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    Home » Recipes » Sauces & Curds

    Simple Plum Jam

    Published: Jul 16, 2020 · Last Modified: Mar 13, 2021 by Emma · 2 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Jump to Recipe
    Simple Plum Jam

    This simple plum jam recipe will blow your socks off with flavour. Plums are in season right now and within 20 minutes you can have a couple of jars of home-made sweet plum jam cooling ready to eat using this simple recipe.

    Simple Plum Jam

    Jam making reminds me of my French Grandmother who would make jars and jars of jam. Plum jam has to be one of my favourite jams (alongside blackberry) to slather on hot butter sourdough toast or fluffy buttermilk scones. When Tala Cooking approached me to create a jam recipe using some of their products, I knew this was the one that I wanted to share with you.

    What Ingredients go into Simple Plum Jam?

    With only 4 ingredients, this jam comes together incredibly easily.

    • Plums: any variety will do but the colour will change according to the variety
    • Sugar
    • Lemon
    • Butter
    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam

    So how do you actually make jam?

    Step 1. Pre-heat your oven to 100C/210F. Wash three preserving jam jars well, rinse and place upside down on an oven rack for 15 minutes to sterilise. Remove just before filling.

    Step 2. Halve, de-stone then quarter or chop the plums. Add to a heavy based saucepan and with 2 tablespoons of water, cook for 5 minutes or so until the fruit has softened slightly. (If the plums are super soft and juicy this step isn’t necessary). Place a small plate in the freezer.

    Step 3. Add sugar and lemon juice to the softened plums and bring to a rolling boil. Add a jam/confectionary thermometer and cook until the temperature reaches 105C/215F

    Step 4. Once the jam reaches the correct temperature, stir in the butter with a spatula until melted. Perform the jam setting test ... remove the saucer from the freezer and place a dollop of jam on the plate. Leave it for a couple of minutes and if you run your finger through the jam and it stays apart, it’s ready. If not then continue to boil and repeat the test.

    Step 5. Scoop off the scum from the top of the jam. Carefully remove the jars from the oven and ladle the jam into the preserving jars. Screw the lids on firmly and leave to cool completely. Add a preserving label to the jars and store in a cool dry cupboard until ready to use.

    Simple Plum Jam

    What happens if my jam doesn’t set?

    I’m going to trouble shoot this problem with you even for the most seasoned jam makers this can happen, You’ve chopped, boiled, stirred, measured temperature with the hope a a beautiful setting jam only to be left with runnier than expected jars.

    What to do in this situation. Cook some more. Basically, pour the jam back into a saucepan and cook for longer to allow the jam to reduce slightly and get to the setting stage. You’ll have to wash and re-sterilize your jam jars again.

    Another way is to add a tablespoon of chia seeds to your jar and stir in. They have natural gelling agents and will help the jam to set. You have to like the consistency of chia seeds though, I personally don’t!

    Lastly, another option is to pour the jam onto baking trays and cook it in a low oven until some of the moisture has evaporated and it's thick and sticky ready to be jarred again.

    Measuring Flour
    Making scones
    Buttermilk Scones
    Buttermilk Scones

    Scones and Simple Plum Jam make the perfect pair

    To go with your Simple Plum Jam, I paired them with classic English Scones as found in my recipe here. Soft, flaky with a crunch from the top, these scones are to die for with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and your newly made plum jam.

    Tala sent me a couple of their cookware items as shown in the images above that really helped me out when making the scones.

    Their Dry Cook’s Measure makes it so easy to measure out flour instead of having to scoop out the flour and make a mess with the scales as I always do! It has a distinctly vintage feel that I love and works so well with the extra large 30cm Mixing Bowl.

    The Performance Baking Sheet was the perfect size for the 16 scone rounds that I cut out. It's slightly smaller than some of my big trays and fits perfectly into my fridge.

    The Cooling Rack has to be one of my favourite items. I’ve never seen this tri-fold design before and it’s a brilliant space-saving item. Living in an apartment with a kitchen that’s quite short on worktop surface area...having the option of how wide to make it is great.

    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam

    Back to the Simple Plum Jam

    I’m absolutely in love with the colour of this jam. The plums were yellow fleshed with a dark red skin and the jam totally took on the colour of the skin. Next time I’ll make it with purple skinned plums (no idea of their specific name!!) and we’ll see how the colour turns out!

    Have you ever had your small teaspoon drop right into the jam and make a sticky mess of the handle? I have, many a time! When I unearthed this sweet Jam Spoon from Tala I was so taken my it’s functional design. With the hook in the handle, it sits right on the jar edge to prevent it from falling in. Fabulous!

    Simple Plum Jam
    Simple Plum Jam

    If you love making home made jams then here are a couple of other recipes for your to try out:

    Easy Blackberry Jam

    Pear and Ginger Compote

    For curds or sauces try out:

    Home-made Lemon Curd

    Salted Caramel Sauce

    This post is sponsored by Tala Cooking. All views and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Emma Duckworth Bakes possible.

    jar of plum jam with spoon propped up.
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    5 from 2 votes

    Simple Plum Jam

    Sweet plum jam is as simple to make as it is delicious. Spooned over fluffy buttermilk scones, this will be an afternoon tea to remember after you make this easy home-made recipe.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    Total Time25 mins
    Category: Jams
    Cuisine: British/American
    Keyword: Jam, plum jam
    Servings: 3 cups
    Calories: 876kcal
    Author: Emma Duckworth

    Equipment

    • Preserving Jars
    • Candy thermometer
    • 1 small plate

    Ingredients

    Metric - US Customary
    • 650 g plums, halved and de-stoned
    • 30 ml water
    • 600 g granulated sugar
    • 30 ml lemon juice

    Instructions

    • Preheat your oven to 100°C (210°F). Wash the jam jars well, rinse and place upside down on an oven rack for 15 minutes to sterilise. Remove just before filling.
    • Quarter or chop the plums. Add plums to a heavy-based saucepan and with 2 tablespoons of water, cook for 5 minutes on medium heat or until the fruit has softened slightly. (If the plums are already juicy and ripe, this step isn’t necessary). Place a small plate in the freezer.
    • Add sugar and lemon juice to the softened plums and bring to a rolling boil on high heat. Add a candy thermometer and cook until the temperature reaches 105°C (215°F) setting point.
    • Once the jam reaches the correct temperature, perform the jam setting test. Remove the saucer from the freezer and place a dollop of jam on the plate. Leave it for a couple of minutes, and if you run your finger through the jam and it stays apart, it’s ready. If not, then continue to boil and repeat the test.
    • Scoop off the scum from the top of the jam. Carefully remove the jars from the oven and ladle the jam into the preserving jars. Screw the lids on firmly and leave to cool completely. Lable the jars and store until needed.

    All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.

    Notes

    Home-made jam can be stored in a cool dry place for up to 12 months.
    Once opened, refrigerate and use within one month

    Nutrition

    Calories: 876kcal | Carbohydrates: 225g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 354mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 221g | Vitamin A: 748IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
    Have you tried this recipe yet?Mention @emmaduckworthbakes or tag #emmaduckworthbakes! I’d love to see what you are getting up to in the kitchen!
    Plum Jam

    More Sauces & Curds

    • Easy Blackberry Jam
    • Home-Made Lemon Curd

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jeanette Latham

      January 19, 2022 at 11:34 am

      5 stars
      Easy to make added my own little secret extras, but was pleased to have a nice straightforward base jam recipe.

      Reply
      • Emma

        January 19, 2022 at 4:23 pm

        Hi Jeanette, Thanks so much for the wonderful review. Plum jam has to be one of my favourite jams to make! Emma

        Reply

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