Plum Pie

Ingredients

• 1 package (2 crusts) refrigerated pie dough (store-bought or homemade), or a double batch of homemade dough
• 6 cups pitted, sliced plums
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tbsp coarse sugar, for sprinkling

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Fit one crust into a 9-inch pie dish.
2. In a large bowl, gently toss the pitted, sliced plums with the sugar, thickener, spice, lemon juice, and salt until evenly coated.
3. Pour the filling into the crust and dot with the butter pieces.
4. Top with the second crust, forming a lattice top, or cut several vents in a full top crust. Crimp the edges to seal, then brush the top with the beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
5. Bake for 45–55 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.
6. Cool on a wire rack at least 2 hours before slicing so the filling has time to set.

The Tale of Plum Pie

Story updated September 15, 2026

Plum pie in America is closely tied to the damson, a small, tart plum whose name comes from "Damascus," reflecting its ancient cultivation in and around that Syrian city; Romans are credited with carrying damsons across Europe, and English colonists brought the fruit to American orchards, likely with the earliest waves of settlement, though exactly when isn't recorded. Because damson skins are notably tart and unpleasant eaten raw, the fruit was mostly grown for preserves, jelly, and pie rather than fresh eating. Damson pie became a particular specialty of Virginia and other parts of the rural South and Appalachia, where farmhouse kitchens, boarding houses, and church cookbooks all kept their own versions, often a custardy filling of eggs, brown sugar, and butter folded into damson preserves rather than a straightforward fruit filling. Like many regional American fruit pies, its history lives less in written record than in generations of home recipes passed down through families and community cookbooks.