Friday 21 August 2009

Victoria Plum Jam(Recipe)

Well I love jam and this year I have took to making my own with all the fruit that has been plentiful. My Mum has a lovely plum tree in her garden and so earlier this week I decided to make some plum jam.

victoria plums
Freshly picked plums.
The recipe is easy....for every pound of fruit it is a pound of sugar and a 1/4 pint of water..that's all there is to it!! Depending on which recipe you look at depends on whether you stone your plums first or after...I like to stone my plums first though as the stones add more weight to the fruit which I think makes the jam too sweet.

stoned plums
the plums...washed, stoned and ready to use!

When you have washed and halved your plums (and stoned them according to preference) add them to a nice big pot, bring to the boil and simmer until the fruit is tender.
Then take off the heat..add sugar and stir until sugar has dissolved. Return pan to heat and boil rapidly, stirring continually until set is ready.

cooking plums
Simmering away in the pan..fantastic smell :-)
I test set using 'the saucer test', or you can use a cooking thermometer if you have one. If you decide not to stone your plums before cooking this is when you would remove them...as the jam boils the stones will rise to the surface and then you take them out. Once set is right, put into sterilized jars, add waxed disc and then either put lids on immediately or when jam is cold!!

plum jamThe jam..just waiting for labels.

I don't buy jars, just save them from other things I have had so they are usually all sorts of different sizes. I used 4 lb's of plums for the jam I made.



6 comments:

  1. Glad to see someone else has joined me in the plum jam club!

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  2. They sure look good. I have one nectarine tree with 3 fruits on it. This is the first year it fruited. I will be joining the jam/preserve fruit making soon too...hoping...lol.

    BTW, good to know that I can re-use the jars from store bought stuff. I usually save them all and didn't know if I can re-use them, now I know.

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  3. hey.....my grandma grows plum too at my native.......although we don't make jam of it....we make something different....but i like plum.....


    woo hoo.......\,,,/

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  4. yeah your jars are re-usable..just give them a good wash and sterilise them first!!

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  5. Some of the big jam manufactors have stopped making plum jam as they say it is not being asked for. So if I want some plum jam I have to make it myself. So here goes with some small test amounts ready for the local fresh ones next year.

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    Replies
    1. So much good stuff isn't made these days but to be honest there is nothing as good as home-made jam. I'm sure you will enjoy what you make far more than that you would buy in a store!

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keep it clean...keep it relevant...I look forward to reading your comments!!