Tangy, seasonal & sweet…

This plum jam recipe was born out of a collaboration with Fraiche Kiosk for their 2021 Seasonal Fruits & Vegetables Calendar. In July, plums are exquisite and now is the time to take advantage, so go on — get jammin’ [was that a dad joke?].

Print and digital copies of the Seasonal Calendar are still available here! 10% of proceeds from sales are donated to Rethink Food, a nonprofit working to reduce food insecurity in the New York area. Each month features seasonal ingredients, monthly recipes (including mine!) & Fraîche’s suggestions for a more environmentally friendly life.

Maple Citrus Plum Jam with Ginger

2 lbs ripe plums, Empress or other variety
½ cup of maple sugar, or natural sweetener of your choice
½ cup water
Juice of ½ - 1 whole lemon or lime, to taste
½ - 1 tsp raw grated ginger, to taste

Thoroughly rinse your plums, then cut in half and remove pits. Make sure there are no small pieces stuck to the plum flesh. Cut plum halves into quarters and add to a med-large sauce pot. Add water and sugar or other sweetener to the plums, and mix. Start the mixture over a medium heat. When it starts to simmer, turn down to a low heat and cook, stirring very often to make sure the sugars don’t burn on the bottom of the pot.

Cook about 45 minutes - 1 hour, or longer, until jam has reached desired thick consistency. Test thickness using an ice cold spoon from the freezer — when the jam sets on the cold spoon it reflects how thick the jam will be once cooled. At this point add fresh squeeze citrus juice , strained of any solids, and raw grated ginger to taste. Mix thoroughly. Let cool before storing in a jar in the fridge.