Making Jam
from Italian Traditional Food

Making jam the natural way

Making jam the natural way from Italian Traditional Food recipe website using only the best plums. This easy natural making jam recipe was originally given to me by my aunt and I have been successfully using it for the past fifty years to make an excellent rich, dark plum jam.

I like to pick the ripe plums straight off the tree in my garden for ultimate freshness and flavour. This plum jam contains only the most natural of ingredients, plums and sugar. It does not contain any artificial preservatives and will last for more than eight years.

This making jam recipe can be made using most types of plum. Please ensure that you use sterilised jam jars. If you do not know how to sterilise jam jars visit this page where it will show you exactly what to do: Sterilising Jars. I much prefer the jam jars with a rubber seal (see photo) as opposed to the screw cap ones. This type of jam jar will hold 1 kilogram of jam.

I always make this plum jam on a wood burning stove on a very low heat. It seems to enhance the flavour of the plum jam. It can also be made on a gas or electric stove but it must be done on the lowest heat setting. The plum jam has to be cooked on a very gentle simmer only!

Makes: 1 kilogram of natural plum jam

Ingredients:

1 kg (2 1/4 oz) plums (ripe)
500 grams (18 oz) sugar (granulated)

Method:

1. Wash the freshly picked plums

2. Cut open the plums using a knife.

3. Open up the plums to reveal the stone.

4. Remove the plum stone from all the plums.

5. Put the stoneless plums into a large saucepan.

6. Place plum filled saucepan onto the stove on a very low heat.

7. Add the granulated sugar.

8. Stir the plums in the sugar to ensure that they are well coated.

9. Leave the plums and sugar mixture on a very low heat until the sugar has melted.

10. Stir the plums again to avoid sticking.

11. Bring the plums to a very gentle simmer. Leave to simmer slowly for about 8 hours. The plum jam will turn a dark brown colour. This is quite normal.

12. Stir occasionally to avoid any sticking.

13. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

14. The next day, put the plum jam back onto a very low heat and bring to a very gentle simmer for about 4 hours.

15. Stir frequently (every 10-15 minutes) to avoid any sticking.

16. Keep simmering and stirring until the plum jam thickens.

17. Take off the heat and allow to cool down completely.

18. Once totally cooled, spoon the plum jam into the sterilised jam jars.

19. Finished jar of plum jam.

20. Stick a paper label onto the jam jar with details of the fruit and date when made.

This making jam recipe is very simple to make so there is now no excuse for not trying this plum jam recipe.

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