let them eat confiture
I've always wanted to make jam.
With hundreds of sweet yellow plums falling to the ground daily in our friend's garden, I knew something had to be done.
So I decided to face my fear of making anything that involves measuring and timing (I am not a baker, chemist or mathematician by any means) and make use of our plum bounty.
After dinner one night, I set about making jam at around midnight and finished at two in the morning.
The result was two horribly burnt pans, a sticky stove and floor, and five jars of delicious jam. After some hardcore scrubbing, I'd say it was an overall success.
Early the next mourning I spooned mounds of sweet jam over fresh baguette, and over the next couple of days gifted jars to friends around the village. Although I could probably make my way through give jars over time, it was too good not to share.
Plum Jam
(I made two batches of this at a time to fill five jars, it is better to make in separate batches so that there isn't too much in one pot)
1. Sterilize jars by boiling them in hot water.
2. Remove pits from plums, mash them up, and measure 4 cups worth.
3. Put plums in a large pot and add one cup of water.
4. Cook over medium heat until plums are soft, then add 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, and cook on highest heat for 45 minutes.
5. Pour jam (if the texture seems right) into hot jars (I boiled mine 10 minutes before) and seal immediately.
6. Wake up early the next morning, buy fresh bread, and enjoy your jam with virtuous content.
With hundreds of sweet yellow plums falling to the ground daily in our friend's garden, I knew something had to be done.
So I decided to face my fear of making anything that involves measuring and timing (I am not a baker, chemist or mathematician by any means) and make use of our plum bounty.
After dinner one night, I set about making jam at around midnight and finished at two in the morning.
The result was two horribly burnt pans, a sticky stove and floor, and five jars of delicious jam. After some hardcore scrubbing, I'd say it was an overall success.
Early the next mourning I spooned mounds of sweet jam over fresh baguette, and over the next couple of days gifted jars to friends around the village. Although I could probably make my way through give jars over time, it was too good not to share.
Plum Jam
(I made two batches of this at a time to fill five jars, it is better to make in separate batches so that there isn't too much in one pot)
1. Sterilize jars by boiling them in hot water.
2. Remove pits from plums, mash them up, and measure 4 cups worth.
3. Put plums in a large pot and add one cup of water.
4. Cook over medium heat until plums are soft, then add 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, and cook on highest heat for 45 minutes.
5. Pour jam (if the texture seems right) into hot jars (I boiled mine 10 minutes before) and seal immediately.
6. Wake up early the next morning, buy fresh bread, and enjoy your jam with virtuous content.
posted by Gillian Young at 10:05 AM
4 Comments:
Thanks for taking me back to a time when my Granny made fig preserves. I think you left out the part about you running a bit of bread along the bottom of the pot to gather the little left over hot jam while its still warm ....mmmmm
i just made apricot jam with the bounty from my aunt's tree. so yummy!
our grandma taught me how to make jam when i was little. she made dozens of jars of delicious strawberry every single year for as long as i can remember.
i think making jam is in our blood.
do you need those special jars, where the lid is made of wo parts, a rim and that removable circle thingy? and how do you boil the jars, do you need to use a giant pot full of water in order to have the jars fully submerged?
looks delicious.
Mmm apricot jam is one of my favorite's. And you obviously learnt from a true pro. I heard grandma was also a sweet pie maker, but I'm not sure I inherited that one!
Andrea, no need for special jars, and yes a big pot of water to submerge all jars is important for sterilizing them. I wonder if we could make jam out of one of the exotic fruits you've been writing about?
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