Last week my neighbor brought me by two big bags of what appeared to be cherries. They were actually wild plums and that she picked from some land that her father owns. I thought a plum was a big golf sized deep purple fruit, but I have learned they actually come in all sorts of colors and sizes. Unfortunately they all have those darn pits!!
I knew right away what I was going to make. Homemade Wild Plum Jelly. I was so giddy and excited to make this because I remember having some as a kid and loving it. Well, my memory did not deceive me. This stuff is AMAZING!! I only made jelly this time but next year (crossing my fingers she brings some to me every year) I will be making plum jelly, jam, syrup, chutney and anything else I can think of.
Homemade Wild Plum Jelly
First rinse your plums, making sure to remove any debris and stems.
Start removing the pits. Cut plum in half and remove pit making sure to keep as much fruit as you can. Place pitted fruit in a bowl.
Pitting these wild plums was not fun. It was tedious work. It was seriously the pits!
To make life easier you can cover the whole plums and boil for five minutes. It softens the fruit and the pit usually slips right out. After removing pits the hard way for an hour I resorted to this much easier method.
Chop your pitted plums and add to a large pot. Cover with 4 cups of water and boil for 30 minutes.
Use a potato masher to help break up the fruit even more.
Next get a large bowl and cover it with a strainer. Then cover that with several layers of cheese cloth.
Now pour that juicy plum mixture over the cheese cloth, being careful not to burn yourself.
Let this sit for a couple hours. You are hoping for about 5 1/2 cups of plum juice to strain from this goodness.
If you don’t get 5 1/2 cups of juice then add water to equal that amount. Add the juice to a pot. Add 1 box of powdered fruit pectin and mix well. Bring to a boil. Add sugar and bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute making sure to stir constantly.
Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
Carefully ladle liquid into hot sterilized jars leaving 1/4 in headspace. Process in a hot water bath canner for 5-10 minutes.
And now look how pretty it is once it hits the light! Is that not the most beautiful jelly you’ve ever seen?
Below I have added the recipe. Enjoy!
Homemade Wild Plum Jelly
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 pounds of plums
- 4 cups of water
- 7 cups of sugar
- 1 package powdered fruit pectin
Instructions
- Rinse and remove stems from plums.
- Cut plums in half and remove the pits. Discard the pits and add pitted plums in a bowl.
- Chop up pitted plums and add to a pot.
- Add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 30 minutes. Use a potato masher to help break up the mixture even more.
- Put a colander or strainer over a larger bowl and cover with several layers of cheese cloths.
- Pour plum mixture over cheese cloth and let the juice strain into the bowl. This can take up to a few hours.
- Pour 5 1/2 cups of plum juice into a large pot. If you didn't get 5 1/2 cups of juice add in some water to make a total of 51/2 cups of liquid.
- Add in 1 box of pectin and stir well.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Add in 7 cups of sugar and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and skim off any foam.
- Ladle into hot sterilized jars making sure to leave 1/4 inch head space. Add lids and rings and process in a hot water bath canner for 5-10 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Kelly says
I have wild plum trees and use a cherry pitter to remove the pits. It’s SO easy
Jean says
I make wild plum jelly every year and use absolutely as much of the plum as possible, so I’ll share my experience. It is not necessary to pit the plums.
Today I have made jelly with the juice, jam with the pulp, and syrup with the stone pits.
An easy way to juice the plums is to use steam, through an old-fashioned extractor pot; you could do the same by setting a vegetable steamer accessory into a Bain-Marie / double cooker with water boiling in the bottom pot and your juice going into the top pot. If you don’t have any of these items, then cook and pour off the juice as instructed in recipe.
With the pulp and pits: use a food mill to get the pits out. Use the pulp for jam or making compote of some kind, for example mixing with applesauce.
With the pits, you can make syrup to drink or add to recipes. Cook the pits with about double the volume of water (eg one cup pits, two cups water) and some sugar to make a syrup. I strained the syrup and added the remaining pulp to my reserved pulp, and the now naked pits were tossed out (don’t have another use for them yet). I’m sure the syrup would taste good with some added cinnamon, or putting some mint or similar in the glass for a drink.
And the wild plum jelly is beautiful, as in this recipe!
Amanda Nettles says
I’m going to try this recipe but have a question. Is it necessary to pit the plums since you are going to use cheesecloth anyway to strain? Wouldn’t the pits just not go through? I’ve only made this one time and it’s been years and I can’t remember. Any feedback prior to me making this next weekend is helpful! Thanks!
Karrie says
I suppose it doesn’t matter, unless the pits cooked are toxic or something… make sure and google that for safety reasons.
Edna Bernard says
Can you double this recipe and it will still come out ok
Karrie says
Yes, it should double very nicely!
Linda M Martin says
If I use liquid pectin do I use both pouches for one batch?