How To Cook Down Wild Plums For Jelly

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Homemade Plum Jelly

September 8, 2022

Piece of cake homemade plum jelly is a groovy introduction to making bootleg jelly. This elementary recipe has but a few ingredients and is big on flavour.

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Until a yr ago, my family was 100% team Mama's Bootleg Strawberry Jam . I bought a apartment of Louisiana strawberries every spring from the farmer's market, canned several batches of homemade jam and prayed that it would last us through until next spring.

That is, until ane day last September. I was making a recipe that chosen for plum jelly. It was one of those situations where I only needed a couple of tablespoons, but I had to buy an entire jar. I didn't want to permit a perfectly good jar of jelly go to waste, so the next time I reached the bottom of a jar of homemade jam, I substituted the store bought plum jelly instead. Big mistake.

The moment that store bought jelly hitting Big Blood brother's lips, he decided it was the terminate all exist all and never would he let another flavour of jelly touch his peanut butter sandwich. My child, who was raised on bootleg, chose store bought. Traitor.

For the last 12 months, I've been shelling out $3 a pop for a jar of store bought plum jelly and it's been killing me. Finally, a few weeks ago I spied a brandish of plums as I walked into the produce section of my shop. Finally, victory would be mine again!

What'due south the difference between jam, jelly and preserves?

You may take perused the jelly aisle and notice jars labeled jam, jelly, preserves or marmalade. They are all produced the same way. The difference is in how the fruit is treated.

Jelly is made with fruit juice only.
Jam is make with pureed or crushed fruit.
Preserves have large chunks of fruit in them.
Marmalade is made with the peels just and made exclusively with citrus fruits.

How to excerpt the juice from plums

Don't worry, you won't be standing over a juicer for hours. We extract the juice by cooking the plums down. You'll need virtually 5 pounds of plums for 8 (8 oz.) jelly jars. Start by cutting open your plums and removing the pits.

halved plum lying on a white counter next to a stock pot

I don't bother peeling them because we will be straining our liquid anyway. Give-and-take to the wise, wear and onetime t-shirt for this part. Depending on how juicy your plums are, this can become messy and the juice stains.

Place your pitted plums in a large stock pot. Encompass them with 1 ½ cups of water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, comprehend the pot and simmer for x minutes.

sliced plums in a metal stock pot covered with water

Adjacent, we want to split the juice from the cooked fruit. I used a dollar store fine mesh colander I had on hand fitted over a mixing bowl. You can also employ a fine mesh strainer or line a colander with several layers of cheese textile. I left the plums to sit for several hours to give the juice plenty of fourth dimension to drain.

cooked plums in a colander over a metal mixing bowl

By this fourth dimension, the fruit has tuckered and the juice has cooled (The color reminds me of a formal dress I wore in high schoolhouse. Pretty, isn't it?). Y'all should have about 5 ½ cups of juice. Pour the juice dorsum into a stock pot and add one parcel of pectin.

Wait, what's pectin?

Pectin is a naturally occurring fiber found in fruits. It helps to thicken the jelly to a spreadable consistency. Some fruits have more pectin than others.

There are recipes out at that place for no-pectin jams and jellies. I haven't had the best luck with them. I'd rather put the fourth dimension in to make jelly but to end up with syrup. If yous are worried about sugar, at that place are some depression sugar pectins out there that I have had keen success with.

Why Do Y'all Add Butter to Homemade Jam?

We're likewise going to one tablespoon of butter to the pot. As your juice boils, it will kickoff to cream. The foam is merely air bubbling and it won't hurt you to swallow it. But it can cause your jelly to wait cloudy. If you lot are planning on canning your jelly, it can as well affect the shelf life. The butter breaks the surface tension and prevents the foam from forming in the first place.

However, if y'all forget the butter, don't sweat it. You'll just need to skim the cream off the top earlier pouring the jelly into jars.

How to Make Plum Jelly

Once you've added the pectin and butter, bring the juice to a full rolling boil over loftier heat. That just means that the boil doesn't finish when you lot stir information technology. Keep boiling and add the carbohydrate. Boil for one minute. Boiling it for longer will cause the jelly to get more house and harder to spread. Skim off any foam that has formed with a metal spoon. Discard the foam.

The jelly will exist syrupy at get-go. It will thicken equally information technology cools. Simply if you're just dying to know if the jelly fix or non, in that location is a manner to test it. Stick a meta spoon in the freezer for several minutes. Once it'south good a cold, lay it on the counter and distill a few drops of the jelly on it. The jelly on the spoon should set within a matter of minutes.

metal spoon covered with a drop of plum jelly on it

How to Store Homemade Plum Jelly

Jelly has a longer shelf life than other types of jams or preserves considering of its higher sugar content. Jelly what has not been canned will last 1 yr in the fridge.

I prefer to can my homemade jams and jellies. Because of its high acid content, plum jelly tin can be candy using the water bath canning method. Check out my beginner'due south guide to waterbath canning.

Simply fill clean jars, leaving ¼-inch of headspace. Fill the pot until the jars are covered with at to the lowest degree one-inch of h2o. Bring the water to a boil, then encompass the pot and procedure for x minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

Requite the jars 24 hours to cool. Then cheque the seal by pressing the eye of the lid. If it doesn't give, your jars are sealed!

I'm happy to report, no more store bought jelly for Large Brother'due south peanut butter sandwich. He's seen the error of his ways and I have forgiven him. All is correct in the universe.

plate of sliced bread with peanut butter and plum jelly

Homemade Plum Jelly

Easy homemade plum jelly is a dandy introduction to making homemade jelly. This unproblematic recipe has only a few ingredients and is big on flavor.

Course Sauces and Seasonings

Cuisine American

Prep Fourth dimension 40 minutes

Cook Time one minute

Total Fourth dimension 41 minutes

Servings viii (viii oz.) jars

Calories l kcal

5 pounds fully ripe plums
ane-1/ii cups water
1 (1.75 ounce) box fruit pectin
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6-1/ii cups granulated saccharide

Piece the plums in half and remove and discard the pits. Don't carp peeling them.
Place the plums in a large stockpot. Add together the water. Bring the pot to a boil, then encompass and simmer over medium estrus for 10 minutes.
Strain the juice by pouring through a fine mesh strainer or line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Allow the fruit to drain for well-nigh 30 minutes. Discard the fruit.
You should accept virtually 5 ½ cups of plum juice. Pour the juice back into the pot. Add one box of pectin and the butter. Bring the juice to a difficult rolling boil.
Add the saccharide. Continue to boil the jelly for one minute. Remove the pot from the heat. Skim any cream from the top with a metal spoon.
Ladle the jelly into clean jars. Jelly can be stored for 1 year in the refrigerator.
Jelly tin also exist canned using the water bathroom canning method. Leave ¼ – inch of headspace in each jar. Pinnacle with lids and bands. Process for ten minutes. Unopened jars tin can be stored in a cool, dry out place for up to ii years.