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Saturday, October 11, 2008

CANNING PLUMS

Nothing could be easier, really, Piece of cake, piece of crumb cake!
Step One: Buy plums or pick them off your tree.

Step two: Put them in your sink with cold water, wash them.

Step three: Put them in quart jars.  (If you like, you can halve them and remove the pit- you will get more in a jar this way).

Step four: Boil 5 1/4 cups water with 2 1/4 cups sugar for a light syrup. Bring to boil and turn off.

Step five: Pour boiling water into quart jars with the plums and fill until it is a 1/4 inch below the rim of the jar.  For a little added assurance I usually run my fingers around the rims of the jar at this point to make sure it is smooth and nothing is there to prevent the lid from suctioning onto the bottle.

Step six: Put new lids on, screw bands on firmly. Place in canning pot or you can use one of your deepest pots with a towel at the bottom or a round cooling rack (just so the bottom is padded. Cover jars with water. Bring to boil for about 15 minutes. (Updated 20 to 25 minutes according to the National Center for Home Preservation).  Remove from water and place on towel to cool. You will hear them pop. That pop is the satisfaction that you have been successful.  PLEASE refer to the NCHP for different processing times for your elevation).

I like to start the canning pot with water in it before I start this process. I like to put the hot jars into hot water. The process is really fast this way.

You have to do it. It is so economical and easy. You know what you put in it and where it has been. What could be finer?

Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it! Then let me know how you did. Would love to hear about it. Questions, ideas, whatever. Let me know.

A few of you have asked what should you do with these after they are canned.

Here is one suggestion besides the many listed in the comment section.

Carrots in plum sauce.

35 comments:

  1. Pick plums off my tree - wouldn't I love to do that. I have to fight the birds for crabapples. These are my favourite plums and we only get them for a short while in the fall.

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  2. easy peasy! makes me wish i had my own plum tree. :)

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  3. I have a plum tree and this is exactly the kind of recipe I was looking for, I'll be trying it in the next few weeks.

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  4. I grew up on a farm and we had plum trees.My mom canned them and they are so good that way.Thanks for the reciepe.Dehydrating plums are good.

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  5. Sounds easy...but what do you do with whole canned plums? Can you also cut them in half, pit them and then can them the same way?

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  6. Bloggy- I cut them after they are canned when I am serving them. If you pit them and cut them before canning you run the risk of them getting soggy and falling apart.

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  8. I just picked plums off my tree (again) and am trying to decide between canning whole plums vs. canning some sort of plum compote. BIG question: What do you do with canned whole plums? Eat them out of the jar, cook with them, put them on ice cream? I need some ideas!

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  9. Hi Unknown.

    I am sorry to get back to you at this late date. I have been out of town.

    We eat the plums whole, I make a plum type sauce that I use on carrots (one of my very favorite dishes. I will have to find it on my blog and link it to this post. Over ice cream is a great idea- had not thought of that. Plum sauce for pork is also nice. Let me know what you do with it.

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  10. There's a Chinese plum sauce you can make from plums also. Curious how the pits do in this recipe.

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  11. Hi Turtlady- Would love to know where to find that plum sauce recipe.

    The pits are intact inside within the fruit. The plum kind of falls off the pit when you go to eat it. Of course it depends on how firm your fruit was to being with.

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  12. I LOVE this recipe! I just got a whole box of Italian plums, that don't look very pretty when cooked into sauce(turns brown). This recipe is the perfect way to can this variety of plum. Thanks Lori!
    I have a food blog myself; can I re-post this recipe with my results?

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  13. Thank you for asking. Absolutely. Can you link back to me?

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  14. Hi Lori - Thank you for your nice clear instructions and your good-humored encouragement. We did it, did it, did it, did it, did it, DID IT! I found this page by googling "step by step instructions canning plums." It was exactly what we needed. We are sitting ehre waiting for that "pop" sound. Thanks so much!

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  15. I've done it already! last fall. because...I just didn't know what else to do with the darn things, there are so many of them, and I didn't have a lot of time. I used pretty much the same recipe. They are great in a crisp with some other fruit for a fast dessert. You just squeeze each one a little and the pit falls out.

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  16. Thanks for letting me know. I am so glad it worked out for you.

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  17. Your instructions say "have to be specific here" about pouring the syrup into the plum jars, but nothing specific. What does that mean? Exactly how much do you pour over the plums? Thanks!

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  18. Erica- I was trying to be silly. There really is nothing specific about it- its just so easy. I took that out because I sure can see why you said that in retrospect.

    Andrea- Its kind of a non specific amount. It depends on how many plums you pack into the jar, how big the plums are, etc. I kind of eyeball it- so say I have about four quarts jars filled with plums I would probably do up about 3 quarts worth of sugar water.

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  19. Lori, Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly. I can't wait to get started on this. And thank you for posting this in such a simple way. God bless you for sharing.

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  20. Haha, thanks. This is my first time trying to can something so I just wanted to be sure :)

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  21. We are excited to give this a try, we picked up a case of plums on our honeymoon and now have to figure out what to do with them. Our plums are rather large, do you think this recipe would still work if we cut them in half and removed the pit before putting them into the jars?

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  22. You could cut them up- they may not hold their shape very well but if that doesnt bother you then why not. I use those plums a lot for making sauces and such. So in cases like that it totally would not matter.

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  23. what about allowing for altitude when boiling.....do you need to add extra time on like you do with jams?

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  24. Joyce, I am not familiar with canning with high altitudes. I am sure there is an adjustment. I recommend consulting with a source like Ball canning.

    http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipes/auto-canner/plums-in-syrup

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  25. Hi from Portland Oregon! I just picked about 10 quarts of prunes, the biggest crop I've had yet, and was fretting - then I remembered how much I loved canned plums as a kid so to Google I headed. The first recipe was too much for a 95 degree day with no A/C in my 1929 house. Then came the delightful name of your blog and I can't wait to try your easy and yummy-sounding recipe. Thanks Lori!

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  26. Hi Melanie from Portland Oregon (love Portland by the way). I am so glad you are going to can them up. Yes easy peasy. Hope it gets a little cooler for you to do that!

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  27. Mine split in the jars as soon as I put them in canner. I followed instructions, any ideas?

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  28. I am guessing they might have been on the overripe side. Mine have not split before. Although, you can still enjoy them.

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  29. WOW! Thanks for the share of such a simple recipe. My Hubby grew up in a fruit growing district and so when we go back to his family hime we are always given massive amounts of fresh fruit from the seasons harvest from the local growers he knows. I have been busily canning fruit and making chutney's and Jams and sauces. =)

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  30. Hi Lori! Thanks for the post! Have you added anything else to the jars for a variety? (i.e. rosemary, cinnamon). Also when you make your carrot and plum dish, are you leaving the pits in? I picked a whole bunch of plums last night actually and I'm gearing up to do some canning. :)

    Thanks!

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  31. Hi jlink15. When I can the plums I leave the pits in. When I make the carrots, I take the pits out. I have never tried adding those. I am sure it would be so good. Especially thoughts of cinnamon. This year, I may try that. Thank you.

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  32. Would canning them with a sugar alternative work just as well? Also do you slit them to prevent splitting? Thanks =)

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  33. Mariaann. I am so sorry it took this long to answer you back. You definitely can’t use an alternate sugar as it is The preserving agent. I do not know science wise if a sugar alternative would work. I do not split them. They do get soft.

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