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
Paul says
May 17, 2019 at 1:09 pmDoes “process in a hot water bath” mean I,m going to need a pressure cooker?
Karrie says
May 18, 2019 at 3:03 pmNope, just boiling it in water making sure it’s covered completely with water for a time.
Terri says
September 23, 2018 at 10:35 amFollowed the recipe exactly and it didn’t work. Did not turn to jelly. Just liquid. Disappointed.
leslie says
May 23, 2019 at 9:42 amreally, always works for me, not sure what went wrong