Saturday, July 16, 2011

Home to make Plum-Vanilla Jam

Vanilla Plum Jam
I am lucky to have a plum tree in my garden so it's easy to make Plum Jam in this season. But you can also buy the fruits of course and make this jam the exact same way. I use red plums, ripe and sweet. The good thing with jam is that you can prepare several jars and eat it all year long! And my secret to get natural pectin is... lemon pips!

For about 4 jars
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Baking time: about 2 hours
Difficulty: **

Special utensil: empty spice bag/tea bag or gauze for cooking

Ingredients
- a bit more than 2 pounds red plums (use 1kg)
- 1 pound (use 500g) caster sugar
- lemon pips (from one lemon)
- 1 whole vanilla bean

1. Pit the plums and weight the pitted fruits. You should have about 2 pounds.
2. The quantity of sugar should be twice less than the quantity of plums. So if you have 2 pounds of fruits, you should use 1 pound of sugar.
3. Slice your lemon to get all the pips from it. Put them into the spice bag and close the bag securely.
4. In a big stainless steel pan, mix the pitted plums and the sugar. Add the bag containing the lemon pips.
5. With a knife, halve the vanilla beans lengthwise. Scrape the seeds into the fruit mixture and add the whole bean (optional).
6. Heat your pan on medium heat until it starts boiling. Then lower the heat and let cool slowly for about 2 hours. Mix frequently to prevent sticking.
7. To test if the jam is ready, use the spoon test: Dip a spoon into the hot jam and let the liquid drip off on a cold plate. The drops should be thick and not liquid. That's when your jam is ready!
8. Pour your jam in the jars, and return each jar upside down. Let cool like this and only return the jar when the jam is completely cool.

Enjoy right away, if you are patient, in a few days!!