Plum Jam Recipe

You will absolutely love, love love, this Low Sugar Plum Jam Recipe! It packs a little tart punch, because not only is it low sugar, I add lemon juice to spruce it up a bit, as well!

So, bear with me this post! It is the first post I ever did, on September 11, 2014, when I had no clue what I was doing! I will leave most of the original text and some of the images, but give it a badly needed facelift.

This is sunset at Sodus Point, NY taken from our camper.

Well, here goes nothing! My first Post! I have always thought about writing a cookbook. I still have a huge three ring binder full of recipes I have collected since I was about 12. The ‘Early Collection’ consists of lots of jellos, cakes, cookies and desserts! In other words, the 4 basic food groups for a twelve year old!

Thankfully over the years my tastes have changed, or I would weigh as much as a house!

Moving right along… in this age of technology, I have switched to saving my recipes “in the cloud”. So in recent years I added 100’s of recipes on the smart phone and spend every waking moment possible inventing and locating healthier dishes, with lots of flavor and fresh ingredients!

Living in Upstate NY, near Lake Ontario has it’s benefits this time of year (Ask me in the winter and you’ll get a totally different response). Namely, fresh fruit!

We are surrounded by Orchards on all sides! Fresh Plums, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots and tons of Berries are ripe for the taking!

My next door neighbor at LaMora Farms, has approximately 500 acres in stone fruits and apples. He generously donates fruit that has lost some of it’s appeal for his stand.

That is to say 5- 10% are past their prime and are tossed. The other 90% are perfect for fresh Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Salsas and Desserts. You get the picture!

Last week the donation was 4 baskets of peaches and 1 basket of plums! Score!! Naturally, I had to make this Plum Jam Recipe first! It is my all time favorite jam!

Don’t miss our complete step by step guide to canning.

What you need

• plums – use any variety of plums you have access to.
• low sugar pectin – important to use low sugar pectin or the jam will not set properly.
• sugar, honey or sugar substitute (can be deleted, if no sugar is what you want.)
• lemon juice – important to use bottled lemon juice, not fresh!

How to make this Low Sugar Plum Jam

Wash jars, lids and bands in hot, soapy water. Rinse thoroughly. Sterilize jars in a water bath canning pot for approximately 10 minutes. Place lids and bands in another small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let jars, bands and lids stay in the hot water until ready to fill.

1. Blanch Plums.
2. Peel plums
3. Chop plums. Add plums, water, lemon juice and pectin to large pot.

When it comes to a full rolling boil (one that can’t be stirred down), add sugar all at once. Again, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and continue to boil hard for at least 1 full minute.

Immediately ladle into hot sterilized jars. Put on lids and hand tighten rings. (Not too tight!) Place jars in a water bath canning pot and process for 10 minutes.

Let jars rest in canning pot an additional 5 minutes. After the rest remove the jars from the canning pot and let cool on the counter for 24 hours.

After a short amount of time you will here the lids “pop” that is always a good thing because that means that they have sealed.

Check the lids after the 24 hours. Any lids that snap in the middle have not sealed properly and should be refrigerated. The sealed jars are best stored in a cool, dark place, like a basement.

Last year I bought a utensil kit which includes a jar lifter, lid lifter, and a funnel for about 10 dollars. It has saved me a few burns since!!!

This year I found a jar of Ball pectin. 3 tablespoons equals one of the old boxes and the jar makes 22 half pints of jam. It is a lot cheaper, if you process a lot of preserves.

I always use low sugar recipes to reduce our sugar intake. The flavor in the low sugar recipes is much brighter. More reminiscent of actual fruit, instead of sugar.

We actually prefer it to full sugar jams. Here is a Strawberry Low Sugar Jam, Blueberry Low Sugar Jam, Peach, Blackberry and Rhubarb as well!

Love Gardening? If you love growing your own produce, these posts are packed full of information about how to get that big harvest by the end of the season! Don’t miss our How to Start a Garden Series!

I hope you like the Plum Jam Recipe today! Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list so you don’t miss any new recipes!

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

Low Sugar Plum Jam Recipe

Plums are great in sweet and savory dishes! This Low Sugar Plum Jam is evidence of that!

See Step by Step Photos Above!Most of our recipes have step by step photos and videos! Also helpful tips so that you can make it perfectly the first time and every time! Scroll up to see them!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 64 tablespoons

Calories: 8kcal

Author: Beth Neels

Cost: $6

Ingredients

• ▢ For every 2 half pint jars you need:
• ▢ 1 1/3 cups prepared fruit
• ▢ 1/3 cup Unsweetened Fruit Juice thawed frozen juice concentrate or water
• ▢ 3 tsp Bottled Lemon Juice I use it for this plum jam. ***See Note section below for important notes!!***
• ▢ 1 1/2 Tbsp Low Sugar Pectin
• ▢ up to 1/2 Cup sugar, sugar substitute or honey sugar substitute or honey

US CustomaryMetric

Instructions

• Blanch plums for a minute or two, until skins crack. Add to cold water bath. Slip peels off of plums. Alternately, plums can be skinned with a juicer or a food mill.
• Prepare jars. Wash in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Place directly in water bath canning pot. Cover clean jars with water about 2 inches above jars. Boil jars for 10 – 15 minutes to sterilize. Let jars sit in hot water until ready to fill.
• Place washed lids in a small saucepan and cover with boiling water. Let sit until ready to use. I also add my ladle and funnel to this pot to sterilize them.
• Cut plums into small chunks. Add to 8 qt. sauce pan. Mash with potato masher. Add water.
• Measure sugar and pectin. Add a few tablespoons of sugar to pectin.
• Bring plums to a boil and add pectin/ sugar mixture. Bring to a full boil (one that can’t be stirred down).
• Add the rest of sugar all at once. Again, bring to a full boil and boil for 1 full minute.
• Fill jars, leaving 1/2″ headspace. Wipe rim of jars with clean paper towel and place lid on. Add band and tighten to fingertip tight.
• Place filled jars into canning pot and bring to boil. Low boil for 10 minutes.
• Turn off heat and allow to sit in water for 5 minutes. Remove them to counter and let them cool.
• After 24 hours, check lids by pushing down in center. If lids flex up and down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated.
• Jars that have sealed should be stored in a cool place for a year. (If it lasts that long!)
• This recipe makes 2 half pint jars jam.

canning jars- Pint

Water Bath Canning Pot

canning jars – Jelly Jars

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Notes

IMPORTANT!! I had very sweet Sugar Baby Plums. If you’re plums are on the tart side,  cut down on the amount of lemon juice or increase sugar.

Makes 2 half pints.

Recipe can be multiplied, but don’t do more than 5 times the recipe. The jam has a tendency not to set properly.

Test lids for seal. Press center of lid down in the middle. If it flexes up and down, jar is not sealed.

If lids have not sealed, store those jars in refrigerator and consume those jars first.

Store sealed jars in a cool place.

Use up to 1/2 cup sugar. I usually use over 1/4 cup but under 1/2 cup of sugar.

Nutrition

Calories: 8kcal | Potassium: 5mg | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg

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Originally Published 9/11/2014 Updated 9/2/2020

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