Plum Jam

 This is one of my favourite jams to eat and make.......and it has now become my husbands favourite also. Love it on toast with cream cheese or on peanut butter.....I've even used it in my baking.

I got this recipe from my Mom and Aunt.......they had been making it for years. It was one of those recipes that my Grandma had brought with her from the old country many years ago, a family recipe. From someplace in the Ukraine......when I was growing up my Mom, Aunt and Grandma would can and preserve all sorts of fruits and veggies.....but those days have long since been gone. I just now make jams and some pickly things Turkish style for my husband.

When I was growing up in one of our houses we had a plum tree......so every year at the end of the season jam making was in the works. My dad had planted it and around the base we would plant pretty begonia's......

 I remember my Mom chasing my brothers because they used that plum tree as amunition whipping those plums at one another as they were playing with the neighbourhood kids.

One year our dog a German Sheperd (mushka) for some reason use to like to dig around that tree and use it for other purposes and then my Granfather was also digging around it trying to save the tree from the dog...... when one day we heard a 'boom'. The tree had tumbled on to the garden shed.....with both the dog and my Grandfather hanging around that tree it stood no chance. Never had that plum tree been replaced.

So every year when I make this jam I tell my husband and daughter this story and they say "Yeah, we know you told us before'

Plum Jam

4 lbs. plums (I prefer Italian Prune Plums)
1 cup water
7 cups sugar

Split plums in half: don't remove pits.

Place in a large pot with water and heat gently.

Cook for 30 minutes til' plums are soft.

Add sugar to cooked plums.......bring slowly to a boil, stirring.

Boli til' jam is set......about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat: skim off plum  pits. (*I sometimes just put the pits into a  cheesecloth, easier clean up)

Pack into warm jars and seal tightly.

Process in a water/bath for 15 minutes....let cool take out and listen to the PING, then you know they are sealed really good.


 Makes 8 - 1 cup jars.

 Water bath.....I do a makeshift water bath...........I was told to always put a towel on the bottom so the jars won't crack. Not sure if this is true but that is what I was told. But......I must admit sometimes I don't and so far (knock on wood) my jars have not cracked. But then there is always a first time.

 Ready to put away and giveaway.

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