I have yet to travel to Italy. It has been one of the places near the top of my bucket list for quite some time now. Hopefully I will eventually get there. In the mean time, going to one of the local Italian owned grocery stores near my home is akin to taking a virtual trip to an imagined village market in Italy. As I walk down aisles filled with an incredible selection of imported foods, wait in line for my favorite imported prosciutto, or meander through the store's extensive produce section, more often than not someone near me is speaking in Italian. If I close my eyes for just a second, I have expect all of the signage will be 'unreadable' to me when I open them. I should probably consider hanging out there to learn the language rather than spending time listening to Rosetta Stone tapes! On a recent trip there last week a (seemingly older than me) woman and her husband were taking five, maybe six filled to brim bushels of tomatoes to their car. If I had to guess, someone was going to be spending hours, maybe days, turning most, if not all, of those tomatoes into sauce. In my very active imagination, she was someone's Italian grandmother, one whose lovingly made tomato sauce, or rather gravy, made appearances at every Sunday dinner.
While I momentarily wondered if the store had been depleted of all of its' locally sourced ripe tomatoes, I was more concerned the bins labeled as containing Italian Prune Plums would be empty. Not only is the season for them is relatively short around here, so is their availability. Fortunately for me, there was an abundance of some of the most beautifully ripe Italian Prune Plums. Which meant I could spend as much time as I wanted picking out ones ready to be made into a Plum Jam without fear someone else would swoop in and gather a bushel of them. I should probably learn to say 'I am taking all of these Italian Prune Plums' in Italian, just in case.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a jam expert. Everything I have learned and continue to learn about making jam comes from the head spinning experience of reading countless recipes and watching YouTube videos. Here's the Reader's Digest jam summary: making jam is relatively easy.
Because I only wanted to make Plum Jam using Italian Prune Plums, I didn't spend a heck of alot of time learning about which plums (other than Italian Prune Plums) made for the best jam. Which means I am not offering up any plum options in this recipe. Because once you try this jam, I am going to go out on a short limb and say you won't want to make or eat any other type of plum jam.
So what exactly is an Italian Prune Plum? Well they are small, egg-shaped, amethyst skinned colored fruits with a greenish-yellowish flesh that turns red when cooked. Sometimes called Empress Plums, they begin arriving in markets in mid-August. Because of their low-water content and dense texture, they keep their shape, yet turn slightly jammy during baking. More importantly, their flavor hovers very close to the fine line between sweet and sour making them perfect for jams as well as cakes. And oh by the way, Italian Prune Plums are the ones turned into prunes.
Weigh your plums before you start removing their pits. Italian Plums have freestone pits which means the pits separate very easily from the plum's flesh. To ensure the jam has texture, you need to cut them only into quarters.
Some jam recipes use a 2:1 fruit to jam ratio. This one doesn't abide by that jam 'rule'. Here, slightly less than 11 ounces (300 g) or 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar is used with two pounds of fruit. Yes, that still may seem like a significant amount of sugar, but don't be alarmed. Sugar has a purpose. It not only helps to preserve the fruit, it plays a huge role in drawing out the fruit's flavor. If you are sugar faint of heart, jam making isn't going to be your jam.
Some jam recipes call for having the sugar and fruit sit at room temperature for a couple of hours as a way of drawing out the fruit's juices. If your fruit isn't completely ripe (meaning it's still very firm to the touch), then you will want to add this step in to the jam making process. But if you have ripe, somewhat soft to the touch fruit (as I did), you can skip this step and go straight to the cooking process.
If I told you making jam was more of an intuitive process than one having an exact science you might want to virtually reach out and slap me. So I will share several different kinds of 'jam testing' methods if making jam is relatively new to you. Option 1: If you want to pull out a thermometer, jam's set point is 220 degrees (F). However, pectin-rich fruits (like these Italian Prune Plums) have a slightly lower set point. Which means if waited for your mixture to reach 220 degrees (F) your jam might ending having a much stiffer texture. Option 2: Using the frozen plate method. Prior to starting the cooking process, put a small plate or two in the freezer. When the jam looks as if it is at the right texture, remove the pan from the heat, take a spoonful of the jam and put it on one of the 'frozen' plates. Return the plate with dollop of jam on it to the freezer for about 15 seconds. Remove from the freezer and swipe your finger down the center of the dollop. If your finger leaves a trail and doesn't immediately close the trail, your jam is ready. If the trail doesn't remain, put the pot back on heat and check it again in a couple of minutes. Once your jam reaches the set point stage, it will still look as if there is a lot of movement left in it and isn't set. Not to worry, the jam will set as it cools. Option 3: Dipping a clean spoon in the cooking jam. If the jam slides off in thick heavy drops, your jam is ready. If it falls off in quick drips, it isn't ready. Regardless of which option you use, your jam should reach the right consistency in 20-25 minutes of cooking time.
For the record, I used a combination of intuition and the easier droplet method. The texture of my Italian Plum Jam was perfect to my liking. After it cooled and chilled in the refrigerator, it was thick and spreadable without being stiff. If you have never made jam before, feel free to use the other slightly more precise setting point options rather than the thick droplet one. The more you make jam, the more instinctual the process will feel.
In addition to spreading on toast, muffins, or bagels, a spoonful or two of this Italian Plum Jam would be fabulous in a bowl of oatmeal, in plain yogurt, on pancakes/waffles, and/or over vanilla ice cream. Don't forget putting on a cheese platter. Pair it with a soft creamy cheese, like Brie. But try resisting the urge to eat it off the spoon straight from the refrigerator.
The jars of this Italian Plum Jam have a refrigerator shelf life of approximately two months. I doubt seriously this recent small batch of jam will last that long around here. Which means I am going to make another trip to the Italian grocery store soon as these Italian Prune Plums won't be around for long. And I haven't even made this incredibly delicious Italian Plum Torte yet this season. I am really slipping this year.
Italian Plum Jam (altered version of Food and Wine's Plum Jam recipe, September 2009)
Makes 3 half-pints
Ingredients
2 pounds Italian Prune plums
1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
Juice of one lemon
Generous pinch of sea salt
Directions
1. Sterilize your jars before you start making the jam. Wash in hot, soapy water, then rinse in almost scalding water. Dry and set aside.
2. Cut prune plums in half, pit, then cut into quarters. Put into a large, heavy bottomed pan.
3. Add sugar to the plums. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. (See notes)
4. Pour in freshly squeezed lemon juice and generous pinch of sea salt
5. Cook over moderate heat, stirring until the mixture has thickened and the liquid runs off the side of a spoon in thick, heavy drops (approximately 20-25 minutes).
6. Spoon or ladle the plum jam into three 1/2 pint jars (or one pint and one 1/2 pint jar). Close the jars and let jam cool to room temperature.
7. Store jam in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Notes: (1) If your fruit isn't at a ripe stage, meaning it is more firm than soft to the touch, allow the cut fruit and sugar and sit at room temperature for two (2) hours before you begin making the jam. (2) I used one pint sized and one half pint sized jars instead of three half-point jars. Weck jars are one of my favorites, but use any canning jar that you love.
Early morning, South Rim of the Grand Canyon (March 2016)
