Making plum jam with mom

N and I are spending a lovely weekend at home with my family in the Cotswolds.  Today my mom and I made plum jam from using plums from her garden.  She has a tree that is positively groaning under the weight of plums, many boughs almost touching the ground. 

With a large basketful we seated ourselves in a sunny spot in the garden and began the task of pitting all the plums. 

The saucepan was laden down with nearly 7lbs of plums.  The saucepan was popped onto the hob and brought to a simmer.  This was then followed by long periods of checking to see whether the plums were turning into jam.

Once the jam had begun to set when smeared onto a plate, it was removed and placed into sterilised jars (they’d been put through the dishwasher).  We made about 13 jarfuls.  Not sure how it will taste – will have to let you know when we try it.

My mom insists I can’t share the recipe, not because it’s a closely guarded family secret, but because she’s not sure it’s very good.  Will let you know how it rates on a crusty piece of grain bread with a good layer of butter.

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