Sweet and tangy, with plenty of chunks, this Plum Preserves is definitely a favorite among family and friends. It's perfect with creamy Clotted Cream and toast, especially homemade sourdough bread. If you prefer the smoother consistency of jam, you can easily emulsify it!
I've always loved plum preserves. Especially since mom made the BEST plum preserves that I've ever had. Luckily, this plum preserves recipe is a close second! So don't be surprised if this recipe reminds you of your mom or grandmother's plum preserves!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- If you have plums that don't have much flavor or overly ripe plums, you can use them to prepare plum preserves or plum jam.
- This plum jam recipe does not require any pectin because plums are high in natural pectin!
- Plum Jam makes a wonderful gift idea!
🔖 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Plums: I recommend using flavorful juicy plums for this recipe. Luckily, this recipe is also fantastic with less flavorful plums or overly ripe plums too!
- Citrus: I like to use a mixture of lemon and orange zest and juice in this recipe, but you can substitute one for the other if you need to. If you do decide to substitute lemon juice for the orange juice, I'd probably use ¼ cup instead of ½ cup.
*A full ingredients list can be found in the recipe card below!
🍯 How to Make This Recipe
Note: You will need seven half-pint jars for this recipe.
STEP 1: Chop each plum into quarters and discard the seed. Weigh the chopped plums with a kitchen scale to get 3¼ pounds.
STEP 2: Add ⅓ of the plums to a large pot. Sprinkle with one cup of sugar. Repeat layering until all the sugar and plums are added. Sprinkle with the lemon and orange zest.
STEP 3: Heat over low flame until the sugar begins to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Juice enough oranges to get half a cup of orange juice. In my case, it took two oranges.
STEP 4: Stir the orange juice into the plums and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the flame and set a timer for 30 minutes.
Pro Tip: Eventually, the liquid will begin to rise and could boil over if you're not paying attention so don't walk away from the preserves while it's in full boil! When you notice the jam rising to the top of the pot, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it recedes.
STEP 5: After cooking for 30 minutes, your preserves should reach the right consistency or gelling point. Skim the surface to remove foam then ladle the hot jam into sterilized hot jars. Leave ¼ inch headspace, wipe the rims with a kitchen towel, and screw the lids on hand tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use frozen plums to make plum jam or preserves. Rinse off any ice crystals that may have formed on them before using them.
Just toss the plums into a Dutch oven along with the sugar until they defrost and continue on with the recipe. If you are going to freeze plums, it's best to slice them in half and remove the pit prior to freezing them.
Although some prefer to remove the skin off of plums before using them in jam, I prefer to leave it on. Not only do I love the added texture that the skin provides but it also adds more fiber to the recipe.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- Although some recipes call for peeling the plums, I prefer to leave the skin on. It's actually one of my favorite elements of the recipe!
- If you prefer to make your plum preserves without the skin, just blanch the plums for approximately 45 seconds after slicing an "X" on the bottom of each plum first. This helps when peeling the skin off the plums.
- Remember that jam always thickens once it's refrigerated so do not overcook it!
- To make plum jam, you can either use an immersion blender while the preserves is in the pot, or run the preserves through a food processor.
- If you are at a higher altitude (above 3000 ft) add 5 extra minutes to the processing time.
- Plum jam is amazing over vanilla ice cream!
🍓Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Plum Preserves Recipe
Equipment
- 7 8-ounce mason jars
- Canning Equipment (I recommend this one)
Ingredients
- 3¼ lbs. plums (pits removed)
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 medium lemon (zested)
- 1 medium orange (zested)
- ½ cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)
Instructions
- Chop each plum into quarters and discard the seed. Weigh the chopped plums with a kitchen scale to get 3¼ pounds.
- Add ⅓ of the plums to a large pot. Sprinkle with one cup of sugar. Repeat layering until all the sugar and plums are added. Sprinkle with the lemon and orange zest.
- Heat over low flame until the sugar begins to dissolve, stirring occasionally. Juice enough oranges to get half a cup of orange juice. In my case, it took two oranges.
- Stir the orange juice into the plums and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the flame and set a timer for 30 minutes.
- After cooking for 30 minutes, your preserves should reach the right consistency or gelling point. Skim the surface to remove foam then ladle the hot jam into sterilized hot jars. Leave ¼ inch headspace, wipe the rims with a kitchen towel, and screw the lids on hand tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Eventually, the liquid will begin to rise and could boil over if you're not paying attention so don't walk away from the preserves while it's in full boil! When you notice the jam rising to the top of the pot, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it recedes.
- Although some recipes call for peeling the plums, I prefer to leave the skin on. It's actually one of my favorite elements of the recipe!
- If you prefer to make your plum preserves without the skin, just blanch the plums for approximately 45 seconds after slicing an "X" on the bottom of each plum first. This helps when peeling the skin off the plums.
- Remember that jam always thickens once it's refrigerated so do not overcook it!
- To make plum jam, you can either use an immersion blender while the preserves is in the pot, or run the preserves through a food processor.
- If you are at a higher altitude (above 3000 ft) add 5 extra minutes to the processing time.
- Plum jam is amazing over vanilla ice cream!
Susan says
I too love plum jam and can’t wait to try this version. Plums have a lot of pectin and a lot of which is in the seeds too. For that reason, I always tie the seeds into a cheesecloth square and remove the square when the cooking is complete. A previous post mentioned using all ripe plums and wondered if that could have contributed to a set failure. Yes, it’s important to include some less ripe fruit when making jams without commercial pectin. Additionally, performing a cold plate test or using a candy thermometer will help you zone in on the perfect gel stage.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Susan, all great advice, thank you so much for sharing!
Laurel Sutton says
Making your plum preserves tonight. Sounds yummy. Want to try blackberry jelly next. Do I need to use cheesecloth? Anything else that I could use that I wouldn’t have to buy? suggestions? Those seeds drive me nuts!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Laurel, It's funny you should ask. I'm not big fan of jelly and usually prefer chunkier jams/preserves. I did however make some chokecherry jelly today. I usually use soup bags, I love them and they're reusable. But if you don't want to spend money you can use a fine strainer or even a cotton napkin. Good luck!
Laurel Sutton says
I don’t know what a soup bag is but I’ll go buy some! LOL
Thanks for your help!
Dean Sockwell says
I left the pits in and while it was simmering I scooped out the pits easily. There’s so much pulp lost if you pit ripe fruit.
Hilda Sterner says
Great idea, how did it come out?
Al Warner says
Hmmm....I followed the recipe exactly but my jam did not jell. The plums were very ripe which I understand is all to the good for pectin but something has gone awry. Tastes great, though!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Al,
The consistency will be different than jam and will be slightly looser (in other words preserves instead of jam, which has more of a jelled finish). However, it shouldn't be runny either. It does thicken upon cooling, so that may be an issue. If it's cooled off and not as thick as you'd like, you can continue to cook it a bit longer and cool some of it to see if it's at the right consistency. You just don't want to overcook or burn it. You can also add 1/2 of a pack of liquid pectin and boil it for one minute. That should thicken it right up. I hope that helps. I'm glad you at least like the flavor. You can always use it as a topping for ice cream, waffles, etc.
Lisa Johnson says
Can you use sugar substitute?
My Husband is diabetic. Either Stevia orTruvia?
Hilda Sterner says
I'm sorry, I've only made this jam with sugar. Although there are sugar-free recipes for jam, I can't guarantee the results. You can attempt it if you'd like or just look for a sugar-free jam recipe instead.Good luck!
Faith Foust says
Just made a 1/2 batch as that's all the plums I had but am going out tomorrow to buy more. This is the easiest recipe and SO delicious. I love it when I don't need to use pectin. Can't wait to have more jars to give as gifts.
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Faith. I love this recipe too. I used lemon last time because I didn't have oranges. It's a little on the sour side, but still delicious.
Sarah says
What do you do with it after you can it? I just made 13 quarts. Lol.
HildaSterner says
Haha,eat it, ship it to family and friends, give it as gifts, stocking stuffers 😉, sell at craft shows, farmer's markets... shall I continue?