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    Home » Recipes » Preserves

    Published on: July 30, 2014 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: September 12, 2023 5 Comments

    Plum jam

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    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Homemade plum jam flavoured with tea and spices

    This easy plum jam recipe makes a small batch without pectin that you can easily can in a water bath on the stove. Feel free to make it plain, or you can flavour it with cinnamon or even Earl Grey tea leaves.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    plum jam with cinnamon
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Though I say that apricot jam is my favourite jam, I think plum jam ranks high on the list too. It has such a vibrant colour and flavour, and it makes a great filling for donuts. It's also very easy to make, and you don't need to add any commercial pectin to achieve the perfect set!

    Jump to:
    • Steps for perfect plum jam
    • Ways to flavour plum jam
    • Canning tools to make your jam-making easier
    • Storage
    • What to make and serve with plum jam
    • Other jams to make in the summer
    • 📖 Recipe
    3 steps to perfect plum jam

    Steps for perfect plum jam

    Plum jam is easy. Here's a breakdown of the steps:

    1. Prepare the fruit, washing and drying it, then chopping it into small pieces.
    2. Macerate the fruit, mixing it with sugar, which draws out the water and helps break down the fruit so that your jam will boil quickly and the sugar will be all dissolved.
    3. Boil the jam until you reach the jam setting point. You can use a thermometer to help judge the set, but also a frozen plate test. It's just like determining the marmalade setting point so watch the jam as it boils: the bubbles will be more stable when you approach the perfect set.

    Tip: you don't have to peel the plums to make jam, which makes this recipe even easier to do. Just wash and chop the fruit, discarding the stone and stems as you go.

    Spiced plum jam

    Ways to flavour plum jam

    Plum jam is great plain, but why not try infusing it? You can infuse it with your favourite tea or spices, like cinnamon or cardamom.

    Adding spices like cinnamon yields a plum jam that tastes like plum pie filling. It's amazing the flavour you can get out of just one cinnamon stick.

    Canning tools to make your jam-making easier

    Don't forget, if you are afraid of home canning, or if you don't have the proper tools, I have product reviews on the blog for a home canning starter kit that you can purchase from Amazon to get you going (tool kit on Amazon & starter kit from Bernardin on Amazon). Make sure to have a probe thermometer to take away the guessing of when the jam is cooked enough. I use a Thermapen which is very fast at registering temperatures and temperature changes, but the ChefAlarm is a great hands-free option!

    The basic plum jam recipe is adapted from Camilla Wynne's book Preservation Society Home Preserves (available on Amazon).

    I like to use a thermometer when I boil a batch of jam: the thermometer allows you to monitor the temperature of the jam, thus ensuring you achieve a high enough temperature so your jam will set when it cools. This is the jam setting point. You can also use the plate test (also known as wrinkle test) by dolloping jam on a frozen saucer.

    Spiced plum jam with toast

    Storage

    If you seal the jars properly and use clean sterilized jars, you should be able to keep this jam indefinitely in a cool, dry place, away from light.

    I've tested both canning the jars by boiling the closed jars for 10 minutes to seal them or inverting the closed jars, then inverting again back to upright. Both methods work well.

    If you don't seal the jars properly, or if you have a doubt, just keep the jars in the fridge.

    When it's time to using your jam, always use a clean spoon or knife to take out a serving and don't double dip into the jar of jam because you will contaminate it. Once the jar is open, you must store it in the refrigerator. Otherwise, mold may develop. An open jar of jam will last up to one month if stored in the refrigerator.

    Once common misconception is that you can reboil a jar of jam that has developed mold. I would not recommend this. I also would not recommend removing the layer of mold from the top and eating what's below. The mold you see is a fraction of what exists below and it's better to be safe: toss the contents of jar, wash and sterilize the jar, and reuse it to make a fresh batch of jam.

    What to make and serve with plum jam

    When you start making jam at home, you will inevitably wind up with many jars of it. It makes a great gift, but you should also keep some for yourself to enjoy and to bake with! Here are a few ideas of what you can bake with jam and what to serve with it:

    • Jam-filled shortbread cookies
    • Thumbprint cookies
    • Bostock
    • Scones
    • Butter biscuits
    • Brioche kneaded in the stand mixer

    Other jams to make in the summer

    Summer calls for making preserves. Each month, focus on one fruit and by the end of the summer, you'll have a rainbow of jams to enjoy year-round:

    • In the early summer months, the most obvious jam to make is rhubarb jam (no pectin) and also honey apricot jam
    • Mid summer, focus on the berries, like this strawberry red currant jam and this blueberry jam
    • At the end of the summer, make this spiced apple jam and the plum jam featured here

    📖 Recipe

    A jar of plum jam served with toast.

    Plum Jam

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    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
    5 from 1 vote
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    Prep Time 1 hour hr
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 jars
    Calories 35 kcal

    Equipment

    • Big pot
    • ChefAlarm thermometer
    • Mason jars
    • Canning kit

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1.25 kg Italian plums pitted and diced
    • 450 g granulated sugar
    • 65 mL fresh lemon juice

    Flavour options (choose one or the other, or neither)

    • 1 cinnamon stick 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
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    More Homemade Preserve Recipes

    • Peach jam served with sourdough bread and butter on the side.
      Peach jam
    • Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter on a pink plate.
      Strawberry jam
    • Strawberry jam with rhubarb smeared on a piece of toast on a plate.
      Strawberry rhubarb jam
    • The freezer plate test with a dollop of strawberry jam to show it wrinkles when it sets.
      The jam setting point and how to determine jam set
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    Comments

    1. carrie says

      August 29, 2014 at 7:34 pm

      Oh my - this looks amazing. Could I double the recipe?

      Reply
    2. Stephanie says

      August 01, 2014 at 1:21 pm

      Yum yum yum!! I love making jam.. and plum is one of my favvorites. Beautiful photos (as always)

      Reply
    3. Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says

      July 31, 2014 at 6:27 am

      Janice this looks wonderful. My nana used to make the best plum jam and it always makes me think of her. Of course, I need that canning kit now 😉

      Reply
    4. Deb says

      July 30, 2014 at 12:10 pm

      Plum jam is a favorite of mine. A dollop on top of plain yogurt is just sublime! I'm daydreaming of the Earl Grey version, but I imagine cinnamon is a lively contender for my morning toast!

      Reply
      • Mary McNeill says

        October 26, 2019 at 2:12 pm

        I made peach jam with Earl Grey tea and it was zowwy. I soaked a EG tea bag in the cut up peaches overnight and cooked up the next morning. The EG really had a chance to spread it's flavour. I also did blueberry jam with lime again a zowwy. Just thought I"d tell you.

        Reply

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