Plum Jam Recipe
You will absolutely love, love, love this Low-Sugar Plum Jam Recipe. It packs a little tart punch because it is low-sugar, and I add lemon juice to spruce it up a bit.
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 some 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 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 four baskets of peaches and one basket of plums. 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 – It is 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 – It is 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. Let jars stay in the hot water until ready to fill.
Cut an X in the blossom end of the plums. Blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Immediately add them to a large bowl with ice water to cool.
Peel the plums with the help of a paring knife.
Rough chop the plums. Add them to a pot with the water and lemon juice. Heat the pot over high heat..
Add sugar to the pectin in a small bowl.
Mix them together. This helps the pectin not to clump up.
Pour the pectin/sugar mixture into the pot with the plums.
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 one full minute.
Fill the hot jars with the hot jam.
Wipe the rims to clean off any debris.
Center the lid on the jar. Screw the band on fingertip tight. Process the jam for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.
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Get the canner water hot. Wash the jars and lids. Add the clean jars to the canning pot to heat. Once the jars are filled, add them to the canning pot. Bring the water in the pot to a boil. Once the water is boiling, set the timer.
When the processing time is complete, remove the pot from the heat, carefully open the lid, and partially lift it off the top of the canning pot. Let it rest like that for 5 minutes.
Then, remove the lid and let the jars rest in the canning pot for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
After resting, remove the jars onto a kitchen towel placed on your counter and let them thoroughly cool for 12-24 hours, undisturbed. You may hear the lids pinging sometime in the next hour. This is music to a canner’s ears. It is due to the reaction of the lids being sealed to the jar.
Check the seals. Press down in the middle of the lid. If it flexes up or down, the jar is not sealed and should be refrigerated and used first.
Then, remove the bands. Gently pick up the jar by the lid to check the seal further. Again, if it is not sealed, use it first.
Label jars with contents and the date. Store in a cool, dark place for at least a year. Avoid areas with large temperature fluctuations.
Do not stack jars on top of each other. This can compromise the seals. If you run out of room on your shelf, use a sheet of cardboard or a thin piece of wood and place that on top of a row of jars. Then you can put jars on top of that. This will distribute the weight evenly.
Before using any canned goods, always inspect the packaging and the food itself. Make sure that it looks and smells as it should. If it doesn’t, it’s best to err on the side of caution and discard it.
How to Store Jars
Rotate the jars so that older preserves are in the front and used first.
Home-canned preserves should be stored in a cool, dark place. If you have a root cellar, that is ideal. If not, store them in a pantry that is away from any heat source.
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.
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 and 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!
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today.
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!
Low Sugar Plum Jam Recipe
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
- 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.
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Nutrition
Originally Published 9/11/2014 Updated 9/2/2020
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Am looking forward to trying ghis recipe
I hope you like it Joann! It’s one of our favorites too. Let me know how it goes>
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.
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!
Can I use only honey in this receipe along with pectin
Yes, you can substitute honey for the sugar with great results! Thanks for stopping be the blog, Mary!
I’ve never made plum jam, so I can’t wait to try this!
It is my absolute favorite ever! Thank you Krissy! Have a great weekend!
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.
Thank you Lisa! That is very kind of you to say! Have a great weekend!!
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!
oh, it really is one of my favorites! Thanks Marlynn!
Your first post! How awesome. And I love it when jams are low sugar and a little tart!
Yes, kind of fun to revisit the old ones! The photos were so hideous!! Lol! Thanks Tracy!
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.
Oh, yes, for sure! It would be awesome on ice cream! Thanks, Vicky!
Oooh! You know how I love jam! Send me some?? I’m proud of you! This is a great start!
Thanks, Sis! I’ll send you a care package!