Plum Butter
Plum butter is one of the few preserves where sugar is about flavour rather than set: damsons carry so much pectin that they thicken by themselves. That is why there is a third of the sugar you would use for jam, and the taste comes out deeper — almost caramel, with a sour edge.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 h 40 min
- Total
- 2 h 5 min
- Servings
- 20
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 145 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: 4 jars, 500 ml each
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Prepare the plums
Wash them, pull them apart and remove the stones. Ripe damsons need no peeling — the skins break down on their own.
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Step 2: Soften
Put them in a wide heavy pot with the water and stew, covered, for 20 minutes until they release their juice.
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Step 3: Blend
Blitz with a stick blender until completely smooth.
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Step 4: Reduce
Cook uncovered for 60 minutes over low heat, stirring every 10 minutes. The mass darkens and shrinks by about half.
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Step 5: Add the sugar
Stir in the sugar and cook for another 20 minutes, stirring constantly now — with sugar in, it catches easily.
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Step 6: Seal
Add the cinnamon, cook for a minute and ladle boiling into sterilised jars. Seal.
Tips & variations
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Tip
The sugar goes in late on purpose: it slows the thickening and makes the pot catch, so the plums reduce alone first.
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Tip
A wooden spatula should leave a clean trail on the bottom for 2–3 seconds — that is the set you want.
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Variation
A spoon of cocoa and 50 g of dark chocolate at the end turn it into a Czech-style pastry filling.
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Storage
Two years in a cool dark place, a month in the fridge once opened.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 20 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 145 kcal | 2,900 kcal |
| Protein | 1 g | 20 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 36 g | 720 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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