Apple Plum Butter

We had a fairly sizable yield of Jonagold Apples and Italian plums from our garden this year. The apples, plums, pears in the garden usually skip a year or two for giving maximum fruits, so, the years when they are aplenty I like to can them.

As they are organic, the worms get to the apples before we do so it is a bit tenuous to share it with friends. As we joke at home, What's worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm? Biting into an apple and finding half a worm!

Chopping the apples up and getting the good parts is usually fun, even if a bit tedious.

Plums have been safe from bugs so far - birds and squirrels get to them first. There is a short window when they are perfectly ripe for picking, when they are juicy and sweet and ready to eat. But they are just fine when they are firm but tart and work well for jams and preserves.

I like to can some of them whole, pit and all, in mild syrup so it saves time. But taking that extra effort to pit the plums and make jams and preserves is very satisfying too.

The Apple Plum Butter/Jam is a pretty straightforward recipe: simply cook with favorite spices for long enough time till apples caramelize to a thick jam-like consistency.  I did not measure exactly for this batch.

Ingredients
Chopped apples, skin and all
Chopped Italian plums, pitted
Lemon juice
Prune Juice
Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves
Brown sugar (or Splenda, just enough to reduce the tartness)
Apple Cider vinegar
Water as needed

I cooked the above ingredients on stove-top for about half an hour over medium heat, then transferred to a slow cooker/crock pot and left it overnight on low, and finally increased it to high to finish cooking for the last 2 hours. Indeed, it takes about 14 hours to make this but one taste and it convinces me that it is worth it.

I made some garlic relish as well, and some key lime pickle - my favorites - Indian-style. Unlike the usual Chunky style Lime Garlic Chili pickle, I diced the key lime finely and minced the garlic and chopped the chili to make a Thokku-like pickle.

Plums, plums, plums

The art of Putting Food By has always been a secret indulgence of mine. Despite dirt-cheap jams and sauces flooding the supermarket, there is something extremely fulfilling about gathering the pesticide-free fresh produce from the backyard home-garden and putting it by for the colder months when the yield would be down to nil...

The only initial fear for me was inadvertent poisoning due to botulism if the canning is not done right. I stick to acidic foods which are hard to spoil and usually follow the directions and times for processing. There is nothing like hearing the "pop" as the jar cools after undergoing the boiling water bath canning, when the lid gets sucked in by the contracting air and the jar seals tight. All that's left is labeling with the date and storing it away in the pantry :)

We came back from a long and lovely vacation to find the little patch of Earth on our backyard yielding plentiful sustenance. The plum tree especially was overloaded with ripe purple prune plums. Sweet and juicy as-is, but, I was itching to make good plum jam and Chinese-style plum sauce and can them away...

Plum jam wasn't anything new - just followed the recipe that comes with the Fruit Pectin packet. Except I reduced the sugar, which is not a smart thing usually as the jam won't set well. But, I like the loose spreadable consistency anyway :)

Pit and coarsely chop the plums. Simmer in a little bit of water (about ¼ cup for 6 cups of chopped plums) for about 5 minutes. Crush it or process it in a blender, draining excess water. Return to pot, stir in a packet of fruit pectin allow to come to rolling boil. Skim foam if preferred. Stir in about 6-8 cups of sugar (makes it cloyingly sweet, but jam doesn't set well otherwise) and allow to come back to a boil. Stir well, and can in boiling water bath canner for 25-30 minutes.

I have always loved Chinese Plum Sauce mixed with Sambal Olelek - just the plum sauce by itself that I get at the stores is almost like honey, too sweet. So, I wanted to make some Plum Sauce that was close to my liking and ready to use on busy weekdays.

Ingredients
4 cups pitted chopped plums
½ medium onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
4-6 cloves of garlic, maybe more
2 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
----
¼ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
½ tsp Chinese Five Spice
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp coriander powder (optional)
1 Tbsp Agave nectar or brown sugar

Combine the first five ingredients and allow to simmer for 10-15 minuted till onions and garlic are tender. Mash or process in a blender. Strain. Return to pot and add the rest of the ingredients to taste. Allow to simmer for another 20 minutes or so. Can in boiling water bath for about 30 minutes.

In addition to luscious sweet plum flavor, the sauce has all the spiciness I enjoy. This is almost like Hot-and-Sweet sauce and can be used as a dip for spring rolls and gyoza.

Just for fun, to serve as simple winter dessert, I decided to can some plums whole. Rather than raw pack, I decided to process them hot in very light syrup (½ cup sugar for 8 cups of water). Despite pricking the skin with fork, some plums were too ripe and the skin split, but that's okay... I boiled them for about 35 minutes for canning.

The plums are all put by for now. I am looking forward to dealing with all the pears this weekend... maybe make some pear sauce (like applesauce), maybe pack them in light syrup...