The Easiest Jam

One of the easiest condiments to make is a Jam. They are great as spreads, fillings, and even on their own. Whether you want to use them in a simple PB&J sandwich or as a filling in a donut/profiterole its perfect for everything.

To make a basic jam you will only need two ingredients. The first being the particular fruit (which in this case is plums) and sugar. Now the ingredients must be in 2:1 ratio. So, if you have 500g of plums, you will need 250g of sugar. That’s why its always preferable to measure the amount of fruit you have, then you will know exactly how much sugar you will need.

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED

• Plums: You will need approximately 4-5 plums for this recipe.
• Sugar: You can use any kind of sugar (granulated or caster) in your pantry except icing sugar.

HOW TO MAKE PLUM JAM

First of all, you will need to prepare your fruit. Give them a thorough wash and then cut them into 8 wedges. To chop your stone fruit find the indentation running down the length of the plum.

With your knife cut through that indentation and simply twist the two halves off.

Now remove the pit with a melon baller or teaspoon and scoop the pit out. After the pit is removed, slice each half into 4 wedges to get a total of 8 wedges from each plum and repeat this process with the remaining plums.

Next in a saucepan add the plum wedges and the sugar. You will have to cook this mixture at medium heat, for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. This long time will break the plum’s structure and turn them into a homogenous liquid mixture.

After 30 minutes your jam will be ready. You will not have the thick consistency of a jam at that point. It will still be little thin.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Now I didn’t strain the jam but if you want, you can strain the jam. After that all you need to do is to cool the jam for about an hour and the jam will automatically have the thick, jammy consistency.

HOW TO STORE YOUR JAM

After your jam has completely cooled, transfer it in a clean glass jar with a tight fitted lid. Store the jam bottle in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. With a permanent marker write down the date on which you made the jam on the bottle/jar. This jam will be fit for use for a year. However, once you open the jar you must refrigerate it and use it within one month.

Make my Rainbow Cupcakes if you liked this recipe.

Plum Jam: Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients: – 250g plums – 125g sugar

Method: – Wash your fruit thoroughly. – Chop your fruit by finding the identation running down the length of the plum. With your knife cut along that identation and simply twist the two halves off. – Now to remove the pit, with a melon baller or a spoon just scoop the pit out. – After the pit has been removed slice the plum into 8 wedges and repeat the process with the remaining plums. – In a saucepan add the plums and sugar. Cook them at medium heat, stirring occasionally for 30-35 minutes. – After 30 minutes, remove the saucepan from the heat and cool at room temperature for an hour. – Finally transfer the cooled jam into an airtight glass jar/bottle.