Homemade Plum Jam, all-natural without added pectins.
This is an easy french recipe to make your own fruit preserve at home.
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Which plums to use to make jam?
Pick ripe fresh plums that are sweet and rich in flavor.
You can use red plums or yellow plums, like Mirabelle or Reine Claude yellow plums.
I used red plums because that's what we re growing in our garden.
Just make sure to not use rotten or spoiled fruit because one bad fruit is more than enough to spoil a whole batch of jam.
Jams prepared with bad fruits spoil faster and just don't keep that well.
How to make plum jam?
This is hands down teh fasted and easiert and most delicious way to prepare plum jam at home.
This is how it's done in France (and neighboring countries) and I thought you would appreciate a quick overview to get going.
The complete recipe with measurements is located at the bottom of this post.
Step 1
Wash fruit to get rid of impurities and cut into half to remove the stones.
Quarter fruits and place into large jam cooking pot.
Pour sugar over fruits, lemon juice and squeezed out lemon halves.
Step 2
Combine all the ingredient in the pot and heat up.
Bring the jam to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat a bit but continue to reduce jam until it appears translucent cooked.
Step 3
Blend jam to desired consistency.
Keep over heat and test if the jam is set with the help of a thermometer and/or by dropping some hot jam on an ice-cold plate.
Pour hot jam into clean sterilized jars, close with a lid and turn upside down to create a vacuum.
Flavor Variations
You can enhance your jam by adding any of the following ingredients to your jam during the cooking process.
Either add as a ground spice or as whole spice but take out the spices before you blend the jam.
- cinnamon
- allspice
- ginger
- vanilla
- star anise
- green cardamom
Storing
Keep your closed unlocked jam jars away from direct sunlight, in a dry and cool environment.
If you followed all the steps to the T and if you work in a clean environment your jam will be good for more than 1 year.
Once opened, keep in your fridge.
Don't reduce the sugar quantity on the recipe. The sugar helps in preserving the jam.
If you switch sugar with honey or other natural sweetener, be prepared to consume your jam soon.
For those of you who want to add another layer of safety, you can follow my cherry canning water bath recipe.
FAQs
No I don't because the skin contains pectin and nutritious elements. Besides skinning is tedious and it's anyway not necessary because we will blend the jam.
Your jam sets at 220 Fahrenheit/ 105 Celsius. You can stick a candy thermometer into your jam during the cooking process.
You need to cook down your jam until it is not runny anymore, that means until it's set. Depending on the heat setting, it can take somewhere between 30-50 minutes, if you use a quantity of 1 kg/ 2.2 pounds of fruits. Just cook it and test if it's set. Jam when hot will always appear liquid, it's only that when it cools down that it will appear set. Hence why the cold plate test is so great! Just drop 1-2 drops of hot jam on an ice cold plate and move the plate around. It it down't run, your jam is set. OR bring it to the setting temperature.
More stone fruit recipes:
- Peach Jam
- Apricot Jam also suitable for cakes
- Cherry Jam
- Canned Plums by practicalselfreliance.com
Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment section further below!
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📖 Recipe
Plum Jam Recipe
Instructions
- Wash your plums well. Cut open on one side and pick out the core, discard the core.
- Cut into quarters, weigh your plums and place them into a large cooking pot.
- Add the sugar, lemon juice, and 2 lemon halves to the fruits. Mix the content well.
- Keep the pot with the fruits on the stove, cook over a higher heat setting until you can see a rolling boil (lots of foam too!).
- Takedown the heat a bit and cook until the jam appears translucent and set. This can take 30 - 50 minutes approximately.
- Pick out the two lemon halves and discard them.
- Blend jam into desired consistency (this is optional).
- Test if the jam is set by dropping some on an ice cold plate, the jam is ready if it doesn't run. OR test with a candy thermometer, it's set at 220 Fahrenheit/ 105 Celsius. If it runs, keep for some more time to cook on low heat and repeat the test until you have the correct consistency.
- Drop some rum (or other liquor) into the jar lids. That will help in keeping the jam germ and mold growth free.
- Fill your clean jam jars with the plum jam, close well with the lid and turn the jar upside down.
- Keep them upside down for a few hours and then store them in a dry and cool place and keep away from direct sunlight. Keep in the fridge once opened.
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Notes
- 1 Teaspoon = one serving, 100 Teaspoons is about 3 jars (roughly). Recommended use is 1 Teaspoon serving on a slice of bread.
- If you live in a humid tropical climate, please store the jam in the fridge at all times.
