A plummy time of year: Preserving our produce.

I used to think you could never have too many plums but now that some of the trees we planted 10 years ago  are maturing, I’m not so sure!   My reasoning was that you could make a lot of preserves with them, plum jam and plum sauce being the two main ones. Or you could eat them fresh, stewed, with breakfast etc. Yes you can do all that and thank goodness for the freezer, because if you’re not ready to make jam just now, then pop them straight into the freezer and use them when you need to later on in the winter.

I have so many Burbank plums ready. They are a nice eating plum but also make a nice jam.   I am making a batch mixed with Damsons for a bit more tartness and more pectin.  Just a bit of a faff removing all of the stones but it can be quite therapeutic skimming them off as they come to the surface.  I normally cheat and make Damson Jelly to avoid that issue but decided on a duet this time.

Homemade jam once was a staple of the country kitchen. Not so much anymore – the price of sugar makes it a treat rather than an every day experience.   I do however still like to make small batches when I get the time and have found that if I think about it that way, I get more done.  I still have memories of very hot steamy February days with huge numbers of bottled peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums coming off the assembly line at home. Mum chose to do it all in one session.   And I think Grandma tended to make all the jam.

However, I have since learned, it doesn’t have to be quite such a production.  What stresses me out is going off to find where all my specially kept small glass jars are (sometimes they find their way into the recycling instead) and to get everything together. But being organised (as a good professional countrywoman knows) is the best way to reduce stress and make life flow a little smoother.   Get yourself organised so you know where everything is, and when you get the fruit and the inspiration whip up a batch.  Small batches are lovely. It’s a bit like wine really – the jam you get is all about how fresh the fruit was on the day, the time of year, the particular recipe you used – all can combine to produce a special unique homemade product.  

Plum jam is not as fancy as some of the others but it’s a great staple. I use it on my sponges with cream and it is fine in Louise cake. 

Here’s a good basic Plum Jam recipe.

Plum Jam

Ingredients.

Plums and Sugar.  Make sure they are not overripe.

Method.

Have your clean jars ready and sterilise them while cooking fruit.  Either in boiling water or in the oven at 120C for 30 mins.

Rinse fruit, weigh quantity and put into a good size preserving or jam pan.  Do not overfill. The boiling fruit and sugar can increase in bulk quite a bit. Be very careful.

Put a little water in to prevent the fruit from sticking, about a cup and a half.

Heat slowly and then cook gently until fruit is pulpy and cooked. Pick off the stones as they come to the surface.

When cooked, add sugar.  Approx a kilo of sugar per kilo of fruit and stir in using a wooden spoon.

When the sugar has dissolved bring up the temperature and boil rapidly for 15 minutes.  Keep picking off stones.

When ready, let fruit cool off slightly and then carefully fill the hot jars and seal.