Prune jam for the winter

Prune jam is not the most common type of preparation for the winter, but this dessert usually tastes excellent. At the same time, due to the high percentage of pectin in plums, and, accordingly, their stickiness, the cooking process becomes easier, since it does not require the use of additional ingredients. In favor of jam is the fact that eating it can have a beneficial effect on health – if you do not overdo it with the amount.

How to make prune jam for the winter correctly

Despite the fact that usually following the recipe allows you to make a high-quality and tasty dish, there are some features and general cooking rules, following which can improve the taste or simplify the cooking process.

Let’s name some rules that you should keep in mind when preparing pitted prune jam for the winter:

1. Banks for blanks must be sterilized.
2. Before using prunes, it is advisable to soak briefly in boiling water.
3. It is better to take prunes with a stone and remove it yourself, since small pieces of stones may remain in fruits that are declared seedless. Otherwise, there is a possibility of damaging the tooth.
4. The recipes indicate the weight of prunes without taking into account the seeds, respectively, the berries are weighed after the removal of the cores.
5. It is more convenient to take small jars for storage, since jam usually consumes more slowly than other types of blanks.
6. Boiling time is shortened if no water is added.
7. In order for jam (or jam) to boil more or less evenly, it is better to cook them not in a tall saucepan, but in a basin or any other flat and wide container.
8. Sugar is best added after the fruits are boiled.
9. To make jam, not jam, plums are crushed in any convenient way.
10. Before removing the seeds, prunes are soaked in boiling water for several minutes.

Their nuances arise in the process of choosing suitable fruits. It is worth paying attention to:

• taste – no bitter aftertaste;
• color – it is better to choose fruits of black, not brown;
• density – prunes should not be too dry or under-dried, ideally plums should be elastic and fairly dense.

Classic prune jam recipe

Ingredients:

• prunes – 600 g;
• sugar – 200 g;
• settled or boiled water.

Algorithm:

1. The prunes are washed, the pits are removed, poured into a saucepan and poured with water – so that it covers the fruits by two fingers. That is, 600 g of plums require about a liter of water.
   Important! If desired, and for greater viscosity, you can do without water – in this case, prunes are crushed and boiled until softened.
2. Boil the fruits until they soften and the water evaporates.
3. Grind boiled berries.
4. 100 ml of water is mixed with a glass of sugar and syrup is made.
5. The ground berries are poured into the syrup and boiled, stirring, for 10-15 minutes.
6. Remove from fire and pour into jars.

Jam from prunes through a meat grinder

You will need the following:

• basin or large saucepan;
• meat grinder;
• 1 kg of prunes;
• 1 kg of sugar.

Preparation:

1. The fruits are passed through a meat grinder, then transferred to a cooking container and sugar is added. Then mix. Alternatively, sugar can be added later, when the jam has already begun to boil.
2. Cook, stirring constantly. After boiling, the fire is increased. Cooking time, after the jam begins to boil, is half an hour.
3. Turn off the stove and pour the finished product into sterilized jars.

From the specified amount, approximately a liter of jam is obtained.

Thick prune jam for the winter with pectin

This recipe is for lovers of really thick jam. Since the plum itself contains a large amount of pectin, which is what gives the jam its viscosity, the extra dose from the outside means that the final product will be much thicker. This should be taken into account in the cooking process.

Since pectin is a thickening agent and not an independent ingredient, it is added in moderation towards the end of jam cooking. A kilogram of prunes will require half a bag of apple pectin and a kilogram of sugar.

So the cooking process might look like this:

1. Shredded plums are transferred to a bowl, sent to the fire and boiled until they become soft. If desired, you can add a glass of boiled water, in case the jam starts to burn or turns out to be too thick.
2. After the prune puree boils and boils for about 20 minutes, the pectin is mixed with sugar and poured into a basin.
3. Cook for another ten minutes, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat and quickly pour into jars.

Pectin, if necessary, can be replaced with gelatin.

How to make prune jam with spices

Spices in the recipe can be replaced with any other to taste. For example, you can add fresh or dried ginger or cardamom.

Ingredients:

• pitted prunes – 1 kg;
• sugar – 1 kg;
• cloves;
• cinnamon – half a teaspoon;
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice or lemon.

Preparation:

1. Prunes are scalded with boiling water, if necessary, the bones are removed. Then pass through a meat grinder.
2. Sugar is poured into the resulting puree, mixed and put on fire.
3. After boiling, spices are poured in and lemon juice is poured in or squeezed out.
4. Reduce the heat to a minimum and cook for an hour and a half, stirring and removing the foam. After thickening, the jam is poured into sterilized jars and rolled up.

Prune jam recipe with chocolate

Ingredients:

• kilogram of prunes;
• Xnumx g of granulated sugar;
• bitter or milk chocolate – 300 g.

Preparation:

1. Prunes are divided into halves or cut into small pieces and sprinkled with sugar.
2. Leave to infuse for 5-6 hours. It is best to leave it overnight as it takes a long time to cook.
3. Put on medium heat and cook until boiling. Remove the foam with a skimmer, remove the boiled jam from the heat and let it cool for several hours.
4. Repeat the procedure.
5. Put the jam on the fire for the third time.
6. While the plum puree boils for the third time, the chocolate is grated or chopped into pieces with a knife. Add to prunes.
7. After boiling, cook for another 10-15 minutes, then remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars and roll them up.

Some recipes replace chocolate with cocoa powder.

Then the recipe changes as follows.

Per kilogram of prunes you need:

• Xnumx g of granulated sugar;
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder;
• 80 g of butter.

Prepare as follows:

1. Prepared prunes are twisted in a meat grinder.
2. Mix the fruits with sugar and bring to a boil, stirring and removing the foam that appears.
3. After boiling, cook for another half an hour, pour cocoa and pour in butter, mix.
4. Boil for 15 minutes.

Prune jam storage rules

The shelf life of prune jam directly depends on whether it was prepared with stones or not:

• with bones – the shelf life does not exceed two months;
• pitted – depends on how the blanks went, in particular, on the presence or absence of sterilization and rolling of the lids, but not less than three months.

If the jam jars were pre-sterilized and then rolled up, that is, we are talking about harvesting for the winter, then the longest period during which the product is usable is 2 years. Dessert that has not been closed for the winter can be kept in the refrigerator for three months.

You can store the product at room temperature, as long as the storage place is protected from sunlight. The expiration date does not change – the jam is stored for about two years. In general, it is believed that jam and jam can be eaten even if the expiration dates have already passed, of course, if mold has not appeared and the smell of the product has not changed.

Conclusion

Prune jam is not a dish you often see on the dinner table, as it usually takes a long time to cook. However, the difficulty of following the recipe and the time it takes to prepare the ingredients make up for the taste of the dessert, as well as the fact that it can be prepared throughout the year, as the need arises. As in many other recipes, you can change the amount and type of spices, in accordance with the taste of the cook.