Here we are at month number nine of Tigress' Can Jam, on the theme of stone fruits (as announced by Kate of The Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking. I've been pickling and jamming peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots and cherries all summer, but there's no end to their versatility, and when I picked these lovely blue plums and cherry plums from local trees, I decided to go with a variation on a recipe I've made before.
It's so good (and both looks and smells so delicious while it's cooking) that I just can't keep myself from going back to it. It makes a great Christmas present, too.
Plum Conserve
Makes 4 to 5 cups
- 4 lbs blue plums (about 24), washed, pitted and halved
- 3 limes, washed, quartered lengthwise, seeded and cut into very fine slices
- 4½ cups sugar
- ¾ cup golden raisins
- ¾ cup walnuts, chopped into small pieces
- 6 tbsp brandy
- ¼ tsp each of cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon, ground
- (optional) 2 oz preserved ginger or fresh ginger root, finely chopped
Directions
- Sterilize jars and warm lids.
Meanwhile, wash and chop the fruit and nuts. - In a wide, deep non-reactive pot with a thick bottom, combine all ingredients except the walnuts and brandy, bring them to a boil, and cook at a rolling boil, stirring frequently and skimming off foam, until it reaches the setting point. (The plum skins may dissolve, or may roll up like thin cigars. I like the way they look in the jars, but you may choose to remove some if you don’t.)
- Turn the heat off, add the walnuts and brandy, and allow the mixture to rest for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the walnuts are not only floating on the surface, but beginning to blend into the mixture.
- Ladle into sterilized jars, leaving ¼ inch of head space. Seal with warm lids and process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil (15 minutes for pint/500 mL jars).
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