More plum jam!

It's that time of year again: plum time!

My mom's plum tree is once again so loaded with plums that I picked an entire basketful off two branches.

I cut up eight cups of them to make into jam, and I still probably have another four cups. I need to use them, but there's not quite enough to make into jam and my plum cobbler was so sour, nobody but me would eat it. (Although my plums are a bit more ripe this time around.)

Pitting plums is the pits. I finally just sliced them in quarters, like I was cutting up an apple, and cut around the pit. That seemed to work pretty well.

I cooked the heck out of it and it actually seemed to set up this time. I also know a bit more about the science of jam-making, like how you have to let it steam while it cooks for quite a while, because that evaporates the water out of it.

So my jam consisted of:

8 cups plums
6 cups sugar
1 bag of Pectin
Mix the plums and sugar together and let stand for 3 or 4 hours. Then bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer 5-10 minutes (or until the dishwasher is done washing your jars). Add pectin, return to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Pour into hot jars and seal with sterilized lids.

Anyway, yesterday was bread and jam day, and by six o clock, I was exhausted. I pretty much went to bed at 6, getting up only to put the kids to bed and do some computer stuff before returning to my repose.