Plum Preserves & Jam Recipe

4.85 from 53 votes

This plum preserves and jam recipe is sweet, tangy, and delicious! It's plum preserves, just like mom used to make!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Appetizers, Snacks

Cuisine: American, Assyrian

Servings: servings

Calories: 54kcal

Before you begin, add clean mason jars to a canner and cover with enough water to submerge the jars by at least a few inches. Do not include lids and collars. Bring water to a boil, then turn the heat down while working on the plum preserves.
Wash, then chop plums into quarters or eighths, discard pits. Weigh chopped plums with a kitchen scale to equal 3 ½ pounds.
Heat plum mixture over low flame until the sugar begins to dissolve, stirring occasionally.
Bring the plum jam to a rolling boil, then simmer over low heat for 30 minutes or until thickened. Mash with a potato masher or use an immersion blender for a smoother, jam-like consistency.
The preserves may need to cook a few minutes longer, until plums are no longer opaque. You want them to be translucent!
Skim the surface to remove foam, as needed, then ladle the hot jam into sterilized hot jars. Leave ¼ inch headspace, wipe the rims with a kitchen towel, add clean lids, and screw collars on hand tight.
Carefully lower filled jars into hot water. Bring to a boil, then process in boiling water canner for 15 minutes. See chart in post to adjust time for altitude.

Your jam can boil over very easily, so don't walk away from the pot. If it begins to boil over, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it recedes.
If there's not enough jam to fill the 8th jar, store the jar in the fridge to consume first.
Wait for the pings and make sure all jars are sealed before labelling and storing them!
Although some recipes call for peeling the plums, I prefer to leave the skin on. It's actually one of my favorite things about this 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.
Plum jam is amazing over vanilla ice cream!