Condiments
Plum jam without gelling sugar
Plums have their own pectin in the skin and in the flesh around the stone: with the right variety, a long maceration and the cold-plate test, the jam sets without gelling sugar. Quantities for four or five jars, lively cooking and an honest section on what happens to storage when you reduce the sugar.
Method
- Wash the plums, cut them in half, remove the stone and cut them into quarters. Do not peel them: the skin holds the largest share of the pectin. Set aside 8-10 of the cleanest stones and tie them in a square of cheesecloth.
- In a wide, heavy-bottomed pot combine the plums, the sugar and the lemon juice. Leave to macerate for at least 3 hours, better overnight in the fridge. Do not add water: the fruit releases all the liquid it needs by itself.
- Put three saucers in the freezer: you will need them to check the set. Sterilise the jars by boiling them for 10 minutes or keeping them for 15 minutes in the oven at 120 °C, and keep them hot until it is time to fill them.
- Put the pot on medium heat and stir gently until all the sugar crystals have dissolved, before the mixture comes to a boil. Sugar left on the bottom burns and leaves a bitter aftertaste.
- Turn up the heat, add the cheesecloth with the stones and let it boil briskly for 25-40 minutes. Stir often with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom, and skim off the foam during the first ten minutes.
- Halfway through, decide on the texture: for a smooth texture give two or three short pulses with an immersion blender; for whole pieces do nothing and let the plums break down by themselves.
- Do the cold saucer test. Take the pot off the heat, pour half a teaspoon of jam onto a chilled saucer, put it back in the freezer for a minute and run your finger through the middle: if the surface wrinkles and the two halves do not close up again, you are ready. If it stays runny, cook for another 5 minutes and repeat.
- Remove the cheesecloth with the stones and pour the boiling jam into the hot jars, up to 1 cm from the rim. Wipe the rim with a cloth dipped in boiling water, close tightly and leave the jars to cool upright.
- Turn the jars upright and leave them to cool completely. Check that every lid is concave and does not click, then label with the variety, the percentage of sugar and the date, and store in a cool, dark place.
Minnelea products for this recipe
The preserves used in this recipe.
Minnelea
Extra Apricot Jam – Artisan, Preservative-Free
€7,90
Minnelea
Extra Red Apple Jam – Artisan, Preservative-Free
€7,90
Minnelea
Sweet Awakening Kit – 6 Artisan Jams
€39,00
• Plum pectin is in the skin and in the flesh around the stone: never peel the fruit and cook 8-10 washed stones tied in a piece of gauze, which noticeably improve the set and bring a light almond note.
• Use about 80% just-ripe fruit and 20% still firm fruit: overripe plums are sweet but poor in pectin and acidity, and that is the number one cause of jams that stay runny.
• Varieties: Opal (July-August) is sweet and not very acidic and tends to stay fluid, so extend cooking by 5-10 minutes and do not skimp on the lemon; Victoria (late August-September) is the most reliable, balanced and with enough pectin; Reine Claude, the greengage (September), is honeyed and low in acidity and without 15 ml more lemon per kilo will hardly set; late blue plums such as Stanley or Hauszwetsche give the thickest, darkest jam, with the shortest cooking times.
• Maceration lasts at least 3 hours, better overnight in the refrigerator: it is not cooking and is not included in the indicated times, but it must be considered when organizing the day.
• No water: fruit and sugar together release all the liquid needed, and every drop added at the beginning will have to be evaporated later.
• Dissolve all sugar crystals before the mixture reaches a boil: sugar left on the bottom burns and leaves a grainy texture and bitter aftertaste.
• Cold-plate test: remove the pot from the heat before testing, otherwise cooking continues and the result is distorted. With a sugar thermometer, the setting point is between 104 and 105 °C, and the jam continues to thicken up to 48 hours after jarring: a jar that seems soft while lukewarm is often perfect the next day.
• Wide pot filled halfway: evaporation happens at the surface; a narrow pot cooks longer and sticks more.
• Sugar and storage, the honest compromise: at 50% (750 g for 1,5 kg fruit) it lasts 12 months closed in a dark pantry and one week opened in the refrigerator; at 33% (500 g) it is fruitier and more acidic, but cooking rises to 40-50 minutes and shelf life drops to 6-8 months closed and 5 days opened; below 20% or without sugar it is no longer jam but compote, with no preserving effect, to be kept 4-5 days in the refrigerator or frozen in portions. Honey gives aroma but does not preserve better than sugar; erythritol and stevia give neither structure nor shelf life.
• Less sugar means more discipline: jars sterilized for 10 minutes in boiling water or 15 minutes in the oven at 120 °C, new lids or intact seals, always hot filling into hot jars, a clean spoon for every serving and mandatory refrigeration after opening. For reduced-sugar versions, add pasteurization of the closed jars in a water bath, 30 minutes from the moment it boils.
• Once cold, check every lid: it must be concave and must not click when pressed. A jar that clicks has not sealed, must go in the refrigerator and be consumed first. Always label with variety, sugar percentage and date.
• If mold appears or you smell fermentation, discard the whole jar: removing the surface layer solves nothing.
• Variations: a cinnamon stick or the seeds of half a vanilla bean during cooking; for a smooth texture, give two or three short pulses with a stick blender halfway through cooking, otherwise let the plums break down on their own and keep the pieces.
• Name and allergens: by law, in labeling, “marmalade” refers only to citrus-based products, so this is technically plum jam, even though in everyday cooking the two terms are used as synonyms. No allergens in the basic ingredients; the stones release pectin and aroma during cooking and must be removed before jarring.
A Minnelea recipe built around late-summer plums, with an honest premise: plum jam is not part of our production, because in Cilento the plum is not the fruit of the season. What we share is the method, the same one used for our jams: low-temperature vacuum cooking, real fruit and short ingredient lists, with no added pectins, no preservatives and no colorings. The closest comparison remains our Extra Apricot Jam, the same family of stone fruit and the same challenges.
• Use about 80% just-ripe fruit and 20% still firm fruit: overripe plums are sweet but poor in pectin and acidity, and that is the number one cause of jams that stay runny.
• Varieties: Opal (July-August) is sweet and not very acidic and tends to stay fluid, so extend cooking by 5-10 minutes and do not skimp on the lemon; Victoria (late August-September) is the most reliable, balanced and with enough pectin; Reine Claude, the greengage (September), is honeyed and low in acidity and without 15 ml more lemon per kilo will hardly set; late blue plums such as Stanley or Hauszwetsche give the thickest, darkest jam, with the shortest cooking times.
• Maceration lasts at least 3 hours, better overnight in the refrigerator: it is not cooking and is not included in the indicated times, but it must be considered when organizing the day.
• No water: fruit and sugar together release all the liquid needed, and every drop added at the beginning will have to be evaporated later.
• Dissolve all sugar crystals before the mixture reaches a boil: sugar left on the bottom burns and leaves a grainy texture and bitter aftertaste.
• Cold-plate test: remove the pot from the heat before testing, otherwise cooking continues and the result is distorted. With a sugar thermometer, the setting point is between 104 and 105 °C, and the jam continues to thicken up to 48 hours after jarring: a jar that seems soft while lukewarm is often perfect the next day.
• Wide pot filled halfway: evaporation happens at the surface; a narrow pot cooks longer and sticks more.
• Sugar and storage, the honest compromise: at 50% (750 g for 1,5 kg fruit) it lasts 12 months closed in a dark pantry and one week opened in the refrigerator; at 33% (500 g) it is fruitier and more acidic, but cooking rises to 40-50 minutes and shelf life drops to 6-8 months closed and 5 days opened; below 20% or without sugar it is no longer jam but compote, with no preserving effect, to be kept 4-5 days in the refrigerator or frozen in portions. Honey gives aroma but does not preserve better than sugar; erythritol and stevia give neither structure nor shelf life.
• Less sugar means more discipline: jars sterilized for 10 minutes in boiling water or 15 minutes in the oven at 120 °C, new lids or intact seals, always hot filling into hot jars, a clean spoon for every serving and mandatory refrigeration after opening. For reduced-sugar versions, add pasteurization of the closed jars in a water bath, 30 minutes from the moment it boils.
• Once cold, check every lid: it must be concave and must not click when pressed. A jar that clicks has not sealed, must go in the refrigerator and be consumed first. Always label with variety, sugar percentage and date.
• If mold appears or you smell fermentation, discard the whole jar: removing the surface layer solves nothing.
• Variations: a cinnamon stick or the seeds of half a vanilla bean during cooking; for a smooth texture, give two or three short pulses with a stick blender halfway through cooking, otherwise let the plums break down on their own and keep the pieces.
• Name and allergens: by law, in labeling, “marmalade” refers only to citrus-based products, so this is technically plum jam, even though in everyday cooking the two terms are used as synonyms. No allergens in the basic ingredients; the stones release pectin and aroma during cooking and must be removed before jarring.
A Minnelea recipe built around late-summer plums, with an honest premise: plum jam is not part of our production, because in Cilento the plum is not the fruit of the season. What we share is the method, the same one used for our jams: low-temperature vacuum cooking, real fruit and short ingredient lists, with no added pectins, no preservatives and no colorings. The closest comparison remains our Extra Apricot Jam, the same family of stone fruit and the same challenges.