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Italian Plum Jam with Star Anise

Source of Recipe

From "Preserving by the Pint" by Marisa McClellan


Recipe Introduction

"I first made this jam years back, late in the summer season. The fruit was rapidly softening and very sweet and couldn't wait another day to be used. I chopped the fruit into bits, added a bit less than half as much sugar as usual and popped in a few pieces of star anise on a whim. The finished jam was ridiculously good. The next day, I dashed out in the hopes of finding more Italian plums, but they had been the very last ones. I appreciated that small batch all the more for its scarcity and managed to make it last until those plums returned again."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 1 pound Italian plums, pitted and chopped
â—¦ ¾ cup granulated sugar
â—¦ 3 star anise


Recipe

Combine the plums, sugar, and star anise in a small bowl. Let sit for at least an hour, to give the anise flavor a chance to infuse into the fruit. Prepare a boiling water bath and two half-pint jars. Place two lids in a small saucepan of water and bring to a gentle simmer.

To cook, scrape the fruit into a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Stirring regularly, bring the fruit to a boil and cook until it bubbles and looks quite thick, 10 to 12 minutes. It's done when you pull a spatula through the jam and it doesn't immediately rush in to fill the space you've cleared.

Remove the jam from the heat and funnel into the prepared jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Makes 2 half-pint jars