Magna Plum Laude

a gingery jam to stretch summer

Welcome back to the third edition of our Summer Jam Sessions. This week we’re focusing on a favorite here at Bad Manners HQ: plums and all their many hybrids and spin-offs. 

Summer has a shitload of things to be excited about and stone fruits are one of them. Sure, berries are great but nothing beats a perfectly ripe plum, peach, or nectarine eaten over the sink like a goddamn animal. We buy them in bulk each season and eat our fill until the last apricot has left the market as fall creeps closer. While we love cooking with them, check out our Plumside Down Cake and Plum Salsa in Brave New Meal, most of those treats are gone way too fast. So this week, let’s make some plum jam and stretch the summer’s bounty.

Plumside Down Cake from our latest book

Plum jam is the perfect place to throw any bruised or overly ripe fruit that you bought and *might* otherwise let go to waste. Once this shit starts cooking, who the fuck can tell the difference? No one, that’s who. Just buy a bunch of different plums and plum spin-offs like the delicious pluot, and make this jam with a couple of each. That way you can have a nice stone fruit sampler and a well-rounded jam. We threw a lil bit of fresh ginger in the pot while the plums simmered away and honestly, it was the best decision we’ve made in a while. The resulting preserves are rich from the plum flesh and inky skin while the ginger brightens the whole thing up. This is the jam that will show you why you should make more preserves at home because there’s absolutely no fucking way you’re getting flavors like this from a store shelf. If you’ve got an hour then you’ve got yourself some of the best fucking jam you’ve ever had. We love this on toast, as part of an epic pb&j with cashew or almond butter, or spread on top of the coconut cornmeal cake from our first book.

Mixed Plum and Ginger Jam

Makes 2 pints

2 pounds of chopped plums and pluots, about 5 cups (9-10 plums total)

1 ¾ pounds sugar, about 3 cups

Juice from one lemon

1 thumb-sized numb of ginger, peeled and sliced into thick rounds

Dump the chopped plums and sugar into a large stock pot and mix them up. Let this sit on the stove for about 30 minutes to let the fruit start releasing all their juice. Stick a small plate into your freezer for later. Once you see some juice in the pot, add the lemon juice and sliced ginger and turn on the heat to medium.

Get the pot simmering, then turn the heat down to medium low all while keeping a gentle simmer. The pot will foam up a little so stir occasionally and scrape down the sides to keep any sugary stuff from burning. After a little while, the foam should start to die down and the jam will start to thicken up, about 25 minutes. When you think it’s looking good, put a small amount on that plate in the freezer we told you about earlier. If it sets without running all over the place, you’re good to go. Fish out the sliced ginger while the jam cools a little.

Once the jam has cooled off a little, pour it into your prepared jars. Let these cool on the counter, lids on, and set them in the fridge once the sides aren’t hot to the touch. Store them in the fridge and they should last a few months. Throw them out at the first site of mold though, k?

Thanks again for joining us here in the recipe edition of The Broiler Room. Next week will be our final Jam Session so there’s still time to get your jars ready and join the action. You won’t be sorry.

Michelle and Matt