Plum Butter
The plums at the top of yesterday’s post were the start of a batch of plum butter from the nearly 8 pounds we harvested two weeks ago. I turned almost 6 pounds of plums (yes, that is a lot of slicing in half and pitting to do) into about 11 cups of plum butter! Because the house is hot and we’ve been relatively humid for us I didn’t want to run two batches through the canner. Our altitude requires each batch to boil for 20 minutes, rather than the standard 10. So we canned 6 cups, froze 3 and kept 2 in the fridge.
We (meaning Drew mostly, but I was there holding the ladder and cheering) worked hard for these plums. We had several late snowfalls this spring, but fortunately they were all preceded by freezing rain so we think that saved some of the sets. The plums blend right into the foliage of the tree and are kind of hard to find. Added to that, most of the fruit was near the very center of the tree (where I assume set fruit survived due to the increased temperature from the tree’s respiration) and quite high. So, we ultimately resorted to laying down a bunch of sheets, then Drew got up on a step ladder and grabbed a branch with a hoe and shook. The dogs really loved that approach. Well, until we lured them inside the house with treats and then moved like lightning back out the door before they could notice (or follow us).
These plums are a rich ruby red on the inside. Very juicy and sweet. In contrast, the dark (almost black) skin is really tart. Cheek puckering tart! The whole shebang (well, minus pits) goes into the blender and then is cooked down with the sugar into the plum butter. Including the sweet flesh and the tart skins creates a really complex flavor that I just love. In fact, if I weren’t positive that we couldn’t possibly go through all 11 cups of plum butter before the tree produces again I would have a really hard time sharing!
I had made two separate batches of plum butter three years ago (pictured at left) when our plum tree last had fruit. It was a bumper crop that year and I can’t imagine how many pounds we would have gotten if we had taken the same approach to harvesting as we did this year! The first batch of plum butter that year was really good, but the spices were almost more forward than the plums. The second one ran into problems because we had to evacuate the house half-way through the cooking down process because of localized flooding. I moved it to the crock pot to continue cooking while we were away, but it ended up with a slightly burnt taste.
This time I worked off of the same recipe from Cooks.com, though I cut back on the sugar just a tad and on the spices. I also used some fruit fresh (aka citric acid) in the plums to hopefully stave off the drastic browning that occurred before. I just loved the deep rich garnet color we got this time so I’ll be certain to do the same in the future.
Because of the cut back on the sugar and the fact that I hadn’t made it in three years this batch ended up a tad on the runny side. It passed the frozen saucer test, but it didn’t really thicken much at all once cooled. In some ways I’m thinking that is okay. It has made it a very versatile condiment in the fridge these past two weeks. I’ve used it the traditional way, on biscuits and toast. But I also took it to Monday night knitting where we had it on Rye Wassa crackers with ricotta salata, aged parmesan and a 1 year manchego. Then last week I used a couple tablespoons in the sauce for a stir-fry I made for dinner with a bunch of our CSA veggies and some tofu and it was awesome! I think it would also be really good on pancakes or french toast too. In fact, we may have to give that a try for our Saturday brunch!
It is a lot of work. I think I was in the kitchen for nearly 5 hours to make those 11 cups of plum butter (thank goodness for audiobooks). Canning and preserving is hot and humid work too. But it is soooo worth the effort! The result is unlike anything you’d buy in the store. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen plum butter for sale, even in the upscale kitchen stores and boutique tea shops I’ve been in. There is no corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup like in so many store bought preserves, even ones that try to look homemade or small batch-like. You have full control of the process and the ingredients and I like it that way.
Later this week I’ll be repeating the effort. We just got a 24 pound box of organic western slope peaches for a fantastic price thanks to Amanda ordering an extra box for us through her work. They aren’t ready just yet, but I’m hoping to get to process them Friday or Saturday. I’m planning on both jam and peach butter and Drew is planning on liqueur. I wouldn’t mind freezing 6-8 cups of sliced ones for a few winter peach cobblers or green smoothies either. We’ll start with the preserving since we don’t have a deep freeze and freezer space is kind of a premium. Oh, and there was a spicy pickled peaches recipe a friend of my mom’s made from Better Homes and Gardens last year that I’d kind of like to try too. Mom and dad both loved the little bit that was shared with them.
Do you have any favorite peach recipes that you must make each year?
