Plum Recipes?

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Our plum tree produced a meager crop this year, but thanks to Craig's List (and a wonderful woman with a backyard full of fruit trees) I've got a bushel of satsuma plums just waiting to be turned into jam.

I'm charmed that people around here share their homegrown fruit with total strangers. It makes the Bay Area feel like a small town, which is lovely.

I've been trawling the internet, and I plan to hit a bookstore tomorrow, but I'll also ask blog readers for advice.

Does anyone have any favorite plum recipes? While there's surely an upside-down cake in our future, I'm particularly interested in making plum jam or preserves. I bought canning jars and low-sugar pectin on the way home from harvesting the plums. What's lacking is any experience in canning. I have only the vaguest memories of making strawberry jam as a child. The best part about that was cracking through the paraffin wax, each time a new jar was opened. I gazed at the huge block of wax in the grocery store, and relished that memory.

Thoughts? Advice? Cautionary tales?

Comments

Christine said…
Plum and ginger sorbet! It's so easy and really refreshing on a hot day.
Lisa said…
Where does one buy rock salt in the Bay Area? And where's my ice cream maker, anyway?
momverf said…
Try your local hardware store for salt for water softeners. In the summer I can never find rock salt for the ice cream makers we use at girl scout camp and a store employee suggested the softener salt. It is also large crystal and works in the hand crank ice cream maker just as well!
Anonymous said…
Any super market will sell you a bag of water-softener salt.

Grumpy
Lisa said…
Water softening! Thanks for the advice!

So, how about those recipes?
Anonymous said…
Hey Now, Lisa!

This is an awesome (fresh) plum pudding receipt; actually, it's more like a cobbler:

Filling:
~1 doz. plums, halved and pitted
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. water
2 Tbs. Tapioca (like a tad more, esp. instant...)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Crust/topping:
2-1/4 cups all purpose baking mix (Jiffy, Busquick, et c.)
3 Tbs. sugar (for a subtle twist use Turbanado)
2/3 cup milk
3 Tbs. Butter, melted

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350ºF
In a 2 Qt. dutch oven or baking dish: stir together the plums, 1 C sugar, water, tapioca and cinnimon
Bake for ~25 minutes
Pre-heat the oven to 450ºF
In a mixing bowl, stir together the baking mix, 3 Tbs sugar, milk and melted butter to make a dough (don't over mix it, just incorporate the ingredients)
Use a spoon to drop the dough onto the filling.
Bake for ~10-12 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Cool slightly before serving.
A little French Vanilla Ice Cream on top or to the side is HIGHLY recommended. ;)

Bon Apetit!
Connfederate
Anonymous said…
Here's one from Dorie Greenspan a cookbook writer/baker who lives part time in the US and part time in Paris. Everything I've tried from her book "Baking: From My Home to Yours" has been a hit. You can get her recipe for Dimply Plum Cake online. here's a link to SmittenKitchen with photos too!

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/dimply-plum-cake/

colls
Tamsyn said…
This was one of my favorite desserts last summer --- haven't had time to make it this year yet! Enjoy...

Plum Berry Crisp Gourmet | August 2007
Shelley Wiseman
The charm of this simple dessert is obvious: It takes sweet summer fruits and cooks them down so that everything good about them becomes even better.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 50 min

For filling
1 1/2 pounds purple plums, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 cup blueberries (5 ounces)
1 cup blackberries (5 ounces)
1/3 to 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (depending on sweetness of fruit)

For topping
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third.
Toss together all filling ingredients in a 2-quart shallow baking dish and bake 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, blend together all topping ingredients in a bowl with your fingertips until butter is evenly distributed and mixture is crumbly.
Stir fruit filling, then sprinkle oat mixture over it and bake until topping is crisp and golden and fruit is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Karen Anne said…
I love that paraffin wax too, but I read that TPTB say it isn't actually safe. I'm going to do some canning and preserving this summer, and haven't decided if I will use it or not.

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