Where Are Sugar Plums from?

More commonly, at least since 1668 when the term was first used, sugar plums are considered a confection. They probably originated in Portugal, where they contained green plums, but are now just as likely to feature black figs. They were poached for days in syrup and rolled in sugar to preserve them through the winter.

Where are sugar plums grown?

Italian plums are a European plum and native to the Mediterranean coastal regions of Italy. They thrive in arid climates where winter time temperatures are cool but not cold and the summer season is long, warm and dry.

Are sugar plums a real thing?

What they're not, annoyingly enough, is sugar-coated plums. According to candy historians and the Oxford English Dictionary, a sugar plum is a comfit—that is, a seed, nut, or scrap of spice coated with a layer of hard sugar, like the crunchy outer case of an M&M.