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!
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.
Recipe Notes
Makes about 5 pints.
Wonderful homemade wild plum recipe! I will be making this every year!
Excellent jelly recipe. My plums were too difficult to pit even after trying to boil them as you suggested so I threw the entire plum in, pit and all. Easy breezy!!!! I’ll be using this recipe again and again : )))
So glad it could help you!
I have a question about how to preserve the wild plums I have got until I have enough to make the jelly? Thank You in advance.
Try to make them as soon as they are ripe – otherwise you can try to put your plums in a fridge to slow down the ripening a bit.
I freeze mine. I don’t pit them, and just wash them, put them in freezer bags, and freeze until I have enough plums and enough time.
I just got done making this recipe. Super easy and the jelly looks great. I actually used plums that I had stored in the freezer from last year. I simply took them out a couple of the freezer a couple of days in advance, once thawed I followed the recipe. Worked great. Thanks for sharing
Stumbled upon your recipe and am in the process of trying it out. Could you please tell me how much 1 package of pectin is in grams? Where I come from we get it in 50g jars.
Love this recipe reminds me of my grandmother’s recipe! ♡♡♡♡♡ thank you for sharing
I want to try your recipe but could you please tell me how much 1 package of pectin is in grams ?
49g in 1 box of premium fruit pectin
If I want to just use the whole fruit and make JAM, instead of jelly,
, minus the pits, are the sugar and pectin still the same?
Sounds and looks delicious, I’ll give it a try next harvest. I have tons of small wild yellow plums every year and I don’t pit them but just throw them in a pot with a little water and soften, then push through a coarse strainer so I get most of the flesh. I cook down the jam, add sugar and lemon juice to taste and keep boiling until I get a natural gel.
I doesn’t taste like plum anymore at that point but it’s insanely delicious!
They are actually called Mayhaws. I’m from southeastern part of Louisiana and the trees grow there. My mom and her friend use them for jelly for many years.
Also from the south and grew up making both mayhaw and wild plum jelly. Most people have never heard of mayhaws even from the south (sad deprived souls). You would think they are the same based on looks. But the plum has a pit, and mayhaws do not. But I find the jelly has a very similar flavor from the ones in this area. Both are my favorites.
How long will the plum juice keep in refrigerater ?
The amount of ads on your feed is ridiculous. Stupid.
A ffew question. Do the plums have to be wild? Store bought plums should also work, right? I remember making plum jelly like u do. Much easier.
What can I do with left over after I drain the juice
i am going to make fruit leather
I tried this recipe tonight and I got 6 jaws I love it and I will do it again from this recipe and it tastes good delicious
How long does it take for the jelly to be ready in the fridge to eat?
There is no need to pit these little guys. Just cook and mash leaving the pits in the strainer with peels, etc. Save yourself a LOT of time!
About 4 years ago the brush and low bushes were cleaned up around the property line at my husband’s office. We found 4 wild plum trees. I was ecstatic! I have been making over 100 pints of jelly, jam, butter, & syrup every summer since. It is so good!
Very simple with strait forward ingredents. Letting the plum flavor show through. We did reduce the sugar 1 cup as our plums were very sweet. We make this every summer and for our Farmers Market and it sells out faster than we can put it out on the shelf.
Followed the recipe exactly and it didn’t work. Did not turn to jelly. Just liquid. Disappointed.