This is a fantastic recipe if you want your preserves to keep the taste of the fruit and not taste like pure sugar. Unlike other Pectin products, Pomona’s Universal Pectin™ uses a combination of pectin, acid and calcium water to make the fruit gel.
We use less than half of the normal amount of sugar for this recipe. The preserves come out perfect every time. For this recipe we use the Santa Rosa plums grown on the orchards on the DuckinaPot Farm. Santa Rosa plums have a unique taste but are hard to find at the grocery store because they have a very short shelf life. Santa Rosa plums are extremely juicy when ripe and its flavor is reminiscent of fruit punch and cherry jolly ranchers. You can use any kind of plum for this recipe, just make sure your plums are ripe to over ripe.
Ingredients
3½ pounds of plums (after pits removed)
6 cups sugar (Pomona Pectin allows you to use small amount of sugar)
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon Pomona Universal Pectin
1 packet calcium powder – found in the Pomona Universal Pectin box
8 half-pint or 8-ounce canning/mason jars with lids and rings
Directions
Step 1: Pit the Plums
Cut the pits out of 5 pounds of plums. That will give you 3½ pounds.
Keep those skins on.
Step 2: Macerate Overnight (not macarena)
Add the plums to a large bowl.
In another bowl, add;
6 cups of granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon of Pomona’s Universal Pectin.
Completely mix the sugar and pectin.
Add the sugar/pectin mixture to the plum bowl.
Mix completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Step 3: Make calcium water from the Calcium powder
In a jar with a lid add:
½ cup water
Calcium powder packet from the Pomona Pectin box. (It is ½ teaspoon)
Store in refrigerator.
Step 4: Start Cooking
Add the plum mix to a very large pot.
Stir in four teaspoons of calcium water.
Keep the remaining calcium water in the refrigerator for more batches.
Add a teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming.
Bring the fruit to a boil and then let simmer for about 20 minutes.
Stir often. You can mash the fruit to your liking as your stir.
Step 5: Sterilize the Jars (while the plums are cooking)
Prepare your Jars in boiling water in canning pot for 5 minutes.
Prepare your lids by keeping them very hot in water (not boiling)
Step 7: Fill 4 (16-ounce Mason Jars) Ball or Kerr Wide Mouth
Pour hot jam into hot jar with funnel, leaving 1/4” of space at the top.
Wipe off the rims of the jars once they are filled.
Screw on the two-piece lids until they are snug.
Do not overtighten them.
Screwing a Mason jar lid too tight will create a weaker seal.
Step 7: Process the Jars
Place jars in elevated rack in canning pot with the hot water from before.
Lower the rack and make sure the jars are covered by 1 to inches of water.
Bring to gentle boil and process for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
After a minute, remove jars with canning jar lifter.
Place each mason jar upright on a towel.
The center button on the lid will pop in 30 – 60 minutes.
Let cool for 24 hours.
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