by aargersi
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A&M's Testing Notes:
Expand Collapseaargersi's Notes:
Expand8 cups pitted chopped plums (about 1/2 inch chop so you have a nice chunky jam) Ask a question about this ingredient
1 cup ruby port Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup brown sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
1 teaspoon cinnamon Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice Ask a question about this ingredient
nutmeg (I ground mine in fresh - maybe 1/4 to a half tsp) Ask a question about this ingredient
1 tablespoon unsalted butter Ask a question about this ingredient
juice from 1 lemon Ask a question about this ingredient
1/2 cup white sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
1.75 ounces package NO SUGAR NEEDED pectin Ask a question about this ingredient
If you are canning, sterilize and prepare your jars. I got 3 8 oz, 5 4 oz plus extra for the fridge
Ask a question about this stepMix the pectin and white sugar together and set aside. Put a tablespoon in the freezer.
Ask a question about this stepPut everything else in a pot and bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, until the plums soften. At this point I use a potato masher to mash the jam a bit, but I leave some chunks too. Do this according to how you like your jam.
Ask a question about this stepStir in the sugar and pectin and bring your jam back to a boil for a minute or so, stirring all the while. Taste for sugar and add more if you want it sweeter. Now take a bit of the liquidy part and drizzle it onto the back of the frozen spoon. Run your finger through it - it should separate and be, well, jammy.
Ask a question about this stepIf you are canning, process the jam accordingly (into sterile jars, new tops on, rings on loosely, boil for 5 minutes, then take them out and smile while they pop pop pop), if not then put it in some sort of container and refridgerate. You will have plenty for friends and neighbors.
Ask a question about this stepAJ, I did exactly as you suggested + a tiny bit of apple juice, reboiled, tasted (SO good) and reprocessed. Thank you. I'll let you know how it turns out but I think the outlook is good.
Hey I just now saw this exchange - did it work? I just made a batch too and it is a teeny bit stiffer than last year's, but still plenty "jammy" - anyhow I am glad you are trying it!!! I need to make loads before Christmas ...
hi there, the jam was MUCH better after i took AJs suggestion. i still heat and add boiling water when i serve it but the flavor is wonderful. i'll start light with pectin next time. lovely, lovely recipe!!
Hurrah that is great news! I will remember for next time mine is too thick - blueberry tends to pull that trick on me for some reason ...
Oh my gosh, AntoniaJames- this gives me some hope of not dumping all this beautiful food. Do you mean that I might be able to open the sealed jars, dump everything back into a pot, thin and reseal? What would you suggest adding to this particular recipe? And yes, the spoon test came out perfectly so I was quite surprised by this. Thank you so much!
em-i-lis, yes, it's worth a try! An old trick of jammers everywhere is to test the set/flavor correction by doing whatever you think will fix the problem to a single jar. So easy! (You can do it in an ordinary saucepan that's deep enough to cover one jar . . . just set the jar on a folded dishcloth in the bottom of the pan.) What I would do is add a tablespoon or two of boiling water to the contents of one jar. Heat it to boiling, fill a sterilized jar, then process. Wait for a full 24 hours before opening. Actually, I'd wait a week, as often the set really doesn't make itself fully known until several days later.Then, open it and see what you think. If it works, add the same amount of water per jar and re-can. I recommend you take this question over to foodpickle, to see what other experienced jam makers recommend! I've never thinned with water, so I don't know what ratio would typically be best in this case. ;o)
This looks and sounds so beautiful, but mine did not turn out. :( I used fresh Italian plums and another black-skinned, light-fleshed sweeter one, both from the farmers market. Everything just smelled to heaven but when I opened a jar this morning to taste, it was a pasty log that was so stiff, it was almost like a candle. I used exactly the amount of pectin called for: used Pomona's Universal. Does anyone have any guesses what happened? AJ mentioned something about different plums having different pectin levels. Is that it?
I cannot imagine any other explanation. I made two batches of this last year and both of them, as it happened, were actually looser than usual. Last summer, the stone fruit here was crazy. I had a batch of peach jam that was also loose, and a batch of pluot jam that was quite stiff, so I opened the jars and dumped all of their contents into my jamming kettle to combine both batches just until they started to boil, stirring all the while. Then I re-processed, to create a jam with the most amazing texture and flavor. It was everyone's favorite! I've had a lot of challenges with plums over the years, including with deceptive "cold spoon" tests -- the set seems perfect on the spoon, but a week later, after opening a jar, the jam was much too stiff -- and have found that it may even depend on the tree, and not the orchard or variety, as to the pectin level of the plum. There was an interesting foodpickle thread about this a few weeks ago. I believe that the person who asked the question simply thinned the stiff jam with a bit of hot water. I don't know if that would work when re-canning .. . . ;o)
I gave jars of this as holiday gifts. Not at all surprisingly, everyone raved about it. I'm hoarding the remaining few jars . . . . ;o)
Oh I am so glad! I have one jar left, also hoarding it and bemoaning that we won't see plums again any time soon!
Have you made this with prune plums? And if I don't want to use pectic how much additional sugar would you recommend?
Can't wait to try this!
Hi Dottieinthekitchen - I just saw this! If you don't use pectin I think you actually just need to increase the cook time so that it cooks down and thickens more ... I would start off easy on the sugar and add more if needed, do make sure to bring any added sugar back to a good boil for at least a minute. Good luck I hope you like it!!!
You may (or then again, may not) know this, but some plum varieties are very high in pectin and others are much lower. I've had some interesting surprises, both using pectin and not, with jams coming out very stiff, or very loose, but not finding out until a week or so after I've vacuumed sealed the jars. If I were making this without pectin, I'd probably (i) add some grated green apple and (ii) check for pectin content using the rubbing alcohol test. If you need more info on the latter, please let me know. ;o)
Hey, aargersi, does this recipe make about 5 1/2 eight-ounce jars (i.e., what you've shown in your picture)? I need to know how many jars/lids to sterilize. I cannot wait to try this! Also, what kind of plums did you use? Do you think it makes any difference? Thank you!!
I am so happy you are testing this! Yes all of the jars in the photo are what I canned - 5 4oz and 3 8 oxz - plus I always put a tub straight in the fridge that I am going to eat right away (matter o fact I JUST finished the plum this morning!). I used half big black (tart) plums and half sort of medium sized red ones that were sweeter. The amouint of sugar will definitly depend on the plums you can get your hands on ...
Hey I lost my email address book with computer change so if you email me I can grab your addy back ...
Yum...plum and port and chinese five spice (I just used some in a chicken soup I'm making)...your jam recipes are a very convincing argument to start canning! I imagine you and AJ have to die for pantries filled with all kinds of canned deliciousness. : )
You've been reading my mind! I woke up this morning thinking about putting port in a plum jam or spread. I use port in a savory plum concoction that I often make (recipe possibly will be posted, depending on my ability to (a) actually make the recipe, to measure amounts and (b) juggle priorities. . ) I've never used the two together in a spiced spread like this. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. Although I have already made nearly two dozen jars of plum jam (not to mention the two+ dozen jars of other stone fruit jams, including some heavenly mixes), I really want to try this . . . and plan to do so!! ;o)
I will keep an eye out for your recipe! I have a lot of peach things in the pantry now too ... it's crazy!
Peaches and plums go really well together in jam, by the way . . . . peaches are generally sweet by nature, and most of our plums, even when ripe, are rather tart, so the combination, especially when you add just a bit of spice, is out of this world. I know you didn't want to hear that . . .I want to try every jam, sauce and fruit butter recipe posted! My family is going to lock me in my room and ground me until November if I bring into the house another big bag, flat or "lug" (my preferred quantity) of anything that can be canned or made into jam. I spent 20 minutes early this morning re-organizing my jam storage space, wondering how I've completely filled every inch of available space and it's only the first week of August!
:-) I am in time out after bringing home a 1/2 bushel of tomatoes and a sh!t - load of ugly but tasty peaches from the farmer's market a couple weeks ago
I was wondering what you were up to this week! These look lovely. Saturday I am taking Mary Reilly's canning class with a few other Food52ers in Newburyport, MA. So I am going to make my preserves after that.
How FUN! Please take loads of pictures and share all that you learn!!! And beware once you start canning it is hard to stop - ask everyone I ever met (they all have jam now :-)
Kristen is the Senior Editor of food52.
aagersi, just a quick note about a fab way in which i used this jam last night. in a food processor, i pureed 1/2 onion, 2 T slivered fresh ginger, 2 T brown sugar and some coriander. i took 1/4 of that and put it in a ziploc w/ 2 chicken breasts. mashed and marinated for a while. heated a grill, caked the chicken wtih the rest of the onion mixture, grilled and then served with your spiced plum jam atop it all. DELISH!! many thanks!