Saturday, September 5, 2009

Plums

It's been a weekend of free stuff. it started with free woodchips. we filled up the back of the car with 4 trash bins and made 3 trips to pick them up a few blocks from our house. take that weeds!

Then my neighbor told me to come take as many plums from his tree as i could handle. i took two big bowls full and planned to make plum jam and conserve. well...two big bowls of plums goes a lot farther than i expected so i ended up with 6 jars of raw pack plums too!



I think they are Italian plums. They're quite delicious.


Plum Conserve Recipe (c/o http://elise.com/recipes/archives/005260plum_conserve.php
Ingredients
* 7 cups seeded, chopped tart plums (about 3 pounds)
* 4 cups sugar
* 1 navel orange, thinly sliced, including rind
* 1 lemon, thinly sliced, including rind, seeds removed
* 3 1/2 cups raisins
* 1 cup chopped walnuts

1 Prepare jars for canning in any of the following ways. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

2 Put plums, sugar, orange, lemon, and raisins into a large 6 or 8-quart pan. Heat until boiling. Gently boil for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the mixture starts to thicken slightly. Stir in walnuts.

3 Carefully ladle the conserve into the jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars for a vacuum seal. Wipe the rim clean with a clean, wet paper towel. Place the lid on the jar, securing with a jar ring. Work quickly. Allow the jars to sit overnight. You will hear them make a popping sound as a vacuum seal is created.

Makes 5-6 pints.

My before:


And after:





Plum Jam
10 cups plums
7 cups sugar
juice of 2 lemons

Combine all in large stockpot. Cook over medium-low heat stirring often. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 30-35 minutes until it thickens. Ladle into sterilized pint jars and process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

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