I put up one big jar of Butter Plum Jam, that is for Svetochka and her sweet tooth. She then decided to pick purple plums and can then as jam and give them to family…
Yesterday, I did two jars and nothing is more satisfying than to have the lids show a vacuum has been successful. I do two jars at a time because that is the only way to be assured that I do it right. Not much room to work in and unless I want to build a fire outside, I have to limit myself to the size of pans that work with our stoves. Thus my favorite sauce pan, will hold enough plums and sugar to make one liter of perfect plum jam…
It is very simple, actually too simple and no one will accept that I have no issues with jam like this. For you see everyone wants to have a secrete ingredient, be it a pinch of vanilla, lemon juice and or grandma’s secrete spice. Jam is nothing but fruit and sugar…
Pectin is not needed with plums. They have enough pectin built in….no added water is necessary either. They have enough moisture to make a fine plum jam…
Take one kilo of pitted plums…
Take one kilo white sugar…
Put in a sauce pan to hold it all and coo it down. Boil it (do not burn it and that means stir it constantly)….turn off the stove and remove the pan from the heat….later (20 minutes of so), put back on the stove and boil it again….This time simmer it and stir it for a good half hour….Get it thickened by boiling off the moisture to your happiness level (remember it will thicken as it cools also)….Take off stove and cool again. Check after cooling to see if you are happy with thickness?
Do this up to five times, before calling it finished. I do mine three times and it makes a very thick jam. Always go one to one: one kilo of pitted plums to one kilo of pure sugar…
Then eat it without canning (Sveta has a cup full- yum yum) and or can it, to long term store it…
I will not tell you how to can it. I have my own way and it works. Grandma taught me how to can food. Jams and jellies are the easiest to can and enjoy later…
But you said Sveta had Butter Plum Jam?
Okay you got me…
Kilo of yellow (Not purple? Okay use purple, but yellow are better for this.) plums, kilo of sugar and a big chunk of butter (real butter) to taste. Cook the same and add one more cooking session, and you will find yourself with, not apple butter, but plum butter and toast will love your plum butter. You just might like it also?
Plum Butter is more of a thick spread and there are not chunks of plums in it. It is all cooked into a thick smooth paste. The thickness is how long you simmer and remove moisture from the product…
Lets see: two more jars today and I will have the family covered with delicious plum jam…
WtR