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    Home » Food Preservation » Canning » Plum Jam Recipe

    Plum Jam Recipe

    Posted on September 6, 2018 By Beth Neels

    694 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Canning plum jam Pinterest Pin with text overlay
    Canning plum jam Pinterest Pin with text overlay

    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.

    low sugar plum jam recipe on home made biscuit
    Low Sugar Plum Jam Recipe
    orange sunset with silhouette of sailboat

    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!

    plum jam in white ramekin and butter and plum jam on biscuit

    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!

    plum jam recipe with biscuit, close up

    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!

    plum jam in white bowl on antiques baking sheet with biscuits and antique doily

    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.
    Blanching plums. Peeling plums. Chopped plums on board.

    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.

    plum jam in white bowl on antiques baking sheet with biscuits

    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.

    plum jam on metal baking tray with jar of jam


    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.

    plum jam on metal baking tray with biscuits

    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!!!

    plum jam on metal baking tray with biscuits and jar of jam

    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!

    The first section is Planning Your Garden. Second is Preparing the Garden Site.

    The third is Choosing Plants and Planting Your Garden. The fourth is Garden Maintenance.

    The last is Harvesting a Garden and Preserving the Harvest, this article has over 100 FREE recipes for preserving your harvest!

    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!

    Connect with us through our social media ages! Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter.

    If you have any questions or comments, please ask in comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

    I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

    Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

    Binky's signature
    Plum jam spread onto homemade biscuits.

    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

    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
    See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!

    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

    This post may contain affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you click the link and purchase something. See FTC Disclosure, here.

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    694 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Joann Neumann

      September 01, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      5 stars
      Am looking forward to trying ghis recipe

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        September 01, 2021 at 1:35 pm

        I hope you like it Joann! It’s one of our favorites too. Let me know how it goes>

        Reply
    2. Delores Schrage

      September 03, 2019 at 5:34 pm

      I picked about 4 gallons of small tart plums and not knowing what to do with them I cooked them in my crockpot overnight and used a collendar to separate the pulp from the seeds and skin. I now have
      about 3 1/2 gallons of plum juice: Can you give me a suggestion on how to make this juice into jam.

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        September 04, 2019 at 10:52 am

        Just substitute the plum juice for the prepared fruit and fruit juice in this recipe. You are going to have a whole lot of plum jam! I’m jealous! It’s one of my favorites!

        Reply
    3. Mary

      August 24, 2019 at 2:09 pm

      Can I use only honey in this receipe along with pectin

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        August 24, 2019 at 3:16 pm

        Yes, you can substitute honey for the sugar with great results! Thanks for stopping be the blog, Mary!

        Reply
    4. Krissy Allori

      September 07, 2018 at 2:22 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve never made plum jam, so I can’t wait to try this!

      Reply
      • Binky

        September 07, 2018 at 4:13 pm

        It is my absolute favorite ever! Thank you Krissy! Have a great weekend!

        Reply
    5. Lisa Bynum

      September 07, 2018 at 1:10 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve been making homemade jams and jellies for years, but just recently made my first batch of plum! Your pics look so inviting. I just want to pull up a chair to that table and have a biscuit.

      Reply
      • Binky

        September 07, 2018 at 2:36 pm

        Thank you Lisa! That is very kind of you to say! Have a great weekend!!

        Reply
    6. Marlynn | Urban Bliss Life

      September 07, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      5 stars
      This plum jam looks like the perfect addition to some scones in the morning! I love plums but have never made plum jam before. Can’t wait to try!

      Reply
      • Binky

        September 07, 2018 at 2:35 pm

        oh, it really is one of my favorites! Thanks Marlynn!

        Reply
    7. Tracy

      September 07, 2018 at 12:51 pm

      5 stars
      Your first post! How awesome. And I love it when jams are low sugar and a little tart!

      Reply
      • Binky

        September 07, 2018 at 2:35 pm

        Yes, kind of fun to revisit the old ones! The photos were so hideous!! Lol! Thanks Tracy!

        Reply
    8. Vicky

      September 07, 2018 at 12:48 pm

      5 stars
      I love the idea of a tart jam. I often find most jams to be too sweet. I bet this would be wonderful as an ice cream topping as well.

      Reply
      • Binky

        September 07, 2018 at 2:34 pm

        Oh, yes, for sure! It would be awesome on ice cream! Thanks, Vicky!

        Reply
    9. Donna

      June 28, 2017 at 12:39 pm

      5 stars
      Oooh! You know how I love jam! Send me some?? I’m proud of you! This is a great start!

      Reply
      • Binky

        June 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm

        Thanks, Sis! I’ll send you a care package!

        Reply

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    Welcome! Thanks for stopping by! I am Beth "Binky" Neels, wife, mother of 2 boys and 3 dogs! I will impart tips and tricks I have learned over the years, to make cooking easier and fun for you!

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    photo of Beth Neels aka Binky

    Welcome! Thanks for stopping by! I am Beth "Binky" Neels, wife, mother of 2 boys and 3 dogs! I will impart tips and tricks I have learned over the years, to make cooking easier and fun for you!

    More about me →

    Subscribe to our newsletter so you don't miss a recipe

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    TRENDING RECIPES

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    • Ischler – Austrian Shortbread, Chocolate & Apricot
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