At my childhood home the backyard was filled with trees. A cran-apple, lemon, pear and plum tree. Now only 2 remain, the lemon and the plum tree. Every summer the plum tree blooms giving us an abundance of delicious juicy plums. The tree reaps so much fruit that sadly some of the plums spoil. Last summer in order to save these delectable purple jewels I made jam. It was certainly an experience! Jamming and canning take time. You need to mark out time before you start. Make it an event!
This summer, my dad brought me a huge box filled to the brim with plums. I now had 10 pounds of plums! What to do? Jam, of course! I divided the work into 2 days. I pitted the plums (I left the skin on, I didn't want to lose any nutrition plus it makes things so much easier) and washed the jars on day 1. Day 2 I made the jam, sterilized the jars and completed the canning. The recipe is really straight forward. It only has 4 ingredients: fresh plums, sugar, lime and cardamon. All the ingredients amount can be changed according to your preference. If the fruit is a little on the sour side add more sugar, its no problem. If you want more of the cardamon taste add more, but be careful cardamon is powerful stuff so be gentle. This is what I love about cooking. You can be creative and just let the ingredients speak to you. Don't be afraid to try new things, experiment or tweak a recipe. Make it yours and have fun! |
Buen Provecho!
Plum Lime Jam - yields 5 pints or 10-12 half pints
Ingredients:5lbs Plums, pitted & quarted
3-4 cups Sugar
1/2 Lime
1 tsp Lime zest
1 1/2 tsp cardamon
1/2 cup Water (only if fruit is not juicy enough)
Instructions:
1. Add plum & sugar into a stock pot. If the plums don't have a lot of juice you can add up to 1/2 cup of water.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until mixture has reduced and thicken (jelly state), stirring often to make sure it doesn't burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. Also skim any foam that rises.
3. While mixture is reducing, sterilize the pint or half-pint jars, lids, and bands, according to manufacturer's directions.
4. Once mixture has reduced add lime juice, lime zest and cardamon. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, continue to stir. Remove form heat.
5. Divide jam among sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jar. Wipe rims of jars to remove any jam and seal with lids and bands.
6. Process jars in boiling water for 10-15 minutes. Remove jars and let them complete cool, about 24 hours.
7. Label, share and store in cool, dry place. Should last up to 8 months.
Enjoy!
vmeats.blogspot.com recipe
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