Making jam is a bit of kitchen alchemy. But rather than taking something base and turning it into something precious, it’s a clever way to preserve something precious for the future.
Make a batch of Plum and Pink Grapefruit Jam and you’ve invested in the future. You’ve acknowledged that summer won’t last forever – that eventually the temperature will drop and the days will grow shorter. It’s a recognition that when summer spoils us with a steady succession of stone fruits – apricots, peaches, and plums – we need to eat as much as we can and preserve the rest for a winter’s day.
How to Make Homemade Jam
Making jam couldn’t be easier. You need fruit (naturally), sugar, and citrus never hurts. And time. Time to stir, time to breath in the sweet smell of fruit cooking, and time to witness raw fruit transform into luscious jam. And when you open a jar and spread jam on the base of a pastry case or on a piece of sourdough toast you’ll have your own Proustian moment, as you travel back to a summer’s day, a bowl full of fruit, and a bit of kitchen alchemy.
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Plum and Pink Grapefruit Jam
Description
Keep this jam on hand for breakfast, brunch, and dessert!
Ingredients
- 3 lb plums
- 2 pink grapefruits
- 1 lb 5 oz granulated cane sugar (approximate)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 4–5 x 8 oz Ball Jars
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash the plums and remove any stems.
- Place the plums, stem side down, in a baking pan.
- Cook in the preheated oven until the plums are softened and the skin puckers – about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove and allow to cool until you can handle the plums. Remove the stone and chop the flesh into small chunks. Don’t worry about the skin – it’s fine to remove it if it peels off easily, or leave it if not.
- Weigh the plums, any juices, and add half the total weight in sugar. Place in a preserving pan or large pot. Finely grate the grapefruit rind over the fruit and sugar mixture, avoiding the white pitch. Add the pinch of salt.
- Cover and leave to macerate for an hour or two.
- Place the pot with the fruit on the stove and bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a bubbling simmer. Foam may form but that’s okay – it will cook off. Continue cooking for about 25-30 minutes until the jam starts to thicken and turn glossy. When you stir it along the outer edge of the pan the mixture will pull away.
- Decant into your sterilized jars, removing any spills. Place the lid and ring on top of the jar and turn to close. Repeat with the rest of the jars. Go back and tighten the lids fully so you have a secure seal.
- If you don’t have enough to fully fill the last jar, that’s okay – place it in the fridge and eat it first!
Story and Recipe by Julia Platt Leonard
Photography by Tira Howard
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