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Posts Tagged ‘homemade plum jam’

In My Kitchen, February 2011

Posted in In My Kitchen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 14, 2011| 42 Comments »

If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free to do so!  You’re most welcome to use the same format as I do, and to leave a comment on my monthly IMK post linking back to your blog.   I’d love to see what’s happening in your kitchen every month!

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In my kitchen…

…is a copy of Zen and the Art of Raising Chickens, a gift from my lovely friend Becca, the InTolerant Chef…

In my kitchen…

…is a bag of dark malt flour, a recent discovery from Harkola.  I used a teaspoon in yesterday’s sourdough – it gave the white bakers’ flour a creamy grey tone and added a delicious nuttiness to the finished loaf…

In my kitchen…

…are cornmeal English muffins, made to a modified Dan Lepard recipe.  On Joanna’s advice, I reduced the water in the recipe from 425ml to 300ml.  The slightly drier dough cut well and held its shape in the frying pan…

We ate them with Joy’s delicious plum jam…

…which she made with plums harvested from her dad’s farm…

In my kitchen…

…are treasures from Chefs’ Warehouse.  These 10cm/4″ crumpet rings were calling to me…

…as were these absolutely gorgeous terracotta dishes.  I already had the larger version, and wanted a couple of smaller ones to complete the set.  The little one measures 15cm/6″ in diameter and cost just $5.95.  The dishes are oven safe and clean up perfectly in the dishwasher…

In my kitchen…

…are pots of green apples, being turned into pectin for this year’s jam making.  The apples are from Christina’s dad Lloyd, who was kind enough to give us enough for dozens of jars of pectin, along with several kilos of gorgeous crabapples for jelly!

In my kitchen…

…is a tin of Turkish apple tea.  I’ve been drinking this sweet tangy tea at Turkish restaurants over the past few months, and couldn’t resist buying some for home…

In my kitchen…

…is a basket of green figs from our new neighbour Marco, whose trees are laden and groaning with fruit!

Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?

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President Plum Jam

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , on March 2, 2010| 14 Comments »

We picked up a box of magnificent President plums at the markets last week.  They’re very tart and firm, which makes them perfect for cooking.

After freezing twenty-four plums (stoned and halved, vacuum-sealed), Pete had enough left over for a couple of batches of jam.  His first was a delicious plum and pluot blend, but this second one is even better – sweet, but tart, with a wonderfully complex flavour.  It will make a great staple in our larder for the year to come.

1. Put the quartered plums in a large wide stock pot.  Ensure the pot is big enough to allow the jam to rise up as it boils.  Add the lemon juice and pectin, cover and bring to a boil.  Don’t add the sugar yet.

2. Stew gently until the plums are softened, about 15 – 20 minutes.  Note that the plum skins won’t soften any further once the sugar is added.

3. Add all the sugar and vanilla extract and bring the mixture to a gentle boil.  As the sugar dissolves, foam will appear on the surface of the jam – skim this off carefully.  Put a small saucer in the freezer so you can test the jam for set.

4. Once the jam is clarified, raise the temperature and bring the pot to a rolling boil.  Cook until the jam has thickened, then place a spoonful on the cold saucer and allow it to cool.  If it has set properly, it will wrinkle when pushed.

Plums, if they’re not too ripe, have a high natural pectin content, so they usually set very well.  Here is a photo of the pot once it had cooled slightly.

5. Ladle the jam into sterilised jars, seal tightly and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.  For more instructions, please refer to our Jam Making Primer.

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