These last few weeks of fall have found us kicking into serious Hibernation Mode, pickling and preserving our way towards winter. We happened upon some incredibly ripe red plums over the weekend, and decided to try our hand at making some plum preserve (and threw in some honey tangerine for kicks). The end result was, in our humble opinion, nothing short of radical.
This is a gentle introduction to jam-making for first-time preservers, and the recipe is small enough that you won’t find yourself overwhelmed with jam. And what you do make will be a great companion for your morning toast, or – if you’re feeling really adventurous – an out-of-this-world PB&J.
Let the preserving begin!
Yields 750 mL (enough for three cute 250 mL mason jars)
What You’ll Need
Plums worth saving!
– 2 Lbs. very ripe red plums
– 1 medium honey tangerine orange
– 3/4 c. water
– 1/4 c. sugar
– 3 sterilized mason jars (250 mL) with lids
Preparation
Start by preparing the honey tangerine: Using a vegetable peeler, remove the rind from the honey tangerine – trying to avoid getting too much pith (bitter white layer) with the peel. Thinly slice the tangerine peel, until you have about 1/4 cup of sliced peel, loosely packed. Next, halve and juice the peeled tangerine until you have about 1/4 cup of juice. Set the juice and peel aside.
Inexplicably adorable tangerine rind ready for action
Coarsely chop the plums and add them to a large saucepan, together with the tangerine rind and juice, 3/4 c. water, and 1/4 c. sugar. Over medium-high heat bring the mixture to a short boil and reduce the heat. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened and reduced (about 1 hour). Remove from heat and let cool completely before putting the preserve into the mason jars.
The preserve will keep for about 4 weeks, refrigerated.
Looks delicious! I have never tried homemaking fruit preserve before, but that looks so good I might just need to make it my first!
Alright! Let us know how your intro to preserving turned out!