Two wild plum jam recipes
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Jam Jelly and Preserves | 122 comments
Photo: Wild plums make delicious jam
Here are two of our wild plum jam recipes. Wild plums taste quite tart, similar to damsons. They are excellent for jam and jelly and both are not too sweet.
The following recipes describe two methods for making wild plum jam.
If your plums are barely ripe (still pretty firm) go for the first one, if they are soft and ripe go for the second. The barely ripe recipe will have a sharper taste.
Barely ripe wild plum jam recipe:
Ingredients:
900g/2lb of barely ripe wild plums
900g/2lb of preserving sugar
Method:
- Wash the plums and discard any damaged fruit.
- Slit the plums with a knife. This will allow the stones to float to the surface during cooking so that they can be easily removed.
- Place plums in a non metallic bowl, sprinkle over sugar and mix to coat the plums.
- Cover with a clean tea cloth and leave overnight.
- The following day put plums and sugar into a large heavy bottomed saucepan (or preserving pan) and heat very gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Bring the jam to the boil and continue to boil very rapidly for about 8-10 minutes until the jam reaches setting point. At this stage carefully remove the stones as they float up to the surface, with a slotted spoon. (What is setting point? See tricks and tips below).
- When the jam has set, carefully pour into warm, sterilised jars, using a ladle or small jug (How to sterilise jars? See tricks and tips below)
- Cover the jars with tight fitting screw-top lids, or waxed disks and cellophane pot covers (waxed disks, wax facing upwards and plastic covers secured with plastic bands).
- when cold and store in a cool, dark place, away from damp.
Ripe wild plum jam recipe:
Ingredients:
900g/2lb of ripe wild plums
900g/2lb of white granulated sugar – if you prefer a more tart jam cut the sugar by a quarter – I prefer less sugar myself
½ pint/275ml of water
Method:
- Wash the plums and discard any damaged fruit.
- Put the plums and water into a large heavy bottomed saucepan (or preserving pan) and simmer gently until the skins split and they are soft.
- Meanwhile, warm the sugar in a low oven for ten minutes and add to the fruit.
- Stir gently over a low heat until you are sure that all the sugar crystals have dissolved.
- Turn up the heat to its highest setting and, stirring frequently, let the fruit boil rapidly for 8-10 minutes (this is called a rolling boil).
- Remove the stones with a slotted spoon during the boiling process.
- Test for set (What is set/ setting point? See tricks and tips below).
- If the jam has not set, continue to boil rapidly and test at five minute intervals.
- When the jam has set carefully pour into warm, sterilised jars, using a ladle or small jug. (How to sterilise jars? See tricks and tips below)
- Cover the jars with tight fitting screw-top lids, or waxed disks and cellophane pot covers (waxed disks, wax facing upwards and plastic covers secured with plastic bands).
- Label when cold and store in a cool, dark place, away from damp.
Tips and tricks:
Jam “set” or “setting point”:
Getting the right set can be tricky. I have tried using a jam thermometer but find it easier to use the following method. Before you start to make the jam, put a couple of plates in the fridge so that the warm jam can be drizzled onto a cold plate (when we make jam we often forget to return the plate to the fridge between tests, using two plates means that you have a spare cold plate). Return the plate to the fridge to cool for approx two minutes. It has set when you run your finger through it and leave a crinkly track mark. If after two minutes the cooled jam is too liquid, continue to boil the jam, testing it every few minutes until you have the right set. The jam is far more delicious if it is slightly runny.
Sterilising the jars:
We collect jars all year round for our jelly, chutney and jam making sessions. I try to soak off labels and store the clean jars and metal plastic coated screw-top lids in an accessible place. The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the jam, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c/140c for fan assisted. When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
Damson Jam: The recipes above work well with damsons.
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So delighted to have found your site and, in particular, this recipe. This is my first year with an allotment and we had a lovely crop of plums. Prior to this recipe I had tried three different ways of making jam and was disheartened that none of them came out right. Now I have tasty jam to give to friends and relatives but most importantly a sense of achievement that I grew something then made something with it. Hurrah! Many thanks.
Thankyou so much for this recipe! I now have two (rapidly vanishing) jars of yummy plum jam!
For future reference, any jams that have mold on the surface should be discarded immediately, not eaten… and certainly not rebottled!
Yes, you survived, but that does not mean that the practice is safe or healthy. The molds that form on jam could be producing a mycotoxin, which have been linked to certain cancers, not just to food-poisoning. Microbiologists recommend against scooping out the mold and using the remaining condiment, as it is not possible to know how far the mold has penetrated. Improperly sterilised or sealed preserves can also harbour the bacterium that causes botulism if the acid content isn’t high enough.
Please, research the issue and be more careful!
I know it’s sad to have to throw away something you worked so hard on — I’ve had to discard batches in the past, and it’s heart-breaking — but better that than making myself, or, worse, someone I love, seriously ill.
I now have 6 beautiful ruby red jars of absolutely gorgeous cherry plum & miribelle jam sitting on my dresser cooling. I followed your recipe for the ripe plums, using 1Kg preserving sugar and 1kg fruit, no water but I added half a cinnamon stick to the boiling jam, which seems to take that slightly bitter edge off. A few years ago I made plum jelly with your recipe and also used your jar sterilisation method – the jelly is still mould-free and delicious! Oh, and the Damson gin from the same year is…sinful!
Me again,
just to say I finished the jam with the help of the grand daughters, made up to just under 8 pounds, more than enough to last all winter. Reduced sugar, hubby is slightly diabetic,so ’tis a bit less thick, but the practice nurse wants another jar, lovely stuff, sets the morning work run off with a treat. Many thanks. Just finishing the green tomato chutney, does anyone have a glass jar tree?
Thanks again for a smashing recipe.
Hi
Thank you so much for the super wild plum recipe – my husband appeared at the back door with a whole bowl of these little fruit (like a tiny Victoria?) and asked if they were any use, so…………and yes they made 4/5 jars of beautifully set (I could turn the jar upside down with no movement!), slightly tart and a little bitter edge, gorgeous jam which I reckon will suit toast or chees or even a slice of ham!
hi there, just like to add a little bit, dont have a shed or cellar, but I do have a friendly retailer who gets large polystyrene boxes with lids, a mall corner in a small garden, carefull stacking behind a tree screen and the job is done, doing the wild plum recipe now,our local council has lined somw bus lanes with trees, red and yellow plums, crab apples trees, and blackberry bushes throughout, wonderful! many thanks.
Hi Charlie
Great that the recipe turned out well for you!
Thankyou for the recipies… my plums have been turned into gorgeous jam and will last me for months 🙂
Cheers
Charlie
Hello Rob
It’s important to take the saucepan off the heat when testing for a set.
I don’t know why you need water in the second recipe, per se, perhaps it’s because it’s a different cooking method.
I reckon the ripe cherry plum jam is the tastier recipe. You can add water to your cement jam see here https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=514.