Homemade Plum Jam Recipe - Mom On Timeout (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making jam? ›

The Magic of Macerating

One of my favorite tricks for jam-making is macerating the fruit first. Macerating is the process of coating the fruit in sugar and letting it rest for a few hours or overnight, which pulls some of the juice out of the fruit and creates a syrup with the sugar.

Take a small amount of the (still liquid) jam in a teaspoon, cool and taste it. If it tastes too sour for your liking, add a teaspoon or two more of sugar and continue cooking. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir the jam continuously for anywhere between 7-12 minutes.

Jam that was not heated to 104C-105C will not be set. In this is the case, heat the jam again. Use a jam thermometer to check when it reaches temperature. However, if the jam has been heated sufficiently, but still did not set, then it requires more pectin and acid.

Coarse-grain white granulated sugar is best for jam-making as it ensures a good clear jam, but fine caster sugar can also be used. The coarse grains dissolve more slowly and evenly, giving a better result. Granulated sugar with added pectin is also available, but it shouldn't be necessary to use this.

Once the jam reaches a slow, thick boil, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam returns to its earlier consistency, about another 5 minutes.

Lemon is crucial to balancing those sweet flavors, but it also helps the pectin to firm up the jam. It can be added at the start of the cooking process or towards the end, but what must be taken into account is that adding liquids to the jam mixture will inevitably require the jam to cook for longer.

If, on the other hand, the jam is rock solid, that means you've gone too far and cooked it too long. You can try adding a little water to thin it out, but bear in mind that after overcooking a jam, you can't really get those fresh fruit flavors back.

Whole spices such as cardamom pods, allspice berries, black peppercorns, whole cloves, or cinnamon sticks can be infused in a sachet while the jam cooks, or small amounts of ground spices can be added directly in. Warm spices pair especially well with fruit, and a little goes a long way, so taste as you go!

European plums, aka prune plums, are mainly grown to be turned into dried plums. Their thick skins, high sugar content, and dense flesh make them ideal for drying, and best for baking and jam-making.

How much lemon juice is in jam? ›

For every two cups of fruit puree, add to the pot one scant cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. Stir to combine, and taste. Very tart fruit (such as sour cherries or some plums) might need a little more sugar. Very sweet fruit (such as white peaches) might need a little more lemon juice.

Some of my favourite jam flavours are mixed berries, peach and cherry. This jam recipe is made without pectin. Cornflour (or cornstarch) combined with lemon juice is a great alternative to pectin. It thickens up jam really well, combined with the sugar and heat.

5. Do Not Stir Once Mixture Is Boiling. Once your jam/marmalade it has reached a rapid rolling boil do not stir it. Stirring it will alter the temperature of the jam/marmalade meaning it will take longer to reach the setting point.

You can also let the spoonful of jam sit on the cold plate for 30 seconds and then push it with your spoon or finger. If it wrinkles up, you've reached your setting point. TIP: Use a white plate so you can see the jam clearly. A darker plate or patterned plate may give you the impression your jam is set when it is not.

The addition of lemon juice also helps to activate the pectin and set your jam. Slightly unripe fruit contains more pectin and is more acidic than very ripe fruit and will also help to set your jam more easily.

Incidentally, sugar is an essential part of what makes preserves, well, preserved. All of the microorganisms (yeasts, mold, bacteria) that cause spoilage need water to survive and proliferate. When the water molecules are all bound up with the sugar, though, the nasties can't survive.

The tartness of the vinegar subtly balances the flavor of the jam, bringing out the complexities of the fruit. Balsamic Vinegar Jams are not a sour or overly acidic finished product, simply a well-rounded, delicious batch of jam!”