Made with fresh plums from Fusilier Farms found at Eastern Market in Detroit, this plum jam is sweet and tart, with just a hint of rosemary. Perfect for a summer breakfast on a thick slice of sourdough with plenty of butter!
Yields about 2 ½ pints.
Ingredients
- 3 quarts plums, stems removed, pitted, and sliced into quarters. Yields about 3 pounds (1.4 kg) after pitting
- 2 cups (454 g) sugar
- 4 small sprigs (3 g) fresh rosemary
- ⅜ cup (90 g) lemon juice
Instructions
- Add your prepared plums to a stockpot with a lid. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Tuck the rosemary stems into your mixture gently so they don’t break–we’ll remove them later!
- Put a lid on your pot, and leave the fruit and sugar mixture out at room temperature overnight, or for 6-8 hours, to pull the juices out of the fruit.
- In the morning, give the fruit and sugar mixture a stir, and heat over medium on the stove. Bring it to a boil, and let simmer for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
- Add your lemon juice, slightly reduce the heat, and let it simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. The fruit will naturally break down, but you can help it along by smashing the plums with a wooden spoon.
- After 40 minutes, the jam should look thick and chunky. Test to see if it’s set by placing a small scoop of jam on a plate or in a small bowl, and leaving it in the freezer for 5 minutes. If the jam appears watery after cooling, continue cooking and check the consistency every 10 minutes or so.
- Once the jam has reached your desired thickness, remove from heat. Pull out the rosemary springs and discard.
- Ladle the jam into clean glass jars and seal. For long-term storage, you can process the jars of jam using the water bath method for 10 minutes. Otherwise, store the jam in the refrigerator.
Carrie Hause is the Digital Media Specialist for Taste the Local Difference. Contact her at [email protected].