June Plum Juice is a Jamaican fruit drink — the June plum (Spondias dulcis, also called golden apple or Jew plum), blended with ginger, lime, and sugar into a sweet-tart, refreshing tropical juice. The June plum is a tropical fruit unique to the Caribbean and Southeast Asia, and in Jamaica it is one of the most popular fruit drinks, sold at every juice stand.
June Plum Juice is one of the most popular Jamaican fruit drinks. The June plum (Spondias dulcis, also called golden apple, ambarella, or Jew plum) is a tropical fruit that grows abundantly in Jamaica. The fruit is green when unripe (and tart) and yellow when ripe (and sweet). The Jamaican preparation blends the fruit (often unripe, for its tartness) with ginger, lime, sugar, and water into a refreshing, sweet-tart juice. It is sold at every juice stand, restaurant, and market, and is a staple of Jamaican hospitality — served to guests as a welcome drink.
A glass of pale green-gold, slightly cloudy juice, sweet and tart, with the unmistakable tropical flavor of June plum and a kick of ginger. It is refreshing, tangy, and thirst-quenching — the taste of a Jamaican afternoon.
The June plum should be peeled and the flesh scooped from the seed (the seed is large and inedible). Unripe (green) plums give a tarter juice; ripe (yellow) plums give a sweeter juice. The ginger adds a warm, slightly spicy note. The lime adds brightness. The juice should be strained to remove fibers.
Variations
Some use ripe plums for sweetness; some add more ginger; some add sparkling water; the sweetness varies.
On the Palate
Where June Plum Juice sits in the Jamaican flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
5 steps · 10 min active + 5 min waiting
- 15 min
Peel 4 June plums; scoop the flesh from the seeds.
- 23 min
Blend the flesh with 1 thumb grated ginger, juice of 1 lime, 3 tbsp sugar, and 500 ml water.
Watch outTaste as you blend and balance the sugar against the plum's tartness — green plums run sharp, ripe ones sweeter, so adjust to the fruit.
- 32 min
Strain through a fine sieve.
Watch outStrain through a fine sieve to catch the fibers — leave them in and the juice drinks gritty.
- 41 min
Add more sugar or lime to taste.
- 51 min
Chill; serve over ice.
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