Plum Jam Recipe

plum jam

Plum Jam is really easy to make as plums have a lot of pectin naturally so setting is seldom a problem.

Ingredients for Plum Jam:

  • 4 lbs (1.8 kg) plums
  • 1 pint (575 ml) water
  • 4 lbs (1.8 kg) sugar

Method for Plum Jam:

  1. Wash and wipe the plums. Cut in halves.
  2. Put into a pan with the water and simmer gently until the fruit is soft.
  3. Test for pectin.
  4. Add the sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
  5. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the jam sets when tested, removing the stones as they rise to the top.
  6. Remove the scum.
  7. Pot and seal while still hot.

Makes around 6 lbs (2.7 kg) of jam.

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Posted in Val's Preserves, Jams, Fruit, Vegetarian Recipes, All Recipes, Plums
141 comments on “Plum Jam Recipe
  1. Ann Prentice-Dalton says:

    I grew up in England watching my mum make jam after the war. Never bothered to learn. Now I am following in her footsteps & she is no longer here to help me. Your Plum Jam recipe is as good as I remember my mum’s. I will be making Apricot Jam next week & will follow your recipe for it. Thank’s a lot.
    Ann

  2. alice england says:

    I love jam, wer’e going to make some at home with my mum and dad we went blackberry and plum knocking today

  3. Kevinp says:

    Just made this recipe today after making the blackberry and apple yesterday, this is my first time at jam making and these were very easy to make, thank you 🙂

  4. Thanks so much for your wonderful site – it has helped me more than once this year with what to do with our produce!! I made 10 jars of this gorgeous jam from 5 pounds of fruit. I boiled the plums for around 40 minutes before adding the sugar and reduced the sugar a little – but I always find the sugar content in jam a personal preference thing anyway!! Thanks again. Lol Lynn ♥

  5. sue baxter says:

    just made this plum jam recipe, it’s brill, easy to do and very tasty, thanks.

  6. Mike says:

    Hi Val,
    Once the jars are sealed how soon after can I start eating the jam?
    Yours in impatient anticipation, Mike

  7. Val says:

    Immediately! It’s not like a chutney that you need to leave time to mature.

  8. AZEEM KHAN SHERWANI says:

    I tried this recipe for the first time of my making my first ever batch of Plum Jam and then adapted to include blackcurrants. I own and run a restaurant and found the recipe to be extremely simple to follow and as a novice very adaptable. Thank you for the guidance. I am now thinking in this day when we have a recession, it could be a way forward, that is to say to go down the Home cooked and orangic route to our menu.

  9. gill says:

    Have just ordered your book and can’t wait to start making some jam. Myself and my friend have got an abundance of plums and damson so I will be making jam for a while !

  10. karen says:

    thank you, i have made 6lb of plum jam and now ready for my cakes to be made and to enjoy, never mind the diet now x x x

  11. vinny says:

    hi just made our first home made plum jam looks good enough to eat thanks

  12. Dawn says:

    Just finished my first batch and was a very easy recipe, thanks. I’ve only made strawberry before but we have 3 plum trees overladen so will be making plenty more once I get some more jars! Even my daughter who isn’t keen on plums loved it!

  13. Dianne Reynolds says:

    As we have loads of victoria plums, I make about 40 jars of jam each year. However, I use 3lb suger to 4lb of plums and have always been successful. Some years the jam sets perfectly and some years it is more runny (I use a jam thermometer) but we still enjoy it. I think it has a lot to do with the condition of the plums as I never vary the recipe. We still have a few jars of last year’s left and it is in perfect condition.

  14. Lisa says:

    Made my first batch of wild plum jam last night. Thought I had missed the setting point, so poured it into large Kilner pots to use as sloppy sauce topping for my morning yoghurt. Pleasantly surprised to find it has set perfectly this morning! Now wishing I had put it in the little jam jars so I could give some away. If I reboil it, can I then re-pot it into the smaller jars?

  15. Val says:

    It might end up as rather “over set” to say the least!

  16. Brian says:

    Made this recipe last week and one jar is gone already,must get some more plums.Great recipe thanks very much.

  17. reen says:

    great website! a co worker gave me a BUNCH of plums so I made some jam for her to thank her . It was such a big hit now all the girls at work are collecting jars so we can all make jam! Thank You!!

  18. Valerie says:

    I’ve become addicted to jam & chutney making. Living on a farm there’s loads of Plums, blackberry, Damsons, different variety of apples etc. I hate to see all this fruit going to waste so I’m continually looking to inprove on what I’ve done in the past regarding flavers. Any ideas how I can improve on my plum jams, what spices etc I could add to improve the flavour as it’s one jam that seems to be left on the shelf (blackberry & apple with cinnamon is a big hit with my man here). I’ve still many unopened pots from last year and it’s very good. I’ve already made some with ginger, but it just needs that something extra. Any suggestions would be greatly recieved. Thanks.

  19. Miss Eddie Fisher says:

    Great about all this preserve making. I grew some rhubarb from seed last year, but is still very small so maybe it will be another year or two before big enough to harvest. Try to be patient and not take too much. Made a great rhubarb sauce this year, (like jam, less sugar, store in fridge) and it is great on bread, puddings etc. Eddie

  20. Miss Eddie Fisher says:

    Re: Pectin,

    Like a number of others I missed the link – because it was in the box…. far too obvious especially for those of us who “think out of the box!”. Hope this helps!

  21. Lois, Lancashire says:

    I’m going to make my plum jam after work tomorrow;
    I was hoping to save the stones from my plums – i’m planting them (~80 already this year) in the hope that some grow into viable trees – SO, can i make plum jam without the stones? I heard you can use a few stones and crack them open beforehand?

    My other question…. i’ve just bought loads of unrefined golden sugar – will the jam work if i use this instead of white sugar?

    Many thanks,

  22. Val says:

    Yes you can. Crack open a few though and use the kernels in the jam for a more distinctive taste. Also you should be fine with unrefined golden sugar.

  23. Muriel says:

    I’ve just been given 1lb plumbs and thought I’d have a go – so does this mean just 1/4 pint water?

  24. Val says:

    Yes that will be enough for 1 lb of plums.

  25. mummylicious says:

    Hi I’m 7 months pregnant and was in need of something sweet so decided to make your jam with a load of plums I had, I followed your recipe as best I could with no scales and no measuring jug LOL! I know what everyone is thinking but you’re wrong, my jam is fantastic it tastes amazing and set really well, it’s the first think I have ever made from scratch and now I have the bug, I need to make more jams, hope its not beginners luck!

  26. debbie salmon says:

    i made my plum jam yesterday 1th sept it was one of the eaiest recipes i have done. My jam set lovely.

  27. jen says:

    I made yellow plum jam today for the first time ever, I added a little ginger and its fab! Going out foraging again to make some more!!

  28. New to jams says:

    Hi Val
    ive made other recipes of yours and been hailed a fab jam maker (for a bloke) but this time ive just made this plum jam and it is really runny; should I leave it over night to see if it sets, then if not re-boil OR re-boil now? argh lol

  29. Val says:

    Leave it overnight until it has fully cooled and then check again. If it’s still runny, re-boil and, if you are still having problems, add some commercial liquid or dry pectin. Don’t forget to thoroughly wash and re-sterilise the jars though.

  30. New to jams says:

    Hi Val
    Thanks for this, I think I was just been a wus as it (hopefully) is slowly setting still runny but will keep you posted tom, p.s thxs for your prompt reply xx

  31. dorothy says:

    Do I take stones out and then weigh plums or is recipe weight of plums including stones

  32. Val says:

    Weight after the stones have been removed.

  33. Joanne says:

    Hi I am very disappointed with my first foray into jam making. I picked some plums that were very ripe and put them in the freezer. When defrosted they were much squashier than before freezing but I went ahead anyway. The jam was hard and not edible once it cooled off. I followed recipe to the letter. Any ideas as i have another 12 pound of plums in my freezer?!!

  34. Peter says:

    Thanks for the recipe Val, I have used this recipe for a couple of years now and this year used it on 4lb of very ripe and purple plums, the result is fantastic, very flavoursome and a dark ruby colour, and no trouble setting, although I do use a Jam thermometer I love this site for all fruit and Veg
    Peter

  35. liz says:

    Can you help?
    I have made 4lb of plum jam but it tastes very acidic. Made with cherry sized small plums– may be kirkham blue.
    Fruit are sweet enough to eat when ripe off the tree but the jam was disappointing. Correct sugar and set was ok. Have you come across this? Definitely leaves an aftertaste

  36. Francis says:

    Rhubarb: So you have just bought a rhubarb crown – and hope to make jam next year. Sorry to disappoint you, you should leave a new crown to grow and get strength for 3 years before you harvest in quantity. In fact, it won’t yield much in its first couple of years anyway. So make something else in the meanwhile.
    Fran

  37. Paul Digpal says:

    I made jam using the above recipe and it was amazing!!!!!! Depending on how much you plan to make, the juice of a lemon, lime or half a grapefruit is good to use as pectin.

    I made 8 jars and the all went from my home before I had chance to put label on them!! – making some more soon as christmas gifts!!!!

  38. Leah Kennewell says:

    You can eat runny jam – it’s just runny. Lovely on toast!

  39. Hayley Burrows says:

    Hi,

    Does anyone know if I could make this with champagne instead of water as I was wanting to make a variation on this recipe to give as my wedding favour? Was thinking plum and champagne, but does anyone have any other ideas?

  40. Pat Rich says:

    We had so many plums ripen at once this season that after making tarts, roasting them, making chutney, that I was forced to freeze several pounds of them…washed, and left whole. Will these work for jam? Any changes in
    procedure? thanks

  41. Val says:

    They’ll be fine for jam – I do it all the time! Just add an extra 10% fruit to sugar to make up for the loss of pectin caused through freezing.

  42. Heather says:

    Testing for setting can be done by placing a plate in the freezer. When you think the jam has reached setting place a small amount on the cold plate. Leave for a few seconds to cool. Push finger through the centre of the jam and if it stays parted in the middle it’s ready to pot. If it runs back together it needs boiling longer.

  43. Tina says:

    This is my third year of making jam from this recipe and I got over confident and didn’t boil enough, the jam still hadn’t set after 24 hrs so I put the whole lot back in the pan and boiled it again, re-sterilising all the jars in the dishwasher, perfect. I am now making my second batch as my plum trees are absolutely laden with plums this year.

  44. Zoe says:

    Made first batch set well but very sweet, so on second batch I used less sugar, about 1/4 less and not set. I did simmer for 40 mins then left it overnight in fridge as didn’t have time to finish it that night. Next day warmed it, added sugar, although less, and then boiled for almost ten mins and was getting lumpy so put it into jars. Not set after 12 hours, what should I do? Did I cook for too long? Cooling in fridge caused problem? Not enough sugar? Should I reboil it and test for setting point again? add more sugar? or use pectin powder? The plums were mixture of ripe and not very ripe.

  45. Alan says:

    Lovely recipe, made 12lb from frozen plums picked 2 days before, used jam thermometer and set point took 4 mins. Lovely golden fruity flavour, gorgeous on toast.

  46. Kev&Tracey Sykes says:

    Our plum tree is loaded this year so my wife and I picked the fuit from the tree and made our 1st Batch of plum jam, several jars we made. Tastes lovely, lets hope it sets ok. Can any one tell us how long we have to leave before we can open?

  47. Lois says:

    Is any kind of sugar OK, can’t find special jam sugar so wondering if granulated is OK
    Thanks

  48. Val says:

    Ordinary granulated sugar will be fine for this recipe – plums are usually high in pectin and don’t require jam sugar.

  49. Anna Rood says:

    How can I stop my yellow plums from turning a murky brown when cooking. Should I peel them before trying to make jam with them.

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