Plum Confiture

My neighbor brought me some plums from her garden. There were too many just to eat, but not really enough to make a full batch of jam. However, I do love home made jam, so I decided to make a small batch, just for the summer.




First I washed the plums & discarded any wormy ones... It is the country after all & these plums are as organic as you can get.




Then comes the time consuming part of cutting & pitting them, again cutting away any bad spots. These were actually very lovely plums. The green ones are called Reine Claude.




Next add the sugar. Usually it is equal parts fruit to sugar. I tend to add slightly less sugar, especially when I know that this jam will be eaten right away. I used a special sugar made especially for confiture, which contains natural pectin. I also added some of my vanilla sugar seen in the photo below. Perhaps you can see the bit of vanilla bean peeking out. It smells so good & adds such a lovely flavor.




Let the fruit & sugar rest until the sugar has dissolved, then put on the stove & bring to a boil.




Once it comes to a boil, the foam that forms on the top must be removed. This step seemed a bit endless. I was wondering if I would ever see the end to the foam.




Although it does seem like a lot as you are skimming it off, it does not in the end turn out to be that much.




And finally the confiture starts to run clear. At this point it has become a beautiful golden color. I had added some of the purple plums as well, which was probably a mistake. It will not affect the flavor, but they do diminish the purity of the color.





I boiled the jars to sterilize them. However, I do not feel worried about this step, as I know that my jam will not last long. I am not making enough to preserve it for a long time.




After the sterilized jars have been filled, put the tops on tightly & then turn them upside down. I really do not know why you do this step, but I know that you are suppose to & so I do.




Let cool & then enjoy! I could hardly wait to try my confiture. It was so good the next morning for breakfast.