We want Spiced Plum Jam, Not Boiled Prunes
 |
| Italian plums from our backyard tree. |
As a child, I will never forget how my dad would boil prunes on the stove to eat. Yes. Boiled prunes. Why?! Perhaps this is one of the great mysteries of the universe. I gave myself a good blister when I was three years old by burning my little arm on the lid of the boiling pot. I was trying to look inside. I never much liked prunes after that.
I recently lived in a very old house with a large backyard and a plum tree growing right in the middle. I really didn’t know what to do with the plums or what kind they were. So the first summer we just threw them away. (Sad, I know!) Well, I wasn’t interested in prunes. Then the next year I discovered a wonderful use for the Italian Plum tree; Spiced Plum Jam!
This year, sadly, I moved away from the little old house into an apartment with no yard. But I was able to harvest a few plums before I left, shown above for one last batch of jam.
You can use any kind of plums from the grocery store (or a tree if you know of one) for this small batch of jam, just make sure they’re ripe. You want a nice deep color on the peel; no green at all. And they should give a little when you squeeze them gently.
Preparing Stone Fruit Jam for canning
Place two or three clean spoons in the freezer. Take a small knife and slice all the way around the plums from pole to pole. Do not remove the peels- they add flavor and that beautiful deep violet color! Twist open and remove the pit. Slice the halves into quarters and place them into a large pot or dutch oven. Sprinkle the sugar and spices over and stir. Cook on medium-high heat for several minutes, stirring very often. (I would hang out in the kitchen and not try to do any side projects) after a while it will start to look like jam. Pull a frozen spoon out and drop a bit of jam on it. If the jam sets up and doesn’t drip off in a hurry, it’s done. It is possible to over cook this jam. Ask me how I know. So be careful to follow the instructions and notes in the recipe below.
Once your jam sits in a nice little blob on the spoon it’s done cooking! Remember your batch of jam will thicken up as it cools. Now you’re ready to eat, freeze or can your Spiced Plum Jam (or Christmas itself) in a jar!
For more info on Stone fruit, and why on earth it’s called that, see Stone fruit.
Spiced Plum Jam
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 6 1/2 pint jars
Spiced plum jam is a homemade stone fruit jam cooked with Christmas spices. Along with being a great recipe for canning or fruit preserves, a jar of spiced plum jam makes a beautiful holiday gift!
Ingredients
-
3 pounds of plums, washed, pitted and chopped
-
2 cups of sugar
-
1 teaspoon cinnamon
-
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
-
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
-
6 tablespoons store bought lemon juice
Instructions
- Place chopped plums in a large pot with non stick coating or enamel-coated dutch oven. Add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and lemon juice.
- Place over medium-high heat and stir very often until the plums have released their juices and flesh has broken down, approx 15-20 mins. Test for desired consistency with a chilled spoon after 10-12 minutes of continuous boiling.
- Remove from heat. Your jam is now ready for canning or freezing. (Or eating!)
Canning: Fill hot sanitized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space.
Notes
Processing times per elevation: Sea level - 1000 feet = 10 minutes; 1000 - 3000 feet = 15 minutes; 3000 - 6000 feet = 20 minutes; 6000 - 8000 feet = 25 minutes
Courses Preserves
Cuisine American
Free ebook for all Subscribers!
What will you stuff in your sopapillas? Subscribe now to receive your free copy of Sopapilla Fiesta! today with six recipe combinations of stuffings and chili sauces. Bonus dessert recipe included!
Comments