From my big bag of Farmers Market purple plums, I made an easy, tasty Plum Torte one day and 4 jars of plum jam the next. I can hear the lids popping now, meaning they are ready to eat safely for the next year, if they last that long!
Fresh Plum Jam
- 6 cups Pitted Purple Plums (large chunks are fine)
- 2 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 lemon, finely grate the rind and juice the lemon
- 1/2 inch of Ginger, grated
- 1/2 package of plain Gelatin (can be made without)
- 1/4 cup cold water
In a medium to large saucepan, add the plums, sugar, lemon rind and juice, and the grated ginger. Over medium heat, cook the mixture, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Mix the gelatin with 1/4 cup cold water, stir in to mixture. Turn heat down and simmer, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened. If you don’t use gelatin, you will need to cook a little longer to achieve the same thickness.
Cut plums into large chunks, they will cook down.
While the jam is jammin’, sterilize 4 jam jars and lids.
When the jam has thickened, fill 4 hot sterilized jelly jars, cover with lids, put back into sterilization hot water and boil for 10 minutes. Remove and cool. If you don’t want to set the vacuum seal on the jars and you are giving away some of the jam for immediate use, it can be put in clean jars and kept in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
Tips:
- Ginger is totally optional. I like the flavor but some don’t, so leave it out.
- I had a little extra from filling the jars so I warmed it up and put over my Plum Torte and ice cream as a sauce.
- You can use a package of Pectin and some recipes call for about double the sugar. It depends on how sweet the plums are and how sweet you like your jam.
- Put a little smear on cheese like a good Spanish Manchego for an appetizer.
Warm up the Plum Jam and serve as a syrup over Plum Torte and Ice Cream