Being Frugal,  Recipes,  Vegetarian Recipes

Sooo many jam puns to make.

All of them along the lines of: aw yeah, this is my jam… 

But it is!

Making jam has been on my list of things I’ve been meaning to try for a long time now, so when I came home with about 4-5 pounds of Italian plums, I figured there was no time like the present.

Ordinarily, jams need pectin in order to be more like jelly and less like, well, hot fruity goo. Plums (and apples) are naturally high in pectin so no need to go to several different stores looking for pectin only to come up empty-handed, and yes, I’m looking at you, local Target that sells canning supplies but not pectin.

As it turns out, making jam is ridiculously easy. People should stop saying “easy as pie” because pie crust is a bitch to make and everyone should start saying “easy as jam” instead.  Because that’s how easy it is.

Way-easier-than-pie plum freezer jam

Combine 4 cups plums (skinned, pitted, and chopped) with 2 cups sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to a slow boil and let cook for 25-30 minutes, skimming off any foam that appears. After 25 minutes, start testing the jam to see if it’s set. (I use the plate-in-the-freezer method.) I did not process this in a water-bath to be shelf stable; I just put it in jars and put one in the fridge (will last for 3-4 weeks) and another in the freezer (will last for several months assuming you don’t eat it way before then).

3 Comments

  • Mahogany

    Our CSA gave us a shitload of plums. They’re have a huge orchard, so we get lovely stone fruit all summer, including more plums than we can shake a stick at. There will definitely be some plum jam happening in our kitchen this week!

  • Christian

    I was just reading up on jams and preserves. I’m encouraged to hear jam-making is actually accessible to someone of my skill level. We live near a couple good farmers’ markets so it should be easy to pick up enough berries for such a project. It sounds exciting!