This Easy Plum Jam is a great way to make the most of a quantity of plump, juicy, sweet plums. When you make this jam you will have your produce to enjoy all year long. That is if it lasts that long!
A good, home-made Plum Jam is a useful and tasty addition to your pantry.
It is a delicious condiment, bursting with flavour and extremely versatile. I most frequently enjoy it for breakfast on toast. However, you can serve it with pancakes, swirl through a plain cake batter, include a dollop in a muffin or enjoy with a scone and cream. Or, whip up a batch of my Gluten Free Jam Shortbreads! They are beautiful with my Plum or Apricot Jam!
Over recent days I have been happily engaged making this Plum Jam for a dear friend. I am making the jam for her forthcoming wedding. She has chosen to give a jar to each of her guests.
This recipe for Easy Plum Jam is very simple; there are just 4 ingredients and one of them is water!
There are no unwelcome additives, artificial preservatives or thickeners that you may find in a commercially prepared jam. For me, one of the most important parts of home cooking is the knowledge that I control the quality of the ingredients.
If you haven’t had any experience with jam making, my Easy Plum Jam is a great place to start.
To begin, remove any blemishes from the fruit. Cut the fruit in half, remove the stone and cut the pieces in half again. Add the quartered plums, along with some water, to a large, wide saucepan. Bring the fruit to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook with the lid on until the fruit is soft. Then, add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring the fruit to a rolling boil, stirring frequently to ensure that it does not catch on the bottom of the pan and burn. After about 5 minutes of rapid boiling, I check for setting point. Setting point is the stage at which the jam will firm up. It is the time to ladle it into jars.
There are several ways to check for setting point. Firstly, there is the temperature method. To use this method, you will need a sugar thermometer. Clip the thermometer to the side of your pan. When the thermometer reads 104C/220F the jam is ready. Alternatively, there is the “wrinkle test” and this is the method that I use. Whilst the fruit is softening I place 2 saucers in the freezer. To test if the jam will set, I spoon a small amount onto the chilled saucer. After a minute I push the jam with a fingertip. If the jam wrinkles, even slightly, it will set. However, if it is still liquid I return the jam to the heat and test again in a further 5 minutes. When it is ready I ladle it into hot, sterilised jars and seal with sterilised lids.
You will not have any difficulty getting this Plum Jam to set as plums are quite high in pectin.
Pectin is a naturally occurring starch which is found in varying degrees in fruits and vegetables. It is what makes jams and jellies firm when they are cool. When combined with acid and sugar, and cooked to a high temperature, it forms a gel. In this recipe, I add a small amount of lemon juice. The acid component of the lemon juice aids with the setting.
If you are new to jam making and the resulting jam is too thick or too thin, please don’t be discouraged. If it is thick, serve it alongside a wedge of cheese – it is beautiful with full flavoured cheddar or fresh goat cheese. If it is quite thin, use it as an ice-cream topping or swirl it through plain yoghurt.
I have made a basic Plum Jam with the sweet-tart flavour of the fresh plums shining through.
It is delicious and the vibrant, ruby-red shade of the jam is beautiful. The colour, of course, will depend on the variety of plum that you use.
However, if you prefer, you could add some spices to the jam. Plums love spices, such as star anise and cinnamon. To include them, place them in a square of muslin, tie it securely with kitchen twine and boil them with the jam. You could include some orange rind in the muslin too if you wish. Or, you could make Plum Jam with vanilla by including the pods and the scraped out seeds of 2 vanilla pods.
I do hope you will try this recipe for Easy Plum Jam.
Home-made jam is a real treat. You may also like to try my recipes for Spiced Poached Plums, Mini Plum Tartlets or Peach and Plum Crumble.
Use this jam in my Easy Jam Bars.
Please let me know in the comments below if you make this recipe.
Alex xx
P.S. For more delicious jam and spread recipes, try:
Easy Plum Jam
Ingredients
- 2 kg plums
- 1/2 cup water
- 1.5 kg granulated sugar *
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice *
Equipment:
- 11 medium sized sterilised jars with metal lids see below for details
Instructions
To Sterilise the Jars:
- Choose glass jars with an airtight, metal lid. Wash the jars and lids. If washing by hand use hot, soapy water and then rinse them well. Alternatively, wash them in the dishwasher. Preheat the oven to 130 Degrees C (270F).Check that the metal lids do not have rubber inserts. Place jars and lids on a baking tray. Heat in the oven for at least 20 minutes, then remove and immediately fill with jam.
To Make the Jam:
- Place 2 small plates or saucers in the freezer to chill*.
- Wash the plums and remove any blemishes. Halve the plums and remove the stones.
- Cut the halves in half again. If you don’t want your jam to have chunks of fruit, cut the plums into eighths. Alternatively, use a stick blender to make it a little finer textured before you add the sugar.
- Place the plums and water in a large, wide saucepan*.
- Bring the plums to a simmer over low-medium heat. Stir occasionally using a long-handled wooden spoon*.
- Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the plums are soft, 15-20 minutes. At this stage, if you prefer less chunky jam, you could blend it using a hand-held stick blender. Take off the heat to do this.
- Add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir frequently until the sugar dissolves.
- Increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil for 5-15 minutes*. You need to be vigilant at this point. Stir frequently to avoid the jam catching and burning on the bottom of the pan.
- Skim the foam from the jam as it rises.
- After about 5 minutes rapid boiling, turn the heat off under the jam. Spoon a small amount of jam onto a chilled plate or saucer to check if it is starting to set.I use the wrinkle test. When the jam has cooled, push it gently with your fingertip. If it wrinkles, even slightly, it is ready. If it remains liquid, put the jam back on the heat for a further 5 minutes and check again. See the Notes if you would prefer to use a thermometer*.
- When the jam reaches setting point, skim further if necessary and remove from the heat. Stand about 10 minutes to allow the jam to settle. This will ensure any pieces of fruit will be evenly distributed throughout the jam. Without standing, the pieces of fruit will rise to the top.
- Stir the jam and carefully ladle it into the heated, sterilised jars. You need to be very careful. A splash or spill from hot jam would result in a serious burn. I recommend that you wear clothing with long sleeves. Additionally, this is not the occasion to have children nearby.
- Seal the jars tightly with sterilised lids.Remove any spills from the sides of the jars. Label and store the jam in a cool, dark place.When using the jam, always use a clean, dry spoon to avoid contamination. After opening a jar, as a further precaution, store it in the refrigerator.
Notes
*The Australian tablespoon is 20ml or 4 teaspoons. In many other countries the tablespoon is 15ml or 3 teaspoons. Please adjust the measurement if necessary.
*Fresh lemon juice not only balances the sweetness of the sugar, it also helps the pectin set the jam.
*The chilled plates are used to quickly cool the jam when testing setting point.
*Always choose your widest saucepan that has enough height to enable the jam to boil vigorously. More surface area means the liquid will evaporate faster; having sufficient height means you can boil the jam at a higher heat.
*Do not use a metal spoon, it will become very hot. A long-handled wooden spoon is important to avoid being burnt by a splash from boiling jam.
*My jam reached setting point about 5 minutes after it began to boil rapidly. Boiling time will vary depending on the size of your saucepan and the heat that you apply.
*You can also check for setting point by using the temperature method. To use this method, you will need a sugar thermometer. Clip the thermometer to the side of your pan. When the thermometer reads 104C/220F the jam is ready.
*The colour of the jam will vary depending on the variety of fruit that you use.
*You can make jam with just a small quantity of fruit. If you use a smaller quantity of fruit the jam will set in a shorter time. You’re not restricted to using plums; if you’re able to access other lovely stone fruits use those instead, they all make delicious jam.
*Do not reduce the amount of sugar. Whilst the sugar sweetens the fruit it also acts as a preservative and helps the jam to set. If you reduce the sugar, your jam may go mouldy.
* You can use recycled jars with metal lids that are in good condition. Choose glass jars with tight-fitting lids and ensure the lids do not have rubber inserts.
*If your finished jam has not set as much as you would like, don’t worry, it will still be delicious stirred into some plain yoghurt or served over our no-churn vanilla ice cream. Or if it is slightly over-set and is very firm, it will be a lovely accompaniment on a cheese board.
*It is best to ladle the jam into hot jars to avoid them cracking.
*Please note, the nutrition information is based on one whole jar.
This recipe is fantastic. It’s fool proof, I’m no cook but I’m very proud to have 11 jars of awesome jam. The instructions are so clear and it’s so easy!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Catriona! You have made my day.
Enjoy your jam 🙂
My neighbour asked if I would like any of the plums from her huge plum tree. Between us we managed to collect in total nearly 7kgs of fruit😮
Fitting nearly 7kgs worth of plums in your freezer is a hard task therefore I decided to make some jam with some of the fruit. Out of all the recipes I found, yours looked simple and easy to follow (plus it had many good positive reviews).
The jam set perfectly. I found using a thermometer definitely made it easier to check the ‘setting time’. I like pieces of fruit in my jam therefore I cut the plums into quarters.
From the recipe I managed to get 7 jars. These are now in my fridge waiting to be eaten. Looking forward to trying it on toast, fresh scones, croissants ….. next stop chutney. What a shame my neighbour doesn’t eat jam, never mind more for me😍
Hi Fiona! Thank you for the lovely comment.
How lovely to have a neighbour with a plum tree!
We cannot wait for plum season to return here so we can work on some more plum recipes too! 🙂
Enjoy your lovely jam. Kind regards, Alex
This turned out really good and I’m happy I found a recipe that doesn’t use pectin. I decided to double the recipe to make a few extra jars for the rest of the year. Really happy with how it turned out!
Hi Nina, I am so pleased to hear that you are pleased with your Plum Jam. It really is satisfying to make your own jams; they are so much more flavourful and made with very few ingredients. I hope that you will try some of our other jam recipes too. 🙂
Tastes great and easy to follow recipe. I’ve done it with 1kg of plums so looking forward to how well it sets.
What’s the approximate shelf life one in jars?
I’m going to give them to family and want to make sure they don’t go to waste.
Hi Tom!
Glad you are enjoying the jam. In properly prepared jars, the shelf life will be about 12 months 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Kind regards, Alex
Thank you for the easy recipe. I had a bumper crop of plums and was looking for something easy but tasteful. It is a hit!
Thank you, Linda! I am thrilled to hear this 🙂 Enjoy the jam!
Kind regards, Alex
Thank you for sharing your recipe Alexandra, I was drawn to using your recipe because it was so simple and clear. I thought I’d share how I got on….. I harvested plums from the tree in my garden, added some peaches I’d bought from a supermarket that hadn’t ripened enough to eat and used all the sugar I had in the house 1.3 kilos and ended up with delicious jam that has a lovely soft set! The fruit weighed in total 2.3 kilos. I also added half a teaspoon of cinnamon as previous experimenting with plum jam making had shown this to be a lovely addition! We now have 8 x 500g pots of delicious jam…..I’m curious to see if the lower sugar content results in a lower shelf life but I expect it will be eaten by my quality controllers before I get a chance to see! Many thanks again Kathy
Hello Kathy,
So pleased to hear you made the plum jam! I love that the plums came from your own tree 🙂
I hope you’ll enjoy this jam, and I would be curious to know how your experience with the lower sugar goes, too! Enjoy, and have a fantastic weekend. Kind regards, Alex
Wow your recipe was so easy to follow.
I tried with half the amount of plums first as I have never sucessfully made jam that sets properly before.
I used the food blender to speed up the softening of the fruit and the thermometer was invaluable.
I now have 4lbs of home grown Victoria plum jam and am absolutely thrilled it has worked a treat.
Next to Jam/Jelly is the redcurrants from the garden.
Thank you so much! We are so pleased to hear the recipe worked well for you.
Kind regards, Alex