equator or halve lengthwise to expose the pit cavity
Use a sharp paring knife to score flesh around the pit, then pry it out carefully
Wear kitchen gloves when working by hand—the spines can cause skin irritation
For juice, blend flesh thoroughly and strain through a fine-mesh sieve to remove all fibrous particles from the seed cavity
Never attempt to eat the pit raw—the woody texture and spines pose injury risk

Common uses

Eaten out of hand green with a sprinkle of salt and cracked black pepper or chili powder—the classic Caribbean street snackPickled in vinegar brine with garlic, scotch bonnet peppers, and pickling spice as a condiment and snackChutneys and relishes cooked with sugar, vinegar, ginger, and warm spicesFresh juice blended with water, sugar, and lime when ripe; often called golden apple juice or ponche de fruit à painJams, jellies, and fruit preserves simmered with sugar and lemon juiceStews and savory braises such as Trinidadian fish broth or Jamaican brown stew chickenCurried preparations in Trinidad and Tobago cuisineCandied or glazed as a dessert componentInfusions in dark rum or spirits for Caribbean liqueursYoung leaves and flowers used as greens in soups in some Southeast Asian cuisines

Tips & pitfalls

Select unripe fruit that is bright lime green and firm with no soft spots; slight yellowing signals ripening has begun
To ripen, leave at room temperature for 2–4 days until skin turns yellow-gold and flesh gives slightly when pressed
Never refrigerate unripe fruit—cold halts ripening and can cause off-flavors in the flesh
Use only stainless steel, enamel, or glass cookware—June Plum's high acidity will react with aluminum, copper, and unlined cast iron
When making pickles, use pickling salt or kosher salt; table salt contains additives that can cloud brine
Common mistake: letting unripe fruit soften before eating—it should retain its crunch for the classic green-fruit experience
Common mistake: attempting to eat the seed or not straining juice thoroughly—woody fragments and spines are unpleasant and potentially harmful
For the cleanest chutney texture, blanch unripe fruit briefly in boiling water before chopping; this loosens the flesh from the pit more easily
When candying the fruit, score the skin before simmering in syrup to allow glucose to penetrate the firm flesh evenly

Nutrition

57kcal

Energy

238 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 2%Carbs 96%Fat 2%

Protein

0.3g

1% DV

Carbs

13.6g

5% DV

Fat

0.2g

0% DV

Fiber

2.4g

9% DV

Sugars

10g

of which

Sodium

2mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin B63% DV

Vitamin K2% DV

Thiamin (B1)2% DV

Riboflavin (B2)2% DV

Potassium2% DV

Vitamin E1% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Apples, raw, golden delicious, with skin

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In the shops

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Good to know

Scientific Name: Spondias dulcis
Family: Anacardiaceae (same family as mango and cashew)
Origin: Polynesia; naturalized throughout Caribbean, Central America, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Islands
Peak Season: Summer to early fall in Caribbean; year-round in tropical climates
Typical Size: 4–10 cm (1.5–4 inches) in diameter
Shape: Round to oval with subtle ribbing or ridging
Unripe Color: Bright lime green, firm; crunchy texture
Ripe Color: Yellow to golden orange; may develop brown speckles
Flavor (Unripe): Tart, slightly sweet, astringent; crunchy like a firm apple
Flavor (Ripe): Sweet-tart with pineapple-mango notes; softer texture
Seed: Large, woody, spiny pit; not edible; difficult to separate from flesh
Storage (Unripe): Room temperature up to 1 week; refrigerate to extend shelf life
Storage (Ripe): Refrigerate and use within 2–3 days
Yield: Approximately 60–70% edible flesh by weight
pH (Unripe): 2.5–3.0 (highly acidic)

Substitutes

Green Mango — Most direct substitute; similar tart crunch when unripe; use 1:1 ratio in recipes; reduce sugar slightly when making preserves since green mango is equally tart
Unripe Papaya — Comparable texture and acidity for savory applications; milder flavor profile works in pickles and chutneys
Tamarind Paste — Use as flavor substitute in sauces and chutneys; tamarind is more sour, so reduce added sugar accordingly
Green Apples with Lemon Juice — Distant substitute for raw eating and salads; lacks tropical character but provides crunch and tartness

Pairs with

SaltScotch Bonnet or Habanero ChiliBlack Pepper GingerLime or Lemon JuiceBrown or White SugarCinnamon and ClovesDark Rum Garlic Coconut Milk

Also called

Pommecythere · Ambarella · Golden Apple