Plum and Gooseberry Jam

Tangy and sweet, Plum and Gooseberry Jam is a perfect for stirring into ice cream or yogurt, as a filling for crumb bars, and of course, for smearing liberally over your morning toast. This is a small batch recipe, but you can easily increase the ingredient amounts and water bath can the jars for long-term pantry storage.

Like all good things in life, there’s a time to go all out and prepare large amounts of jam for long-term storage. But, there are also times when just one or two jars are all you need. Preparing jam in small batches is the best way to go if you want to forego dealing with canning and preserving. Also, in my case, I only have four gooseberry bushes in my backyard and they don’t yield enough to break out my canner. Sometimes, a small batch of Plum and Gooseberry Jam is all you need!

I hope I’m not too late to share this recipe with you, Dear Reader! I know that locally grown gooseberries and plums vary from region to region, but you can use frozen gooseberries in this recipe. As for plums, my favourite eating plums are the little yellow ones, but in this case, I used the larger purple plums. They not only add sweetness and flavour, but also a beautiful colour too.

SMALL BATCH RECIPE – MAKES 2 CUPS!

This recipe is for a small batch of Plum and Gooseberry Jam. It’s so simple and easy and needs very little of your attention.  Canning is something I love, but storage is always an issue.  Most of the jam recipes that I found online yielded 6-8 500ml jars.  In most cases, I need to make just one or two jars.  The recipe you see below will yield two cups of jam.

I like to place that jam into two separate jars because we don’t consume jam very quickly.  Usually, it’s just on the weekends with a freshly baked scone. 

Sometimes, during the week in the summer months, a little dollop of jam can be stirred into some good vanilla ice cream, but usually, that’s the extent of our jam consumption.  Which, Dear Reader, is why I need small-batch recipes – like this one!

CANNING METHODS ARE NOT NEEDED

As mentioned previously, you do not need to process this jam.  If you are making a large batch, then please employ a safe canning method to ensure proper long-term storage. For small batch jams, you do not need to apply any canning methods at all.  I have made two jars of jam at the same time with this recipe.  I have not used the water bath method, but simply made sure the jam was piping hot.  Be sure that your jars are super clean and that you are using new sealing rings.

Pour the hot jam into the sterile jars, place on the sealing ring and screw on the cap.  Let the jam jars sit – completely undisturbed! – for at least twelve hours.  After the first 30-60 minutes, you’ll hear little pinging noises coming from your kitchen. 

This occurs when the temperature of the jam begins to cool, which condenses the air in the jar, which in turn, creates a vacuum, and pulls the lid down.  The popping or dinging sound is the sound of your sealing rings telling you that your jam is secured and safe.

RED OR BLACK CURRANTS, GOOSEBERRIES TOO!

If you don’t have access to gooseberries, you can use red or black currants. Because currants and gooseberries are very much alike and often mistaken for each other, you can use currants here.

If you don’t know the difference, there’s one very easy way to tell if you have a currant or gooseberry tree. Where red and black currant bushes are thorn-free, gooseberry bushes are not. They have small thorns, so you need to be a little careful when harvesting. Wearing gloves and a long sleeve shirt will keep you from getting scratched.

Gooseberries are often larger than currants. This will depend on many things such as exposure to the sun, how old the bushes are, how fertile the soil might be, etc. Gooseberries also have a little brown stick-like tail at the bottom of each berry. Those usually fall right off when you wash the berries.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Gooseberries – The colour of gooseberries vary from plant to plant depending on the variety. My gooseberries are a mix of green and pink.
• Plums – I’m using black plums, but you can use yellow or purple if you wish. Keep in mind that black plums have a deep red center while the others are yellow on the inside.
• Sugar
• Lemon Juice – It’s best to use bottled lemon juice rather than freshly squeezed lemon juice when preparing any recipe for canning purposes.

HOW TO MAKE PLUM AND GOOSEBERRY JAM

This recipe is for small batches of jam only. If you double or triple the recipe to make a larger amount, you will need to employ a canning method unless you are sure you can consume all of the jam within a month or so. Here’s how to make the jam!

Add the gooseberries, plums, sugar, and lemon juice to a medium-sized, deep saucepan and turn the heat to medium until the mixture begins to bubble.  Then, reduce the heat to simmer and stir. Allow the mixture to cook and the fruit to naturally break down.  Be sure to stir every 20 minutes or so, even more frequently when the jam begins to thicken.

When the jam has reached the consistency you desire, remove the saucepan from the heat and carefully pour the hot jam into clean and sterile mason jars. Be sure the rim of the jar is clean and jam-free, wipe the lid with a damp cloth, place on the seal and tighten the lid until a slight resistance is met.

Carefully place the jar on a kitchen towel where the jar will not be disturbed for twelve hours. Once the jam begins to cool, the seal will create a popping sound, assuring you that the jar is sealed. Refrigerate for immediate use and keep refrigerated for up to six months.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!