That’s a lots of plums and lots of work to conserve them. Congrats for a bountiful harvest, Mrs. G!
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Thanks all, made 16 half pints of jam yesterday from an old French recipe. Incredible! The dried prunes are fantastic and are going into the freezer till Christmas, when they will become ‘Sugar Plums’.
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Pics or it didn’t happen:
Any chance you share your jam recipe?
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We surely do! House smells like beautiful plums. By the weekend it will smell of peaches!
A very old French recipe
Four lbs of of pitted, quartered Italian or French Prune plums
2- 3 cups of sugar only
The juice of two lemons (freshly squeezed)
One cinnamon stick
Place the plums in a large glass bowl, add the sugar, fresh lemon juice, and cinnamon stick. Cover with saran and place in the fridge over night. (this is where the magic happens). You will be surprised at the amount of natural juice the plums will produce in the maceration process. No need for water.
The next day place the plums in a jam pot and cook for about a half hour then ( remove the cinnamon stick), stirring constantly over low to medium heat. You will see a low ‘bubble’. Make sure all of the plums turn to mush. Then place a candy thermometer on the side of the pot turn up the heat so it boils med-high, and wait for the jam to reach 210-220 degrees. I stop cooking at 210 degrees (Its a bit runny but not much, its better than a tough clump from over cooking). All of the plums should be cooked through, but you should still see the fibers of the fruit. The skins will make the jam a beautiful deep reddish purple.
Place in sterilized jars with sterilzed lids and rings. Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath. Done and delicious!
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Thanks for sharing!
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My husband and I ate a jar in one sitting. Its that good! Made 16 half pints.
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Oh oh. 
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I thought that sounded dangerous. But it’s only about 2 oz. of actual prune plum apiece plus less sugar than I see some people put in a cup of coffee. So, I guess you two could still carry on with your normal daily routines today.
Thanks Mrs.G,for your post.I’m looking forward next year,to get some fruit and trying out the recipe. Brady
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It was a small jar. Yikes!
Such great time of year when you discover how many fruit you actually have on your trees. I thought I only had 1 plum coming in, but today I noticed I actually have 6 Italians! I was gone in Europe when my plum trees really needed protection from all the aphids that ravaged them.
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They are the BEST for cooking
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I can totally relate. I thought I had zero green gages, but there are at least 8 or so. Likewise with a few other plums. Got a Howard Miracle yesterday and saw 2 more.
Its been a bad year for plums, especially European.
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Is this the time of year that Howard miracle ripens in our are, have yet to get any on mine. I think I need to plant another Japanese plum to insure pollination.
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At our arboretum, a 45 minute drive South, I think they ripened 3 or 4 weeks ago.
I got a decent set of Shiro and AU Producer, but almost no Howard Miracle on the same trees, and no Santa Rosa (not even sure if it bloomed, but it probably did).
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Do prune plums need time off the tree to develop flavor, or should they be processed immediately after harvest?
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A great year here for plums - I don’t know what to do with them all.
Except the prune plums, I ALWAYS know what to do with those.
Went to make my daily plum check, came face to face with nasty Black Knot on a twig. Easy to cut out, tho.
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