As I have a large plum tree in my garden I always have lots of plums and I decided to make this jam for a change. It has plums, apple and pears in it and really is delicious.
It has a lovely flavour and fabulous colour and a perfect way to use up these autumn fruits for a versatile jam.
It is great on fresh bread or toast, for the base of a steamed pudding or on rice pudding. I love making homemade jam as you can use it in so many different recipes - my favourite being a frangipani tart.
Place two small saucers in the freezer for later.
Then prepare the fruit;
De-stone and chop the plums into quarters.
Peel and core the pears and cut into small pieces.
Peel and core the cooking apples and cut into small cubes.
Pre-heat to oven to 160 degrees centigrade (140 fan) and place the jars and lids on a baking tray face down in the oven.
Place the prepared fruit in a large jam pan and add the water, lemon zest and juice.
Bring to the boil then reduce the heat.
Simmer for about 40 - 50 minutes until the fruit is soft and the liquid has been reduced by half.
Add the sugar and keep stirring until it has completely dissolved.
Bring to the boil and on a rolling boil for 5 minutes.
Remove one of the saucers from the freezer and put a small amount of jam on it and put back in the freezer for a minute.
Take it out of the freezer and run your finger through it - if it wrinkles then it is ready - if it doesn’t then boil for another 5 minutes and try again. Keep doing this until it is ready.
Take the jars out of the oven and with a funnel put the jam into the jars.
Seal with the lids.
Leave to cool and label.
Orchard Fruit Jam
Sarah’s servings: 12 x 190ml jars
Sarah’s skill: Medium
Ingredients:
800g Plums (prepared weight)
800g Pears (prepared weight)
800g Cooking Apples (prepared weight)
200ml Water
1 Lemon (zest & juice)
2kg Jam Sugar
Method:
Place two small saucers in the freezer for later.
De-stone and chop the plums into quarters.
Peel and core the pears and cut into small pieces.
Peel and core the cooking apples and cut into small cubes.
Pre-heat to oven to 160 degrees centigrade (140 fan) and place the jars and lids on a baking tray face down in the oven.
Place the prepared fruit in a large jam pan and add the water, lemon zest and juice.
Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 40 - 50 minutes until the fruit is soft and the liquid has been reduced by half.
Add the sugar and keep stirring until it has completely dissolved.
Bring to the boil and on a rolling boil for 5 minutes.
Remove one of the saucers from the freezer and put a small amount of jam on it and put back in the freezer for a minute.
Take it out of the freezer and run your finger through it - if it wrinkles then it is ready - if it doesn’t then boil for another 5 minutes and try again. Keep doing this until it is ready.
Take the jars out of the oven and with a funnel put the jam into the jars and seal with the lids.
Leave to cool and label.
Equipment Used
Sarah’s extra slice…..
You can half the recipe if you want to make less jam.
Make sure you keep stirring the jam so that it does not burn
If you intend to make a lot of jam I suggest using a jam pan.
Using a jam funnel makes filling the jars easier but it is not essential.
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