Overview
About Plum sauce
Plum sauce is one of the highest polyol foods we grade.
Plums are the classic sorbitol fruit, the same sugar alcohol that makes prunes work as a laxative, and boiling them down with sugar and vinegar into a thick glaze concentrates it further. That gives plum sauce our top grade for polyols, our top grade for FODMAPs overall, and our worst grade for low-fermentation and SIBO diets, all in a portion the size of a dipping dish. Moderate excess fructose and moderate fructans sit under that, so a single sauce can hit three FODMAP groups at once. What surprises people is what plum sauce is not. Unlike the fermented soy condiments it sits next to on the table, it grades clean for histamine, tyramine, gluten, lactose and dairy protein, because it is fruit, sugar and acid rather than brewed soybean. If duck pancakes leave you bloated and gassy but never flushed or headachy, that split is the reason.
Sensitivities
How Plum sauce scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Our top grade for polyols. Sorbitol is osmotic, meaning it pulls water into the bowel, and it does that at doses small enough to fit in a dipping saucer
- Highest FODMAP grade overall, with moderate excess fructose and moderate fructans underneath, so three separate fermentable groups arrive together
- Our worst grade for low-fermentation and SIBO protocols, which makes it one of the first condiments to remove if you are following one
- Moderate sulfites, which is normal for a preserved fruit base with vinegar. Relevant if sulfites give you wheezing, flushing or headache
- Graded pro-inflammatory, since the finished sauce is mostly sugar by weight, and moderate for both salicylates and oxalate
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Plum sauce
Is plum sauce low FODMAP?
No. It carries our highest FODMAP grade, driven by polyols. Stone fruit is naturally sorbitol rich, and cooking plums down into a sauce removes water while leaving the sorbitol behind, so the concentration goes up rather than down. There is moderate excess fructose and moderate fructans on top. Halving the portion reduces the dose but rarely takes it under a threshold, because the starting point is so high.
Why does a tiny amount of plum sauce cause bloating and diarrhoea?
Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol that humans absorb slowly and incompletely. What is not absorbed stays in the gut, draws water in osmotically and then gets fermented by bacteria into gas. That mechanism does not need much substrate, which is exactly why prunes work as a laxative at a few pieces. A dipping dish of plum sauce is a surprisingly efficient way to deliver the same thing.
Does plum sauce contain gluten or soy?
Our grading has plum sauce clean on gluten, and clean on histamine and tyramine as well, because it is a fruit and sugar preserve rather than a fermented soybean product. That sets it apart from the soy-based sauces served with the same dishes. Recipes vary between manufacturers, so read the label if you are strictly gluten free, and remember that the pancakes, spring rolls or crispy coating served with it are usually the real wheat source.
Is plum sauce the same as duck sauce or hoisin?
Plum sauce and duck sauce are close relatives, both sweet fruit preserves built on plum or apricot, so the sorbitol and sugar story applies to both. Hoisin is a different animal: it is based on fermented soybean, so it brings the soy, gluten and free glutamate concerns that plum sauce does not have. If a Chinese meal reliably triggers you, working out which of the two sauces was on the plate narrows the search a lot.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.