Spiced Plum Jam

We've been making a ton of jam and jelly to prepare for our upcoming road trip. We plan on sharing our favorite preserves with the various folks we meet along the way, so we've been trying to make as much as we can while the season is still offering so much beautiful fruit! Jonah has a beautiful old Italian Prune Plum tree in his yard, right next to an apple tree; I've been picking a lot of plums to make jam with and hopefully when the apples turn, we can make applesauce with my Grandmother's recipe!

I went to Olympia for a few days to visit some friends and when I walked in the door of my friend Whitney's place, I couldn't take my eyes off the shelves full of different preserves that Whitney and my friend Kate had been making all summer. Yum! There were blueberry, apricot and blackberry preserves, ketchups, tomato marmalade and so many other delicious things that lined the shelves. One flavor that caught my eye was Spiced Grape Jam. I didn't have access to grapes, but I knew that I had a whole tree of plums to use back at Jonah's house! Both Whitney and Kate are fantastic cooks with great foodblogs that are totally worth checking out! You can find Whitney's here and Kate's here. Thanks for the awesome inspiration, ladies!

Yesterday, I made Spiced Plum jam. I think it is my favorite jam I've made so far, it's the kind of jam that you can just eat out of the jar with a spoon. So good! As soon as I put all the spices in with the plums, the whole house smelled delicious and comforting. The jam is a beautiful, deep red color. The next time I make this jam, I definitely want to add rum or brandy for a little bit of a kick!



SPICED PLUM JAM

6.5 cups pitted and quartered plums
Half of one lemon
Pectin + Grated apple skins (for more pectin if needed!)
3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 all spice
2.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
Dash of anise seed

Put all the fruit in a pan, I mashed some with the bottom of a canning jar because I couldn't find anything else to mash with, then added all of the spices. Simmered on low heat for awhile and added the lemon juice, pectin and 1/4 cup of sugar so that the pectin would not clump together. Stirred regularly until the mix came to a full boil, then I added the rest of the sugar. Brought to a full boil again, then canned and water bathed the jars for 10 minutes. This recipe made 9 8oz. jars.

I wish I could keep some for myself!