Cinnamon-Plum Jam

The plum tree in our garden has once more produced a heck of alot of plums this year... I must have picked about 10kg and the tree still looks purple from a distance! So, what to do with all that plum you ask? The first thing I did was cut them in half, pit the stone and put into freezing bags. This way you can keep your plums for... however long you want to actually and always have a bag ready for when you feel like baking a Plum tarte or making Plum compote to go with vanilla ice cream. Since my freezer was packed full I made some home made Plum jam and spiced it with some cinnamon and lemon zest! Perfect breakfast treat with a slice of buttered bread!

Ingredients


(makes 4 jars of jam)

• 1kg ripe plum, washed and pitted
• 500g granulated white sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Preparation

Wash out the jam jars with hot water and dry completely with a clean kitchen cloth! Cut your plums into 6-8 pieces and place them into a large pot. Heat up to medium high heat, until the plums start to loose some water. Add the sugar all at once and give the plums a stir. Heat everything on high-heat for 5 minutes or until the plums start to bubble like crazy. Keep stiring and adjust the heat so that the plum-mixture doesn't overflow... You'll have a sticky mess if it does! Keep stiring the bottom and add in the cinnamon sticks. Keep simmering for another 5-10 minutes until the juice has reduced and thickened.

Take away from heat and fill up the jars immediately up to the top, leaving only 1cm space between the lid and jam. Close the jars tightly and leave them to cool down to room temperature. Store in a cool place (basement). Once you open a jar, make sure you store it in the fridge. Unopened jam can be stored for... several years, I was told!