Homemade Plum Jelly

Fresh plums, sugar, pectin, water and butter make up this delicious old fashioned plum jelly.  

 

Hi everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful Tuesday! Today I have a yummy recipe to share with you. One of the highlights of summer's end is the abundance of fresh homegrown vegetables from our garden and fruit from our fruit trees. When growing season comes to an end canning season soon begins. 

The last couple weeks I have been busy in my kitchen freezing peaches and veggies and canning pickles, jellies, jams and relishes. I have to admit it's a lot of work, but it will be sooooooooo worth it when winter rolls around and my pantry and freezer are filled with summer's bounty. 

Last month my neighbor blessed me with about 8 pounds of fresh picked plums from their plum trees. I was so excited because I wanted to try my hand at making Homemade Plum Jelly for the first time. Plum jelly is so delicious and one of the best jellies on a peanut butter sandwich. 

If you've never had plum jelly you don't know what  you're missing. Ever since making this jelly recipe I want to add some plum trees to our mini backyard orchard. There's still time to decide on what to add, so until then hopefully I can get future plums from our neighbor.  

This is what the plums looked like when they were picked off the tree. Some of them were almost ripe and others were still too firm. We ate the ripe ones and left the rest on the counter for about 5 days to ripen.

After 5 days we had pretty soft plums ready for jelly!!! Let's get started on the recipe. 

First rinse your plums, making sure to remove any dirt, debris or stems. Cut the plums in half around the pit (do not remove pits or skin) and place in a large pot over medium - high heat.  

Add  4 cups of water and simmer the plums over medium heat until the plums are tender and broken down, about 30 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes. As the plums are simmering I like to take a potato masher and mash the fruit as it cooks to release the fruit from the pits. 

Lay a cheese cloth over a strainer and place the strainer over a large bowl. Pour the plum mixture into the cheese cloth and let the juice slowly strain through. When all of the juice strains through, I gather the cheese cloth together in the middle and give it a good squeeze to get out as much of the plum juice and pulp as I can. 

Pour  about 6 cups of plum juice back into the pot. Add the pectin, butter and sugar and stir well. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and skim off any foam. 

Ladle the jelly mixture into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and add the lids and rings. 

Lower the jars into the canner and process the jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes for half pints and 10 minutes for pints. 

Place the jars on a cloth covered counter until the jars are cool. Once cool, press on the top of the lids of each jar and ensure the jars are sealed (the lid should not move up and down when pressed). Store in a cool dark area. 

Refrigerate open jars for up to 3 weeks (that is if it lasts that long). 

Serve on toast, biscuits, scones or enjoy or on a peanut butter sandwich.



Homemade Plum Jelly

7 - lbs of fresh ripe plums 
6 - cups sugar 
4 - cups water 
1/2 - teaspoon butter (to reduce foaming)
1 - package (1.75 oz) Sure Jell powdered fruit pectin  
8 - 10  - sanitized 8 ounce  jelly jars with lids and rings

To sanitize the jelly jars boil the jars for 10 - 15 minutes. Keep the jars hot until the jelly is ready to be poured in. 

Add the lids and rings to a small pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn off the heat and remove the pan from the burner. Leave the lids and rings in the pot until ready to use.  

Rinse your plums, making sure to remove any dirt, debris or stems. Cut the plums in half around the pit (do not remove the pits or skin) and place in a large stock pot pot. 

Add 4 cups of water over the plums and simmer over medium heat until the plums are tender and broken down, about 30 minutes.  

Stir every 10 minutes. As the plums are simmering I like to take a potato masher and mash the fruit as it cooks to release the fruit from the pits. You will notice the plums start to break down more and more as they cook. 

Lay a cheese cloth over a strainer and place the strainer over a large bowl. Pour the plum mixture into the cheese cloth and let the juice strain through. 

When just about all of the juice strains through, I gather the cheese cloth together in the middle and give it a good squeeze to remove as much juice and pulp as possible. Discard cheese cloth with pulp and pits.  

Pour  approx. 6 cups of plum juice back into the pot. Add the pectin, butter and sugar and stir well. 

Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture reaches 220 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and skim off any foam. 

Ladle the mixture into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe the rims of the jars clean and add the lids and rings. 

Process the jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes for half pints and 10 minutes for pints. 

Place the jars on a cloth covered counter until the jars are cool. Once cool, press on the top of each jar lid to ensure the jars are sealed (the lid should not move up and down when pressed). 

Store in a cool dark area. Refrigerate opened jelly for up to 3 weeks. 

Recipe yields: about 10 half pint or 5 pint size jars
Source: Sure Jell Recipe

Cool's Note: The setting point for jellies and jams is (220F) so a good way to test for the setting point is to have a candy thermometer clipped to the side of your saucepan, with the end dipped into the boiling jam mixture. Once the boiling mixture reaches the correct temperature then your jam should set up. 

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Even made free form, with pieced together leftover puff pastry, this was a fairly simple operation. As I mentioned, most people use pie dough for this, and if you do, simply follow the exact same procedure for the pre-baking. Once whatever crust you�re using is baked about halfway, and cooled, it�s ready to fill, top with fruit and bake.

Another great reason to make this is that there�s a good chance one of your guests will ask you which bakery this came from, which will give you the opportunity to say, �Bakery? No, I made this.� But say it really casually, like it was no big thing. This travels well, so don�t be afraid to fish for compliments with this at the next picnic. Either way, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Fresh Fruit Frangipane Tart:

For the filling:

1 1/2 tablespoons soft butter

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon white sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup almond flour, or very finely-ground blanched almonds

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

For the tart:

enough puff pasty or pie dough for a 9 or 10 inch shallow tart pan

enough fresh fruit to do the job

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons apricot jam 
2 teaspoons water
Bring to a boil in small pan or microwave. Let cool to just warm before brushing on.

- Pre-bake pastry shell at 400 F. for 15 minutes or until it starts to get golden-brown.

- Fill, top, and bake at 375 F. for 30-40 minutes, or until browned and the almond filling is set.
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I used to tell my students to never try making classic desserts �healthier,� since your guests will always compare it to the unhealthy, and undoubtedly far superior original version. 

And yet that�s exactly what I�ve done with this strawberry semifreddo, although, in fairness, that happened accidentally while I was trying to make the recipe easier.

Traditionally, we�d make an egg custard for the base, as well as cook down our strawberry puree to concentrate the flavors; and while that does produce a fine, and much richer semifreddo, I wanted something simpler, that didn�t require any cooking. Besides saving time, and eggs, I think we also get a little cleaner, more distinct berry flavor.

However, the price we pay for those skipped steps, and the modest amount of sugar, is a less smooth and creamy texture. An extra rich, classically made semifreddo can be quite similar to ice cream, whereas this will be much firmer when frozen. That's why you really do need to let these warm up for at least 10 or 15 minutes before serving.

In the video, I described the texture as something in between strawberry ice cream and a strawberry popsicle, which reminds me, if you do have the molds, this mixture would be perfect frozen on a stick. Regardless of your delivery system, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 10 Ramekins (mine were 5.5 ounces each):

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

zest from 1 lemon

2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar, optional

1 3/4 cups cold heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs

3 tablespoons melted butter

For the garnish:

1 1/2 cup diced or sliced strawberries

2 or 3 tablespoons white sugar, or as needed

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We�ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which may or may not be true, but I�ve always found it to be the most difficult meal of the day.  There never seems to be enough time, and so it�s easy to get into a rut, resorting to questionable choices such as sugary cereal and milk, or fast-food breakfast sandwiches.

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So, whether you try this to help with that New Year�s resolution, or you�re just looking to add some variety into the morning routine, I really do hope you give this Ben Franklin breakfast bowl a try soon. Enjoy!

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1 cold, raw apple, cubed

6 ounces plain sheep�s milk yogurt

2 heaping tablespoons granola (click here for our recipe)

chopped nuts and/or additional seasonal fruit to garnish

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I joked about this being so beautiful that nobody will care what it tastes like, but of course, that�s ridiculous. Do not attempt this unless you can find some perfectly ripe, sweet strawberries. And when you do, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:

1/2 of our buttercrust pastry dough recipe

1 pound fresh strawberries

For the sweet cheese mixture:

8 ounces cream cheese or *fromage blanc

2 tablespoons cr�me fraiche

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 large egg yolk

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, or to taste

For the glaze:

1/4 cup apricot jam (the clearer, the better), plus 2 teaspoons water, heated until brushable. Let cool a bit before applying.

*Note: my cream cheese was suspiciously thin, so your mixture will probably be thicker, and a little easier to work with.

- Bake tart shell at 375 F. for 20-25 minutes, until golden-brown, fill with cheese mixture, and finish baking for another 20 minutes, or until the pastry is browned, and the filling is set.

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