Three Gals Plum Butter

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Three Gals Plum Butter

Diane, Marilyn & Deanna

 

Makes 5 half-pint jars

* It's a thick recipe so be careful when cooking it, it tends to

scorch easily. (There was no scorching problem in the crockpot but

it probably extended the cooking time by a day).

 

Ingredients

4 pounds large red or purple plums

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1 – 1 ½ tsp 5–spice powder

sugar to taste (I like it tart, I only added 1 scant cup)

 

Equipment

5 (1/2-pint) jars with self-sealing lids

Knife

Crockpot

Food processor / blender

Measuring cups

Wooden spoon

Ladle

Wide-mouthed funnel / very large measuring cup

Water bath canner

 

Directions:

 

1. Wash, pit and cut the plums in half.

 

2. Heat the plums and juice in the crockpot on low overnight,

stirring occasionally, until plums are very soft.

 

3. Puree in a blender or food processor.

 

4. Measure the puree - you should have about 6 cups.

 

5. Put the puree and sugar and 5-spice powder back in the crockpot

and cook on low heat, stirring frequently until very thick, 4 – 6

hours.

 

6. When the plum butter is thick enough, wash and rinse the jars;

keep them hot. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs.

 

7. Remove the puree from the crock and ladle into hot jars to within

1/4-inch of each top.

 

8. Wipe the tops and threads of jars with a damp cloth. Put on the

lids and screw bands as manufacturer directs.

 

9. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

 

Water bath directions:

A large saucepan, Dutch oven or other kettle works great. If you have

a cake or other rack that will fit in the bottom, and if the pan is

deep enough to hold water to cover the jars on the rack and still has

room to boil. Depending on the height of the rack, this would require

a pan 7-8 inches deep. Put the rack in the bottom of the pan, pour in

enough water to almost half full and heat to boiling. At the same

time heat more water in a tea-kettle or other pan. Gently lower the

filled and sealed jars onto the rack, then pour boiling water, enough

to cover. Heat to boiling, then cover and begin timing as the recipe

directs.

 

Novice Notes:

I didn't have a funnel so I used my 2-quart measuring cup to pour the

plum butter into the jars and it worked fine. I didn't have a rack

or real canner either. I used the heavy bottom half of my sister's

pasta pot (the kind that comes with the basket strainer). I lowered

the sealed jars into the boiling water with tongs and poured more

boiling water over the top to cover them. They all sealed up just

fine. This was a lot easier than I expected and fun too.