In a Jam!

It’s the end of August and the plums are getting ripe.  The problem is, as usual, that all the plums are becoming ripe at the same time!  I’ve just picked 16lb (7.2kg) off a single tree, and there are still a lot left on it.  And I haven’t even touched the other trees yet…

So what does one do with so many plums?  Well, besides the solution to eat them all day, from breakfast to dinner, the other basic option is plum jam and as I’ve never made it before did a tester batch from only 2lb of plums which made 3lb of jam.  It turned out quite well, but a bit more like plum paste than jam.  So at least we can eat it with cheese (instead of shop bought quince paste) as we’re trying not to eat bread (though I did have to try it)!  And that’s a good reason why I can’t keep making dozens of jars of jam…

So today I made dried plums and fruit leather – one batch raw and one lot cooked – in Claire’s dehydrator.  As it needs at least 12 hours, we won’t be able to compare the results until tomorrow!

Next on the list of recipes to try is plum sauce and plum chutney…

I can’t wait for the Damson plums to ripen is a couple of weeks and then all the apples to be ready… And btw the fruit is all organic as we’ve not put anything on the trees for 9 years!

Help!!!!