Plum Jam

I recently made some plum jam using yellow plums.

To make jam, the general rule is one part fruit to one part sugar.  In this case, I also added the juice of a lemon to up the pectin content (which helps the jam to set).  I removed the plum stones but left the skins on to give some texture to the jam.

Once you have your fruit, sugar and lemon juice (if using) in a saucepan, you bring it all to a rolling boil and continue to boil until it thickens sufficiently that when you place a drop of it on a plate that has been in the freezer and run your finger through it, it wrinkles and a gap remains where your finger had been.  If the jam runs back into the gap and doesn't wrinkle, it is not ready yet, so you have to keep boiling it.

Once the jam is ready, pour it into jars that have been sterilised (by placing in the oven for 1 minutes or by boiling in a pot of water) and seal.

Making a jam is a great way to use up surplus fruit, or to preserve a slice of summer for the winter months ahead.