Plum Jam
Homemade plum jam is a a fabulous treat for breakfast. You can make it plain, or flavour it with cinnamon, or infuse it with Earl Grey tea flavour
Servings: 4 jars
Calories: 35kcal
Ingredients
- 1.25 kg Italian plums pitted and diced
- 450 grams granulated sugar
- 65 mL fresh lemon juice
Flavour options (choose one or the other, or neither)
- 1 cinnamon stick(s) optional
- 22.5 mL loose leaf Earl Grey tea optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chopped plums, sugar, lemon juice and flavour (either a cinnamon stick OR the Earl Grey tea leaves wrapped in a cheesecloth to form a make-shift tea bag). Stir everything together and let rest on the counter for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every so often. The juices from the plums will form a syrup with the sugar as it dissolves.
- At the end of the day, stir once more and then cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.
- The next day, transfer the macerated plum mixture to a large pot and heat on medium–high to bring it to a boil, stirring often.
- Skim off any foam as needed and continue to boil/stir until the jam has thickened (I boiled one batch to 215ºF and the other to 217ºF). The jam is probably thick enough when it starts spitting at you.
- Remove the cinnamon stick or the Earl Grey tea bag from the pot. Transfer the hot jam to hot, sterilized 250-mL mason jars using your handy canning tool kit available on Amazon, leaving ¼" headspace. Cover with clean, sterilized snap lids. If a jar isn't filled full, put it in the fridge to enjoy right away.
- Process in a large boiling water batch for 5 minutes, then leave them another 5 minutes, still in the canning pot but off the heat before transferring the jars to a clean towel on the counter.
- Let the jars rest overnight before labelling and storing them.
Notes
For the Earl Grey tea, use a good quality tea. I suggest Kusmi, for example, which you can buy on Amazon .
This recipe is adapted from the Preservation Society book on preserves, available on Amazon.
Remember that checking the temperature of your batch of jam as it cooks with a thermometer can help you determine if you have hit the jam setting point. Use a digital probe thermometer for faster readings, like the ChefAlarm which will register changes in temperature in 3 seconds or less!
Nutrition
Calories: 35kcal
