Homemade Plum Jam, all-natural, without added artificial pectins.
This is an easy french recipe to make your own fruit preserve at home.
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Which plums to use to make jam?
Pick ripe fresh plums that are sweet and rich in flavor.
You can use red plums or yellow plums, like Mirabelle or Reine Claude yellow plums.
I used red plums because that's what we're growing in our garden.
Just make sure to not use rotten or spoiled fruit because one bad fruit is more than enough to spoil a whole batch of jam.
Jams prepared with bad fruits spoil faster and just don't keep that well.
How to make plum jam?
This is hands down the fasted and easiest and most delicious way to prepare plum jam at home.
This is how it's done in France (and neighboring countries) and I thought you would appreciate a quick overview to get going.
The complete recipe with measurements is located at the bottom of this post.
Step 1
Wash fruit to get rid of impurities and cut into half to remove the stones.
Quarter fruits and place into large jam cooking pot.
Pour sugar over fruits, lemon juice and squeezed out lemon halves.
Step 2
Combine all the ingredients in the pot and heat up.
Bring the jam to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat a bit but continue to reduce jam until it appears translucent cooked.
Step 3
Blend jam to desired consistency.
Keep over the heat and test if the jam is set with the help of a thermometer and/or by dropping some hot jam on an ice-cold plate.
Pour hot jam into clean sterilized jars, close with a lid and turn upside down to create a vacuum.
📖 Recipe
Plum Jam Recipe
Instructions
- Wash your plums well. Cut open on one side and pick out the core, discard the core.
- Cut into quarters, weigh your plums and place them into a large cooking pot.
- Add the sugar, lemon juice, and 2 lemon halves to the fruits. Mix the content well.
- Keep the pot with the fruits on the stove, cook over a higher heat setting until you can see a rolling boil (lots of foam too!).
- Takedown the heat a bit and cook until the jam appears translucent and set. This can take 30 - 50 minutes approximately.
- Pick out the two lemon halves and discard them.
- Blend jam into desired consistency (this is optional).
- Test if the jam is set by dropping some on an ice cold plate, the jam is ready if it doesn't run. OR test with a candy thermometer, it's set at 220 Fahrenheit/ 105 Celsius. If it runs, keep for some more time to cook on low heat and repeat the test until you have the correct consistency.
- Drop some rum (or other liquor) into the jar lids. That will help in keeping the jam germ and mold growth free.
- Fill your clean jam jars with the plum jam, close well with the lid and turn the jar upside down.
- Keep them upside down for a few hours and then store them in a dry and cool place and keep away from direct sunlight. Keep in the fridge once opened.
![Blueberry Jam without Pectin [Recipe with only 2 Ingredients] made from scratch with collected wild blueberries. you can also make this blueberry jam with store bought blueberries. makes about 3 jars and stroes well for a year if unopened and kept in a dry and dark place. Including with blueberry jam label in english german and fresnch www.masalaherb.com](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Blueberry-Jam-Organic-5.jpg)
Notes
- 1 Teaspoon = one serving, 100 Teaspoons is about 3 jars (roughly). Recommended use is 1 Teaspoon serving on a slice of bread.
- If you live in a humid tropical climate, please store the jam in the fridge at all times.
Nutrition
Flavor Variations
You can enhance your jam by adding any of the following ingredients to your jam during the cooking process.
Either add as a ground spice or as whole spice but take out the spices before you blend the jam.
- cinnamon
- allspice
- ginger
- vanilla
- star anise
- green cardamom
Storing
Keep your closed unlocked jam jars away from direct sunlight, in a dry and cool environment.
If you followed all the steps to the T and if you work in a clean environment your jam will be good for more than 1 year.
Once opened, keep in your fridge.
Don't reduce the sugar quantity on the recipe. The sugar helps in preserving the jam.
If you switch sugar with honey or other natural sweetener, be prepared to consume your jam soon.
For those of you who want to add another layer of safety, you can follow my cherry canning water bath recipe.
FAQs
No, I don't because the skin contains pectin and nutritious elements. Besides, skinning is tedious, and it's anyway not necessary because we will blend the jam.
Your jam sets at 220 Fahrenheit/ 105 Celsius. You can stick a candy thermometer into your jam during the cooking process.
You need to cook down your jam until it is not runny anymore, that means until it's set. Depending on the heat setting, it can take somewhere between 30–50 minutes, if you use a quantity of 1 kg/ 2.2 pounds of fruit. Just cook it and test if it's set. Jam when hot will always appear liquid, it's only that when it cools down that it will appear set. Hence, why the cold plate test is so great! Just drop 1–2 drops of hot jam on an ice-cold plate and move the plate around. If it doesn't run, your jam is set. OR bring it to the setting temperature.
More preserved stone fruit recipes:
No pectin in this plum jam?
Hi Melissa, as mentioned in the post, no artificial pectin is added to this recipe as it's a French recipe. This is how we make this jam in France and Europe in general. Lemon is added to get natural pectin added to this jam. I hope this helps.
I live in city with a fruit vendor literally right below my apartment. He gets rid of so much fruit and started giving it to me! This time it was plums. So thankful for the internet and this recipe!!
I made the version with half a stick of cinnamon and 1-2 anise stars. The lemon rind looked delicious; I gave it a bite! I chopped it and threw it back in the same pan after emptying the jam, and a bit more water and sugar -- now I have toppings for cookies or King Cake.
Loved everything about this. Pro Tip: make when company is hanging out in your kitchen -- it smells SO good while cooking.
Hi Nicole, oh wow you are lucky! I wish I had a vendor gifting me fruits, I'd give him plenty of jam jars. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I love that you added spices to infuse your jam further. Cinnamon and star anise are a great choice with plums!
Hello from Wisconsin! I made your strawberry jam, which tasted incredible. That was the first jam I ever tried to make. I’m going to try the plum and peach. Just a couple of questions, 1) in the strawberry recipe, you suggested cook until 220 F, does that hold true for plum and peach? 2) what is the reason for adding lemon in the strawberry, but not these two.
I do not have any experience with making jam, just curious.
Thank you.
Hi Cindi, Yes the 220 F setting point holds true for all jams. The plum and peach jam are older recipes. I have plans to add more details to the plum and peach jam in the future and to remake them with a video and picture. My newer recipe all includes lemon juice and sometimes also the lemon halves because it helps in setting the jam. Lemon juice and the lemon skin contain natural pectins which help in setting the jam. Not all of our traditional family jam recipes used to include lemon juice when I wrote and published the recipes initially. Over the years, after having made hundreds of jams from scratch for our local farmer's market, we came to the conclusion (me and my mum) that adding lemon juice to all jams is the way to go. That said, I recommend that you add lemon juice to your peach and plum jam too, just the way you did in the strawberry jam recipe. I will fix the peach and plum jam recipe in the coming 2 months when our fruits are done growing in our garden. 🙂
Thank you!
Thank you for asking, these are legit questions. 🙂
Great recipe!
thank you for your feedback Shelly 🙂
Successfully done, did add lemon juice as there was not enough natural pectin in my plums but it tastes great
Thank you for your feedback Audrey! 🙂
Since these are not"canned" in a water bath, how long will they last? I've never made jams but would like to and I didn't want to use pectin. Thanks. Monica
Hi Monica,
The jams last for about 12 months if you store them properly as described. That means to follow the cooking process until the jam is set, using sterilized jars, filling the jars up to the rim with the jam, turning the jam upside down to create a vacuum and lastly to store the jam in a dry and dark place or in the fridge once opened.
I may add that this is a French jam recipe and that we don't do the canned in a water bath method in Europe. Most jam recipes have been further tested in a humid tropical climate in Asia and the jams were always good for over 10 months if stored as described.
OOh this is fabulous! I've been meaning to make jam for a very long time now! This is the push i needed!
Hi there! My plum jam turned out a little too tart for me. Could I leave out the lemon halves?! Thanks!
Yes, you can leave out the lemon juice if you like, the halves don't add sourness to the jam but they help in setting the jam due to the pectin concentration in the zest. Also, I recommend using sweeter plums for jams if you want a not-so-tart jam.
I would like to try this jam! Very nice photos!
Your plums look like little Damson plums. We had a Damson plum tree for about 15 years and it was SO prolific! Jam from those plums was the best so you have me smacking my lips together looking at your jar of plum jam and remembering that wonderful flavor. So pretty and tasty!
Beautiful color and consistency! I love plums and will be saving this recipe until next fall…when plums are in season again in N.J. Love your last photo!
I could spoon these luscious jam on everything 😀
What a fun recipe, thanks for sharing!! <3 -
Plums never seemed to come into season this year which is SO disappointing! Your jam looks incredibly glossy and...well...JAMMY!! I could do with some on my scones (honestly, baking up a batch right no!!) 🙂
Pectin is not for me either. This looks fantastic!
I admit that even at my advanced age, I have never made plum jam. I've made every other sort of jam but not plum and I have no excuse nor do I know why I never tried it. I must because yours looks amazingly good!
What a lovely colour and flavour for jam 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
I'm really not a fan of pectin in my jam, so I'm always happy to see recipes like yours. Plum jam is wonderful -- never made it though. You're definitely tempting me! 🙂 Thanks for this.
Wow - gorgeous jam! I hope one day you sell your jams in your online store too - i sure would like to buy some!
Delicious! That's how I make it...
Cheers,
Rosa
Love the deep red color.. Of the plums
Jams are something I have always considered making, but never attempted. This easy to follow recipe seems to be calling for action from my side. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me.
This is a truly delightful recipe. It's fresh, with dollops of goodness imparted by the gorgeous looking plums. Loved it.