Overview
About Greengage
The greengage, or Reine Claude, is the dessert plum that stays green when it ripens and tastes like honey rather than acid.
It is the opposite of the damson in every practical sense: it is eaten raw, warm off the tree, several at a time. That habit is the problem, because greengage grades at the top of our scale for both total FODMAPs and polyols, with a moderate amount of free fructose and the worst grade for fermentation in SIBO. There is no cooking step and no tartness to make you stop at one, which is how a dose-dependent trigger quietly becomes a dose.
Sensitivities
How Greengage scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Top grade for both polyols and total FODMAPs, a tier above the common plum. Sorbitol is the driver and the response scales with how many you eat
- Worst grade for SIBO fermentation, so greengage is a poor early candidate for reintroduction if you are being treated for bacterial overgrowth
- Moderate excess fructose alongside the polyols, which is the pairing that most often produces symptoms in people who tolerate other stone fruit
- Mild histamine liberator and mild salicylate grades. Individually minor, but greengages arrive in a short high-summer glut, and a large bowl of them alongside other summer fruit is exactly how those small grades stack
- Carries a mild nickel grade, worth counting only if you are managing systemic nickel allergy
- Sweetness is not a safety signal. Greengage is far sweeter and less astringent than a damson and grades a tier worse on FODMAPs, so palate is not a guide here
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Greengage
Are greengages low FODMAP?
No, greengage grades at the top of our FODMAP scale, driven by polyols with moderate excess fructose behind them. If you are in the elimination phase of a low FODMAP protocol, greengages are not a small-portion workaround, they are a fruit to leave out and reintroduce deliberately later.
Is a greengage gentler than a damson because it is sweeter?
No, and this catches people out. Greengage is sweeter and eaten raw, but it grades a full tier higher than damson on total FODMAPs and just as high on polyols, and it is graded worse for SIBO fermentation. The reason damsons get blamed more often is that they are eaten as concentrated jam, not because the fresh fruit is worse.
Why do greengages bloat me when apples do not?
Both are sorbitol-carrying fruit, but greengage grades a step higher on total FODMAPs than apple does, and the eating pattern differs. Most people eat one apple and six greengages. If sorbitol is your trigger, the total dose in a sitting matters more than which fruit it came from.
Can I eat greengages on a low-histamine diet?
The fruit grades clean for histamine content, so it is not a stored-histamine problem like aged or fermented foods. It does carry a mild histamine liberator grade, which is worth noting if you react to fresh fruit despite eating low-histamine. The larger issue for most people is the polyol load, not histamine.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.