The plums & sugar, just about to be cooked
The mixture as it is cooking
The finished product ! Plums start appearing here in our local markets at Christmastime each year and as a result, I always associate them with Christmas and call them a “Christmas fruit”. They are one of my favourite fruits and my best way to eat them is fresh.
As I had a glut of them recently, I decided to make some plum jam, thinking that it would be nice served on toast on Christmas morning, and would also make nice jarred gifts over the festive season.
This is a very simple jam recipe, and contains some tips on jam making in general, so you could adapt the recipe to use whatever fruit you happen to have on hand (see tips at end of recipe) -:
Plum Jam
500 gm Plums (halved, peeled & stones removed)
500 gm Sugar (I use brown)
Place the plums and the sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring the mixture to the boil. (Do not bring to the boil before the sugar has dissolved). Simmer for around an hour, stirring as little as possible as frequent stirring can cause the mixture to crystallize. The jam is ready when a little poured onto a plate and quickly cooled goes thick. Pour into sterilized glass jars whilst the mixture is still warm (but not too hot), cover with paper rounds dipped in brandy & then seal the lids. It is best to warm the jars in the oven first, so that they do not crack when you pour the jam into them.
A Few Tips :
Don’t use plums which are too ripe, use ones which are just ripe as if they are over ripe the jam may not set properly.
Skim any foam which forms on the top of the mixture at the beginning of the cooking process when it is easier to remove.
I made the mistake this time (as the plums I used were really tiny) of leaving the skins on. The skins did not soften and I had to painstakingly remove them all by hand after the jam had cooked and cooled – ugh !
You can use any quantity of plums, just match their weight in sugar e.g. 1 kg plums plus 1 kg sugar.
If you use a sweeter fruit to make your jam (eg. figs, grapes, apples, peaches) then use 375 gm sugar for every 500 gm fruit. Four sour fruits like these plums
As I had a glut of them recently, I decided to make some plum jam, thinking that it would be nice served on toast on Christmas morning, and would also make nice jarred gifts over the festive season.
This is a very simple jam recipe, and contains some tips on jam making in general, so you could adapt the recipe to use whatever fruit you happen to have on hand (see tips at end of recipe) -:
Plum Jam
500 gm Plums (halved, peeled & stones removed)
500 gm Sugar (I use brown)
Place the plums and the sugar into a heavy bottomed saucepan and stir on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved, then bring the mixture to the boil. (Do not bring to the boil before the sugar has dissolved). Simmer for around an hour, stirring as little as possible as frequent stirring can cause the mixture to crystallize. The jam is ready when a little poured onto a plate and quickly cooled goes thick. Pour into sterilized glass jars whilst the mixture is still warm (but not too hot), cover with paper rounds dipped in brandy & then seal the lids. It is best to warm the jars in the oven first, so that they do not crack when you pour the jam into them.
A Few Tips :
Don’t use plums which are too ripe, use ones which are just ripe as if they are over ripe the jam may not set properly.
Skim any foam which forms on the top of the mixture at the beginning of the cooking process when it is easier to remove.
I made the mistake this time (as the plums I used were really tiny) of leaving the skins on. The skins did not soften and I had to painstakingly remove them all by hand after the jam had cooked and cooled – ugh !
You can use any quantity of plums, just match their weight in sugar e.g. 1 kg plums plus 1 kg sugar.
If you use a sweeter fruit to make your jam (eg. figs, grapes, apples, peaches) then use 375 gm sugar for every 500 gm fruit. Four sour fruits like these plums
