Plum-Cherry Jam (with Pomona pectin)
- Number of Servings: 96
Ingredients
1 Tbsp Pomona pectin powder1/4 cup granulated sugar3 cups pitted, chopped damson-type plums (NOT peeled, a lot of the flavor is in the skin)2 1/2 cups pitted sweet cherries (if you hate pitting cherries you can use one 12-oz bag of frozen cherries)1/4 cup lemon juice (bottled/frozen OK)1/4 cup orange juice (bottled/frozen OK)1 Tbsp fresh/frozen grated lemon zest or 1 tsp dried1 Tbsp fresh/frozen grated orange zest or 1 tsp dried1/2 tsp sea salt1 cup honey (hint: coat the inside of the measuring cup with cooking spray - the honey will slide right out!)1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and scraped OR 1-2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste4 tsp calcium water (see Pomona package)OPTIONAL: 1/2 tsp butter or 1/4 tsp grapeseed oil (this minimizes foaming)
Line a cookie sheet with several layers of newspaper to make cleanup easier. Put a saucer in the refrigerator. Start your canning pot heating (my 12qt stockpot takes about 20 minutes from warm-tap-water to hard boil on my sorry excuse for a stove).
Stir together pectin powder and granulated sugar, set aside.
Combine plums, cherries, juices, zests, salt, honey, vanilla bean pod and seeds (if used), calcium water, and butter/oil (if used) in a nonreactive pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently 8-10 minutes, until fruit is soft but not disintegrating. Stir often, it wants to stick.
The water bath should be just about boiling now, so put the jars in to sanitize and dip out enough water to cover the lids in a heatproof bowl. Also dip your funnel and ladle in the boiling water and set on a clean plate.Turn burner off for now, leaving pot covered.
Bring fruit mixture back up to a full boil. Stir in pectin-sugar mixture and boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam and fish out the vanilla bean. If you did not use a vanilla bean, add vanilla extract/paste now. Taste - carefully! Put a little blob on that chilled saucer, that will cool it quickly enough to check texture and flavor. If it "needs something" give it another teaspoon or so of lemon juice and a pinch of salt, that will usually do the trick.
Remove jars (carefully!) from boiling water and set on newspaper-lined cookie sheet. Use funnel and ladle to fill jars to 1/4" from top. Wipe jar rims, set lids in place and screw on rings.
Boil jars - hard rolling boil - 10 minutes at sea level, turn off the burner and let the jars sit in the covered pot another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, discard the top layer of newspaper if you've dribbled any jam on it, and clean up. (If you're canning more than one thing, which is the most efficient way since it takes quite a bit of electricity/gas to heat up all that water, get the next recipe going while this batch is in the water.) Lift the jars from the water and set upright on the cookie sheet (the newspaper absorbs drips). Do not invert jars. Use the cookie sheet to carry them to an out-of-the-way spot away from drafts to cool, setting them on a dry towel on a cutting board or upside-down cookie sheet, or a cooling rack, and do not touch for _at least_ 12 hours, preferably 24. Listen for that wonderfully satisfying popping sound as your jar lids suck down and seal. :) Check your seals after 24 hours. If a jar didn't seal, refrigerate and use within 3 weeks, or transfer to a freezer container and freeze for 3 months. Store in a cool, dry, preferably dark place for up to 1 year.
Yield: 6 cups and a little more, depending on how much your fruit breaks down - nutrition info calculated as 96 1 Tbsp servings
Stir together pectin powder and granulated sugar, set aside.
Combine plums, cherries, juices, zests, salt, honey, vanilla bean pod and seeds (if used), calcium water, and butter/oil (if used) in a nonreactive pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently 8-10 minutes, until fruit is soft but not disintegrating. Stir often, it wants to stick.
The water bath should be just about boiling now, so put the jars in to sanitize and dip out enough water to cover the lids in a heatproof bowl. Also dip your funnel and ladle in the boiling water and set on a clean plate.Turn burner off for now, leaving pot covered.
Bring fruit mixture back up to a full boil. Stir in pectin-sugar mixture and boil, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam and fish out the vanilla bean. If you did not use a vanilla bean, add vanilla extract/paste now. Taste - carefully! Put a little blob on that chilled saucer, that will cool it quickly enough to check texture and flavor. If it "needs something" give it another teaspoon or so of lemon juice and a pinch of salt, that will usually do the trick.
Remove jars (carefully!) from boiling water and set on newspaper-lined cookie sheet. Use funnel and ladle to fill jars to 1/4" from top. Wipe jar rims, set lids in place and screw on rings.
Boil jars - hard rolling boil - 10 minutes at sea level, turn off the burner and let the jars sit in the covered pot another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, discard the top layer of newspaper if you've dribbled any jam on it, and clean up. (If you're canning more than one thing, which is the most efficient way since it takes quite a bit of electricity/gas to heat up all that water, get the next recipe going while this batch is in the water.) Lift the jars from the water and set upright on the cookie sheet (the newspaper absorbs drips). Do not invert jars. Use the cookie sheet to carry them to an out-of-the-way spot away from drafts to cool, setting them on a dry towel on a cutting board or upside-down cookie sheet, or a cooling rack, and do not touch for _at least_ 12 hours, preferably 24. Listen for that wonderfully satisfying popping sound as your jar lids suck down and seal. :) Check your seals after 24 hours. If a jar didn't seal, refrigerate and use within 3 weeks, or transfer to a freezer container and freeze for 3 months. Store in a cool, dry, preferably dark place for up to 1 year.
Yield: 6 cups and a little more, depending on how much your fruit breaks down - nutrition info calculated as 96 1 Tbsp servings
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 17.9
- Total Fat: 0.0 g
- Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
- Sodium: 6.2 mg
- Total Carbs: 4.8 g
- Dietary Fiber: 0.2 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
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