Hey friends, juicy, ripe plums are in season and so it's time to make homemade Plum jam without pectin. This recipe is a charm as it is a super simple and easy-to-follow recipe and makes absolutely delicious jam. It tastes so good and needs just three pantry ingredients.
I think plum is the best fruit to make jam after strawberry jam because it has a lovely color, rich thickness and it is scrumptiously tarty.
I love this jam in breakfast with cream and toasted bread and you will too. You can use this plum jam in tarts, creamy dessert, and ice cream toppings, over the pancake, french toast, in shakes and cocktails, make plum drinks, in shortbreads, and so on.
Plum jam is a great way to preserve the natural fruit goodness and store it whole year-round. Plum is rich in minerals vitamins and anti-oxidants. What makes homemade plum jam more healthy is you can control the amount of sugar that goes in. You can read more benefits here.
Ingredients
This plum jam has only three ingredients that is Plum, sugar and lemon.
Plum is the main ingredient so the taste color and texture of plum will reflect in the resulting jam. Try to use a sweeter variety of fully ripened but firm plum. Very sour plums will require extra sugar for a balanced sweet and sour taste. Few visitors have tried this jam recipe with wild plums too and had amazing results. Learn more about Plum varieties here.
Sugar is a natural preservative in a jam, you need a certain amount of sugar to makes jam, especially if making no pectin plum jam. For a sweet jam, you go beyond that amount and make it very sweet. That's why in ingredients, I have mentioned both measures for less and more sugar in jam. The amount of sugar that goes in plum jam also depends on the sweetness of the fruit.
- Using 2 cups of sugar with 1 kg plum (2.2 pounds) will give you sweet and tarty plum jam. And why not make a less sugar more pulp jam at home and ditch the store-bought jam. Great for weight water and healthy food lovers. One drawback is that reducing sugar will give you thinner jam. But it tastes good and is spreadable too.
- Using 2.5 to 3 cups of sugar with 1 kg plums will make a sweet jam just like the store-bought, of course, better with real ingredients. If you are making jam for kids then I suggest adding extra sugar. You can always start with less sugar and add more as needed.
Lemon is high in pectin and help setting the jam. But this ingredients is optional.
FAQ
Plum jam can be made, fresh or frozen plums slices. It is important that plums are pitted before freezing otherwise pitting plum after cooking can be a nuisance.
No, peeling plum for plum jam without pectin is not necessary. In fact, as for most fruits peels are rich in antioxidants and so there is no need to waste them. The fiber from the peel also helps thicken the jam. Most importantly, the skin will disappear after blending.
Plum are high in pectin and it helps the jam to set as it cools. But natural pectin is not as effective as added pectin. So expect a soft jam which is spreadable and thick but not jelly-like or the store-bought jam.
Tips for storing jams
If you are making a small batch of jam that you will store in the fridge. And you intend to consume it within 15 days or freeze it. Then you can skip the sterilization steps. Using clean dry jars should be good enough. Although, I highly recommend following the steps as a precaution. If you want to can jam for storing it at room temperature for 6 months or more then follow the canning procedure mentioned here.
This Plum jam has rich color and spreadable consistency since we are not using pectin, it will be thick in the jar but it will not set like regular jam. Check for more information on jams storage here and here.
- Homemade jams last for 6 months in the fridge without preservatives, if a proper sterilization process is followed. Use a clean spoon to serve each time.
- If you freeze jam, they can last up to a year or more. Although they never last that long.
- If you intend to seal and store jam at room temperature. Then proper canning steps and store jam in the fridge after opening.
How to make Plum Jam?
Sterilisation steps, optional
Wash two jars (300 ml each) thoroughly with soapy water. Then sterilize jars in boiling water for 8 minutes. Also, boil the metal lids. Alternately, you can place washed jars while they are still wet in the baking tray. And roast jars in a preheated oven (160-180 C) for 15 minutes.
Dry on a clean towel. Let air dry naturally. Also, keep a few little plates or saucers in the freezer for Cold Plate Test.
- Wash and pit fully ripened plums.
- Take pitted plum and in the wide-based and thick-bottomed pot. No need to remove peels for plum jam. The peels are edible and high in antioxidants. You can adjust sugar to your preference. (Use at 2 cups for low sugar jam and 2.5 to 3 cups for a sweet jam).
- Cook for 20 minutes on medium flame until soft. I like to skim foam from the top to remove dirt particles.
- After 15 minutes, when plums are soft mash them with a potato masher or blend the jam with an immersion blender. The peels are soft and break easily after cooking. If in case you are using a variety of plums with thick skin, they taste like leather in the jam. You can pulse the jam in a blender or immersion blender to make it smooth and thickly spreadable.
- Cook jam for about half an hour on a very slow flame with occasional stirring. Frequently stirring and vigilant observation will be necessary as the jam reaches the setting point. When you draw live on the spatula and it will stay the jam is close to the jam setting point.
- Do a cold plate to see jam is ready to set. Place a large drop of hot jam on the freezer cold plate and wait for 30 seconds to cool. This is a stage, I stopped but my jam doesn't set absolutely, it's thick and spreadable. You can cook further for a thicker jam. This cold plate test will guide you on what your jam would be when cool. (Do not overcook or the sugar might caramelize and burn to make the jam bitter.)
- Transfer hot jam plum jam to clean and sterilized jars and let it cool completely until it reaches room temperature. Then place the lids. ( Placing the lid on warm jam will cause condensation, avoid that.)
- Store in the fridge if consuming immediately. Or seal it for canning if intending to store it for a longer period. If you find canning overwhelming, freeze the plum jam.
Hungry for more Plums and jams? Check these!
- Plum Ice cream recipe
- Plum Juice Recipe
- Strawberry Jam, 3 ingredients without pectin
- Peach Jam recipe
- Orange Jam Recipe
Tried any recipes? I'd LOVE to hear about it in the comments. Took a photo? Tag us @recipe52 and use the hashtag #loverecipe52. Your 5-star ratings and comments motivate me to do my best.
Plum jam recipe without pectin
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) plum, pitted, fully ripened and sweet variety
- 2 cups sugar, or more for sweeter jam, see notes
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
Instructions
- Sterilize two 300 ml jars and their lids in boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove jars and transfer on a clean towel and let it dry naturally. Protip: This steps is optional if consuming jam within 6-8 weeks. Use clean spoon to serve.
- Keep 2 plates for cold plate test in freezer.
- Meanwhile, in a thick bottomed and wide based pot, take sugar and plum. Cook for 15 minutes on medium flame until soft.
- Then mash plum with a potato masher for chunky jam or blend with immersion blender for smooth consistency. Cook further on slow heat for about half an hour until jam starts to thicken. Protip: Be vigilant around the jam setting point and stir frequently. Do not over-cook or caramelize sugar at the bottom.
- To test consistency put a large drop of jam on cold plate. Wait for 30 secs to cool then hold plate horizontally. If jam is flow through the plate immediately continue cooking for 10 more minutes. And if it sets then stop cooking. Jam is ready.
- Then ladle hot jam to sterilized jars leaving ½ inch space empty from the lid. Also wipe of the rim with a clean and damp towel. Let the jam cool completely to room temperature then place the lids.Protip: Placing lids on hot jam will cause water droplets on the lid, avoid it or jam can go bad quickly.
- Store jam in fridge and consume within a 1-2 months. Or freeze the jars for upto six months. You may follow canning steps if storing jam at room tempertaure for a year or more.
Katie says
My jam is really good! Thanks soooo much😀
Mariam Sodawater says
Thanks a lot for leaving a comment. I’m glad you liked it.
David says
Let mine go a little to long. Still spreadable and I used wild plums. Awesome. Thankyou
Recipe 52 says
I’m glad you liked it. 😊