Plum Jam – “How To Make” From The Jam Jar Shop

Posted by Neil Smith on

Someone holding a handful of blueberries.

Recipe Ingredients

  • 2kg plums (weight them with stones removed)
  • 1.8kg plain granulated sugar

Recipe Equipment

  • Large preserving pan
  • Wooden spoon
  • Faceted glass Jam jars (14oz)
  • Muslin cloth
  • Cellophane covers & waxed discs
  • Wooden board
  • Bathroom scales
  • 4 small plates
  • A length of string approx 1 metre
  • Large bowl
  • Sharp knife

HOW TO MAKE PLUM JAM

Plums are ideal for a first foray into jam making. They have just the right amount of pectin, allowing you the best chance of success first time around. Strawberries have very little pectin, making it difficult to get the jam to set, while fruits like blackcurrant have a great deal, so it’s all too easy to end up with a jam that’s too well set. Plums grow very well in Britain, so you may know someone who has a tree and can give you some plums. If not, and you have some space in your garden, consider planting a plum tree.
I tend to make jams in large batches (if I’m going to go to the effort of making jam, I want to get a lot out of it) but you can scale this down by halving the ingredients if you like. I would not suggest scaling it up, no matter how many plums you have! I like my jams not-too-sweet, so there is less sugar than fruit in this recipe. 
  1. Wash the plums and stone them
  2. Weighing the plums after stoning
  3. Don’t bother taking the skins off as the skins will pretty much dissolve as you cook them.
  4. Put in preserving pan.
  5. You can add a very small amount of water if you like to try to prevent them from sticking when you first start cooking them.
  6. Cook them until they are mushy.
  7. Then turn the heat way down and add the sugar.
  8. Stir until the sugar is dissolved – you can generally tell when it’s dissolved since the sugar makes a gritty sounds until it’s fully dissolved.
  9. Bring it up to the boil and boil for 10 minutes.
  10. At this time you can start testing for a set with a spoonful of jam on a cold plate.
  11. When it’s ready, ladle into hot jars and put on lids.
  12. I generally use facetted glass 14oz jars, and this recipe makes 10 or so jars, depending on how long you have to cook it to get a set.

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