Loquat substitute

Best substitute

Fresh Apricots

Use the same amount by weight, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice per pound as the loquat you are replacing

Best for loquat jam and jelly

Close match

Fresh apricots are the substitute, at one for one by weight, with an extra squeeze of lemon because loquats are tarter than they look. Canned apricots, drained, work almost as well in jam and pie, and a mix of nectarine and plum is a good option if apricots are out of season. In a loquat jam, pie or syrup the fruit is doing two jobs, providing soft golden flesh that breaks down into a thick puree and a bright acidity, so any swap needs to be both soft-fleshed and tart rather than just orange.

Other loquat substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Canned Apricots, Drained
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight, drained, plus 1 tbsp lemon juice per pound and reduce recipe sugar by a third
The year-round option, and a good one for anything cooked.
What changes
Drain thoroughly and chop, and keep the syrup back in case the mixture needs loosening.
Best for
jam, pie and tart filling, crumble, sauces and coulis, cake
Already soft and already sweetened, so it needs less cooking and much less sugar than fresh loquats. The flesh has lost its structure, meaning a pie filling can turn slightly mushy rather than holding in identifiable pieces; a tablespoon of cornstarch per pie helps. Do not use it in a preserve you plan to can, since the acidity has been altered.
3Nectarines or Peaches plus Lemon
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice per pound
Peel peaches if you mind the fuzz; nectarines can go in with the skin on.
What changes
Chop to roughly loquat-sized pieces and use directly.
Best for
pie and cobbler, crumble, jam, poached fruit, syrup
Reliably available and a good textural match, but noticeably sweeter and lower in acid than loquat, which is why the lemon juice doubles here. Without it a loquat pie made with peaches tastes flat and one-dimensional. The flavour reads as summery peach rather than the crisper, faintly appley tang of loquat, which is a real but acceptable difference.
4Yellow or Red Plums
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Small tart plums, especially yellow ones, behave a lot like loquats in a pot.
What changes
Halve, stone and cook as directed with no other changes.
Best for
jam and jelly, chutney, crumble and pie, compote, sauces for pork or duck
Better on acidity than peaches, so no lemon correction is needed, and plums set well in a preserve because of their natural pectin. The flavour is deeper and more wine-like where loquat is light and floral, and red plums will turn your golden jam a muddy purple-pink, so use yellow plums if colour matters to you.
5Dried Apricots, Rehydrated
Taste and texture differ
Use ½ lb dried apricots plus 1 ½ cups water for every 1 lb fresh loquats
Simmer chopped dried apricots in water for 15 minutes until plump before using them in a jam, chutney or filling.
What changes
Use unsulphured brown apricots for a mellower flavour or bright orange ones for more tang.
Best for
jam, chutney, tart filling, compote, cake filling
Very useful out of season, and it makes an intensely fruity, thick preserve, but the concentrated flavour is much stronger and sweeter than fresh loquat and the texture stays chewy rather than melting. Add a good tablespoon of lemon juice and taste before adding any sugar at all, since dried fruit is already sweet.
6Pears plus Lemon
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, plus 2 tbsp lemon juice per pound
The mildest option, and the right one if you specifically want the delicate, faintly floral quality of loquat rather than a strong stone-fruit flavour.
What changes
Use ripe but not mushy pears, peeled.
Best for
pie and tart, poached fruit, cake, syrup, jelly
Honest assessment: pears match loquat's gentleness and slightly grainy flesh but bring almost no acidity and no colour, so the result is pale and quiet. Suitable for a poached dessert or a delicate tart, weak for jam, where you want tartness to cut the sugar. A strip of lemon zest simmered with the fruit improves it considerably.

What is Loquat?

Loquat is Loquat, also called Japanese plum, nispero or pipa, is a small orange-yellow spring fruit that grows in clusters on an evergreen tree and has thin skin, juicy sweet-tart flesh and two or three large glossy brown seeds.

Cooking tips

Loquats need real preparation. Each fruit holds two or three large seeds inside a papery membrane, and both the seeds and the membrane must come out. Halve the fruit, flick the seeds out with your thumb, and pull away the thin white sac; expect to lose around a third of the weight, so buy or pick more than the recipe's finished quantity suggests.
Do not eat or blend the seeds. Loquat seeds, like apricot kernels and apple pips, are not for eating and should be discarded rather than crushed into a puree.
Peeling is optional but improves a jam. The skin is thin and edible, and it slips off easily with a paring knife if the fruit is fully ripe. Left on, it gives a jam a slightly speckled look and a faint astringency, so peel it for a clear jelly and leave it on for a rustic preserve.
Loquat flesh browns very quickly once cut, faster than apple. Drop the prepared halves straight into water with a squeeze of lemon if you are working through a big bowl of them.
Pick them ripe and use them fast. Loquats bruise easily, do not ripen further off the tree in any useful way, and go soft within a couple of days. If you have a glut, seed them and freeze the halves on a tray, and they will be fine for jam and pie for months. If you are water-bath canning loquat jam, use a tested recipe and do not swap in a lower-acid fruit such as pear, and do not reduce the added lemon juice, since the acidity is what makes the sealed jar safe; the National Center for Home Food Preservation publishes tested procedures.

Frequently asked questions

What fruit tastes most like a loquat?

Apricot, closely followed by a tart yellow plum. Loquat is often described as tasting of apricot with a hint of apple and a floral edge, so an apricot with an extra squeeze of lemon is a very convincing swap in jam, pie and crumble. Peach is a distant third because it is much sweeter and less tart.

Can I leave loquats out of a recipe?

Not in loquat jam or loquat pie, where they are the whole point. In a mixed fruit crumble or compote you can leave them out and increase the other fruit, but add a tablespoon of lemon juice per pound, because loquats are contributing a good deal of acidity and the dish will taste noticeably duller without a correction.

Are loquats the same as kumquats or Japanese plums?

Loquat and kumquat are entirely different: a kumquat is a tiny whole-eaten citrus, while a loquat is a soft orange stone fruit related to apples and pears. Japanese plum, nispero and pipa are all common names for the loquat itself, so a recipe using any of those names is asking for the same fruit.

How many loquats do I need for a pound of prepared fruit?

Roughly a pound and a half of whole fruit, because the seeds and membranes account for around a third of the weight. Sizes vary a lot between backyard trees and commercial fruit, so weigh after seeding rather than counting fruit when you are following a jam recipe where the sugar ratio matters.

Can I use canned apricots for loquat jam?

For a fresh jam you keep in the fridge, yes: drain them, use them one for one by weight, add a tablespoon of lemon juice per pound and cut the sugar by about a third since they are packed in syrup. Do not use canned fruit in a water-bath canned preserve, because the acidity and sugar have already been altered and the tested recipe no longer applies.

Related substitutes

More fruits substitutes

Loquat substitute

Other loquat substitutes

2Canned Apricots, Drained

3Nectarines or Peaches plus Lemon

4Yellow or Red Plums

5Dried Apricots, Rehydrated

6Pears plus Lemon