The most delicious cherry plum jam without pits and with whole slices
Sometimes weather or circumstances prevent timely harvesting. Ripe, soft fruits are best eaten immediately, as they've fully absorbed their sugars and become delicious and aromatic. They also make excellent jam or preserves. But few people dare to make cherry plum jam, even though I have the most delicious seedless recipe. While the pits may not be as firm, they still taste delicious. It takes longer to cook than the five-minute jam—it requires three stages—but the result is worth it.
Ingredients for jam:
- cherry plum – 2 kg (1.5 kg pitted);
- sugar – 1.5 kg;
- water – 400 g.
These ingredients will make 3 jars of jam, 0.5 liters each.
Making delicious cherry plum jam
Wash the cherry plum, carefully break it into halves, remove the pit and place in a bowl or saucepan.
Make the syrup. To do this, pour water into the sugar and simmer over low heat for about 5 minutes until it dissolves completely. Now pour the boiling syrup over the cherry plum halves, stirring gently to distribute it evenly and coat the fruit. Let the plums sit in the syrup for about 6 hours. It's even better to do this in the evening and leave them overnight. Overnight, the halves will be well-soaked in the syrup.
After this time, place the bowl of cherry plums on the stove, bring to a boil, and simmer for 3-5 minutes. The heat should be very low, so that the plums barely simmer, otherwise they may overcook. Skim off any foam that forms during this process.
After the cherry plums have simmered for 5 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and let them sit for about 6 hours. Then, carefully strain the syrup through a colander. The cherry plum halves should remain in the colander. Do this very carefully to avoid bruising them. Another way to separate the plums from the syrup is to remove them with a slotted spoon.
Now you need to reduce the syrup. Pour the syrup into a separate container and reduce it to the desired consistency. The reduction time depends on how juicy the cherry plums were and how thin the syrup is, but it can take anywhere from 40 minutes to 1 hour. Just keep in mind that the syrup will thicken even more as it cools.
Once the syrup has boiled down to the desired consistency, add the cherry plum halves and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Pour the boiling jam into hot, sterilized jars, seal, and turn the jars upside down to cool.
