Making Jam is Quick and Easy

We recently got a batch of plums from our CSA and for some reason hadn't eaten a single one. I noticed yesterday that they were getting a little over ripe so I put them in a dish to measure the weight and see if I had enough to make a simple jam. At just over a pound I decided that it really wasn't enough to mess with and was wondering what to do with them. When Pookie came home and saw them in the large glass measuring bowl he asked if I was making jam from them. He thought I should make it, so I did.

It is possibly the smallest batch of anything anyone ever made but now the mess is cleared away and we have 3 jars of yummy plum jam so I guess everyone is a winner. Since this is the most simple and basic of jam recipes I'll share it in case you need one.

Basic Plum Jam 

6 cups plum pulp

60 g powder pectin (1 packet)

8 cups sugar

Prepare your jars. If this is not your first step you will regret it. Always.

To make the plum pulp simply core the plums, and put them into a sauce pan with 1/2 cup of water. Cook until you have a nice soft pulp which will be about 5 minutes. I like to remove the skins and it is pretty simple to do if they are still dark enough to see in the pulp. Because my plums were so far gone I just cored them and then squished them into a bowl with my hands and pulled out the skins. I ended up with 2 cups of pulp so I cut the recipe to 1/3.

Then heat your pulp to a boil and add the pectin. Dissolve the pectin completely before adding the sugar. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Give it a hard boil for at least one minute stirring constantly.

Pour into prepared jars and process for 15 minutes in a water bath.