How to Can Plum Jelly
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If you or someone you know has a plum tree, then you are probably trying to decide what to do with all those plums! I’ve tried making plum jam, spiced plum jam, and even Chinese plum sauce before, but for some reason my family doesn’t like all the big chunks of plums in the jam.
So this year I decided to try canning plum jelly. Plum jelly is now one of my favorite top 10 easy homemade jelly recipes.
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Ball Complete Book of Home PreservingThe Amish Canning Cookbook: Plain and Simple Living at Its Homemade BestDIY Pickling: Step-By-Step Recipes for Fermented, Fresh, and Quick Pickles
Plum Jelly Recipe
Ingredients:
4-5 lb. plums
7 c. sugar
1 pkg. or 6 tbsp. powdered pectin
1/4 tsp. butter
*Note: If you are going to make a lot of jam and/or jelly, then you HAVE to try this powdered pectin that you can buy in bulk from Amazon. Six tablespoons of this pectin is the equivalent to one box of Suregel pectin. This is the ONLY way to buy pectin inexpensively if you are going to buy a lot of it (like I do!).
Hoosier Hill Fruit Pectin, 2 lb bag
Wash and chop plums, removing pits. There is no need to peel them.
Place plums in large stock pot with about 1 c. water to keep plums to sticking to bottom of pot. Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until plums are soft.
Related Article: How to Ripen Plums: Tips and Tricks for Perfectly Ripe Fruit
Extract juice from plums with a jelly bag or fine mesh strainer. Measure juice, adding a little water if necessary to get exactly 5 cups of juice.
Pour plum juice into a large stock pot. Sprinkle the pectin on top of the juice and use a whisk to mix it together. Stirring constantly, heat until boiling. Boil for one minute.
Add the butter and return to a boil. Add the sugar to the pot all at one time (measure it and have it ready ahead of time). Stir until sugar is dissolved. Return to a boil and boil for one minute.
Related Article: Honeysuckle Jelly Canning Recipe: A Sweet and Floral Delight
Canning Instructions
Remove the pan from the heat. Remove any foam with a metal spoon. Ladle the jelly into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼ inch head space. You can easily measure the head space with this inexpensive canning funnel.
Place the sterilized canning lids and rings on the jars and screw the rings on finger tight.
Place the jars in the boiling water canner that is filled about half way with water. Jars should be covered with at least 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil and process the jars for 5 minutes.
Remove the jars from the canner and place on a towel on the kitchen counter to cool. Place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator to eat in the next couple weeks. Sealed jars can be stored in the pantry for 1-2 years.
Yield: 3 or 4 pints or 7 or 8 half-pints
Related Jelly Recipes
- rose petal jelly
- rootbeer jelly
- mountain dew jelly
- mandarin orange jelly
- apricot jelly
- pear jelly
- chokecherry jelly
- grape jelly
- pomegranate jelly
- mint jelly
- blackberry jelly
- dandelion jelly
I liked this recipe so much that it’s now one of my top favorite plum canning recipes. Did you try this recipe?
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Have used this recipe multiple times. Always great results!
Just finished 10 half pi ts of the prettiest plum jelly!
This was easy to follow and it turned out great. We got 10 half pints. Can’t wait to use it on toast in the morning.
Also will be using for chicken tenders (dip). Yummy.
I appreciated your directions. Most of the recipes just give the ingredients. I hadn’t made plum jelly in awhile and needed a refresher. This was perfect. I’m a visual learner!
Hi! Jelly can take more than 24 hours to set. Don’t move or pick up the jars. Just let them sit for 24-48 hours to give them time to set. Sometimes jelly sets right away, and sometimes it takes longer.
Hi! That’s a good question, I’m not actually sure about that! It is possible it could turn brown. You could try to add a little lemon juice to it, I think that would help keep it from turning brown.
To freeze the plum juice, do I have to add anything so plum juice doesn’t turn brown. It’s so pretty right now. A little thick!!!
Been an hour. Jars all sealed. Still runny. How long before set?
Yes, you can freeze fruit juice and then make jelly with it later 🙂
I have a ton of plum to cook down for juice. If I freeze the juice, is it good for making jelly later?
Hi! If you are cooking plum jam and not using pectin, it is fine to boil the plums down without using the extra sugar. For this plum jelly recipe, the sugar is needed to make the pectin work to thicken the jelly.
When I boil down my plums they are sweet enough. Do I still need all that sugar?
Thank you for a simple educational that’s easy to use and works.