The first homemade jam I ever tasted was made with homegrown plums. I was just four or five years old and the trees in our backyard were having a bumper year. My mom picked enough to fill her yellow enamel colander, gave them a good rinse under the tap, and turned them in sweet, slightly drippy preserves. We ate those plums over pancakes and with oatmeal every chance we got.
Though I will often tell people that blueberries are my foundational fruit (and they were the star in my very first solo batch of jam), there is something about the flavor of plum jam that makes my brain go, “ah yes, THIS is what homemade jam should taste like.”
I recently made my first batch of plum jam for this season (I was asked by Anolon gourmet cookware to develop this particular recipe), from the same kind of sturdy black plums that used to grow in our southern California yard. I added a little ground cardamom for extra depth and I cooked the whole thing in the 7.5 quart wide stock pot from the Anolon Advanced line. Though I don’t normally gravitate towards non-stick cookware for jam making, the width and low walls of the pan made it irresistible.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post (hopefully that was clear before you got to this disclosure statement). Anolon has compensated me for the creation of the plum jam recipe. They sent me the stockpot in which I made the jam (I did really like it, though), and they’re providing the cookware set for the giveaway. The thoughts and words are still all entire mine.
Plum Cardamom Jam
Ingredients
- 5 pounds plums
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash plums well and cut them in half to remove pits. Slice the plums into thin half moons and heap them into a low, wide pan.
- Add the sugar and stir to combine. Cover the pan and let the plums macerate for at least an hour.
- When the plums are quite juicy and most of the sugar has dissolved, remove the cover from the pan and place it on the stove.
- Add the cardamom and lemon juice and bring the fruit to a boil.
- Cook the fruit at a controlled boil, stirring regularly, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the plums soften and the syrup thickens. You’ll know when the jam is done because it will become more resistant to stirring, and when you pull the spoon out of the pan, the droplets will be thick and slow moving.
- While the plums cook, prepare a boiling water bath canner and 8 half pint jars.
- When the jam is done, remove the pan from the heat. Funnel it into the prepared jars.
- Wipe the rims, apply the heated lids and clean rings, and process the closed jars in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (do not start your timer until the pot returns to a full, rolling boil).
- Once the time is up, remove the jars from the canner and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. The lids should seal promptly and will often make a pinging or popping sound as the vacuum forms. When the jars are sealed, the center of the lids will be concave and when pressed, the lid will not move or wiggle.
I love my cast iron skillet (along with everyone else it seems). It has high sides and is my work horse. I cook about everythig in it as well as abuse it to no end. Its used as a mallet, tenderizer, weight, and sandwich press amoung other things lol
8-inch cast iron skillet, hands down. It’s not so good for jam-making, though!
My favorite is my dutch oven. It’s not a name brand, but it’s reliable and so versatile I use it all the time!
In our little kitchen, the multipurpose Calphalon sauce pan cooks everything from breakfast sausages to marinara sauce.
I have a set of three Calphalon non-stick frying pans and I use at least one of them every day for so many different kitchen chores.
Two things I couldn’t cook without, my large flat round cast iron grill to make
pancakes, french toast, bacon and eggs, etc. The other one is my set of square
Corning Ware cookware, goes from freezer to oven or stove burner. They have
Pyrex lids and if you turn them upside down you can stack them in fridge for leftovers.
They are pretty enough to put on the table at meal time.
I could not live without a 7qt large covered saucepan! It gets use for every meal as we aim to do a one-pot dinner.
My favorite piece of cookware is a 14 inch cast iron frying pan. I found it in my grandparents basement. When I asked my grandfather if I could have it, he said sure, just don’t tell your grandmother. She was not much of a cook so she never missed it. I’ve had it now for over 30 years.
Actually I have a stock pot that I use for water bath canning as it is significantly smaller than the water bath canner and serves the same purpose in less time. The only thing was I had to find something to put in the bottom to allow water circulation around all the jars…and many jar rings got used. This would be a great set to have as I still use the copper bottom Revere ware set my grandma got in the 1940’s. And although I love antiques…sometimes they leave much to be desired.
My favorite cookware is a large, deep t-fal skillet I won at a cooking show. Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite cookware is a large stainless skillet that’s oven safe. It’s so versatile.
Mine is a Lodge cast-iron pineapple cake pan.
Love my All American pressure canner.
My favorite pot is my 12 quart stock pot
My favorite is not a fancy piece – it is a large soup pot that I often use to make jams & preserves. It has never let me down!
We have lots of pots for a 2 person household, but the one that gets the most use is the 1 quart All-Clad saucepan.
My favorite piece of cookware is my 8×10 glass pan. It’s all I brought with me to college my freshman and sophomore years of college (before I had a real kitchen) and I used it to cook all of my meals.
My all time favorite is a small Dutch oven with a blue emaille coating and heavy bottom by Silit. I have it almost 30 years and will last another 30. Perfect for anything from jams to sauces.
I love my cast iron dutch oven. I make bread and everything else in it. We are going to Yellowstone later this month and it will go there also!
Black iron pot without question. It weighs about 15lbs but it never comes off the stove. Perfect for cajun cooking.
Definite favorite: big heavy 13- or 14-inch skillet, about 5 inches deep. All of last year’s cooking & jam-making was done in standard-depth 8- or 9-inch skillets, and I feel like life has *changed* since getting this new one!
My favorite pan is a 6″ cast aluminum pan that was my mothers, from the 1950’s. It’s older than me. perfect size to make fried egg sandwickes.
My favorite piece of cookware is a GreenPan dutch oven . . . it’s wonderful for transitions from stovetop to oven for many of my ‘slow’ recipes.
I adore my Swiss Diamond pans! They are so incredible, I don’t think a day goes by when we don’t use one!
I love using my Mom’s Cast Iron Skillet !! I use it all the time for Breakfast, Supper & Fried foods !! Thank you for allowing me to enter !! luv your site !!
a dutch oven that we picked up from someone’s trash when I was a small child. My mom has cooked in it for years. Occasionally, will borrow it and use it to cook certain family recipes. We don’t have them written down but know how much goes into that pot. One man’s trash…..was this family’s treasure!
My sister brought me a Faberware covered oval dutch oven as a hostess gift that I absolutely love. I use it several times a week; it’s so versatile.
I love my enameled Dutch oven. Not only does work well on the stove as well as the oven, but no matter what I cook in it, clean up is always a snap.
My favorite is my cast iron skillet. I don’t use it enough.
hello,
My favorite cookware is my 12″ cast iron frying pan, I bet that I use it every day.
My cast-iron skillet that has never once been washed in true Southern style. I cook everything in it and I still don’t understand teflon.
It has to be my slow cooker- especially now that fall is on it’s way. I love to cook soups and chilli’s in it.
I love my enamel pot. It makes soups, stews and sauces evenly
I love my Cuisinart wok. I use it for almost everything. From sautéing vegetables, meats and noodles. Just made clam linguini over the weekend.
I love my 8″ non stick pan with a blue heat proof handle. My parents bought it at a restaurant supply store (one for all us kids one Christmas) and I use it for everything, particularly eggs.
My favorite is my 5qt Dutch oven. I use it all year round.
I love my le creuset dutch oven, its the good sturdy stand by that does everything well!
I love my cast iron skillet. It has great high heat, can sear anything and reminds me of my grandmother’s kitchen.
I love my 10 inch cast iron skillet. I was always intimidated by the upkeep of cast iron and stuck to non-stick until I realized non-stick doesn’t stay that way but cast iron really does with just a few simple steps. I love how it evenly cooks, retains heat, and just cooks food so well.
A stockpot I was gifted for my wedding has become my favorite, or at least, most used. That jam looks heavenly.
Favorite pan is my 12″ cast iron skillet, love the high sides, easy clean up, we don’t need to use special utensils and it’s nearly indestructible, which is necessity around my house.
My favorite pot is my le creuset round dutch oven that I got as a wedding present. It fits perfectly on my burner, heats up evenly and holds heat for a long time. It’s perfect for making soups and stews and makes making jam a breeze as it holds an even temperature and helps to keep the bottom from scorching.
I love my cast iron dutch oven… going from stovetop to oven in one dish is amazing!
Our cast iron skillet is probably my favorite because it can be used on the stove top as well as in the oven.
I love my 6 quart all-clad covered saucepan. I use it almost every day.
My favorite pot is my 12-cup 4th burner pot.
You know, I’m not sure if it counts, but my partner gave me an excellent electric kettle for Christmas this year and it’s definitely my favorite thing in my kitchen. If that doesn’t quite count, then it’s probably my pressure canner. It’s a Presto 23 (I think?) quart pot–it’s enormous and I can do loads of beans in it all at once. Love it!
9 inch cast iron skillet… antique and exquisitely seasoned
My favorite item right now is my dutch oven. I love that I can make jams, soup, chilies, red sauce, and even bread in it.
My favorite cookware is my fire engine red tramontina dutch oven. I use it for almost every recipe that calls for a large pan – canning recipes as well as chilis, soups and stews
My favorite pan is my 12 inch cast iron pan my friend Gabriel brought me from a garage sale. It was rusted and had burnt crust in it. I polished it up, seasoned it and now I make the best country breakfasts with bacon and eggs for him while he serenades me with his guitar in the morning.