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
This jelly is beautiful and tastes wonderful. I only had 4 pounds of American wild plums off our trees, but the strained juice was only slightly short of 5 1/2 cups, so did not have to add alot of water. I did NOT remove the pits, I added 1 Tbs lemon juice to the strained juice and 1 Tbs butter to the heating juice and pectin. The lemon brings out the plum flavor and helps with preservation, the butter cuts the foam. Made 5 pints of beautiful jelly.
I made this recipe today n it turned out beautiful n so very good. Went according to your recipe n was nice. Thank you. I used 1/2 pints n got 24 of them
Are these plums off a flowering plum tree?
Yes.
Why do I need to remove the pits? Made this recipe today and so easy except the pit removal. I’m going to try the next batch without removing them and see how that works.
Let us know how it goes!
I made this without removing the pots.
You just need to press with the potato masher a little harder and constantly.
Turned out fantastic!!!
If the process is to boil and smash and then strain fruit, why do you even have to pit plums?
I think it is easier to pit them first but that is just me!
You don’t. It worked perfectly without pitting the plums!
What can I do if I do not have a canner?
Just put the jars in any pot and cover jars at least 1/2 inch and process.
Use any big stockpot large enough to hold your jars. You can put a round cake rack in the bottom or buy a rack. There are some nice silicone types that come apart and compress for storage.
Can you add less sugar to the 5 1/2 cups of recipe
I’d say no, as it might mess up the balance of fruit, sugar and pectin needed to ensure the jam or jelly sets.
Can I use liquid pectin, since this is all I can get right now?
Yes I’m sure that would work just fine.
Add a TBLS of butter when you are boiling the product. It will either reduce the foam or get rid of it all together.
how much is one box of fruit pectin. Tbsp? Ounces? Any specific brand? Thanks.
one package is 4 tablespoons worth of pectin. Any brand will do!
Didn’t remove pits before. Did save plums for a grating after juice was removed. Did not have stems, they were off during picking. Rinsed well and removed any twigs, etc. Used seconds to make a plum butter. When grating through strainer, the pits (seeds) helped the process. I used fingers. Just before tossing seeds and skins gave a last squeeze in my fist. Amazing how much juice was left.
I’m sorry I made the wild plum jelly also and it was so good. I’ve made 2 batches of it also. I made the jelly but put it on your comment it should of went on another lady’s recipe. But your plum jelly was so good. My husband has been telling everyone about it.
Is that the same as Sand Plums??????
Yes it is!
Can you run the plums to though a juicer so you don’t have to cook, mash, and run through a sieve?
That’s a good idea. I haven’t tried it.
Thank you so much for both of the pepper jelly recipes. I’ve made 2 batches of the hot pepper and it’s delicious. Thank you again.
I used 8 cups water in 6 pounds of plums
It seemed to give me the 5 1/2 cups of juice better
I made 31 jars using your recipe, came out perfect !!!
How long does it how long does it take after it comes out of your water bath canner for it to set
I am 70 years old. My neighbor gave me some plums and I thought well I will make jelly. My mother who is the jelly queen passed away a few years ago so I was lost. After spending over an hour trying to pit these plums I looked online and saw a video of how to peel a plum in less than 10 seconds. Man it went so fast from there. Easy easy easy Thank you for the super delicious plum jelly recipe
I use this same recipe for my wild yellow plums and it’s awesome everyone always wants a jar of my jelly. It always works for me, you have to make sure when you add pectin you have to make sure you bring it to a rolling boil (when stirred still boils) and then add sugar and continue to boil and stir constantly for a minute or it will not set.
If it doesn’t set what can I do? I goofed (only my second time doing this.) And adddd l’écrin and sugar in the same go and then boiled it. Now it doesn’t look like it’s setting! 🙁
Nope, just boiling it in water making sure it’s covered completely with water for a time.