Italian Plum and Cherry Jam

A Washington Fruit you mean so much to me! Every year as you all know I am blessed with the gift of stone fruit from Washington. At the beginning of the season I got a load of killer delicious cherries. With that I made some great Jam's. But my little caning mind said

"Hey Canarella freeze some of these Cherries for later in the season when more stone fruit arrives and mix up a Stone Fruit Party!

Washington State Fruit Commission I love them !



And in come the Italian Prunes but for reason's we all know we can changing the name to Italian Plum's because they are not yet shriveled! Thus we have the Washington Stone Fruit Late Season Party other's will know as Italian Plum and Cherry Jam.

Let us head to the Big Copper Kettle and get to Jammin'

Ingredients - Make app 8 half pint jar's

Clean you fruit

6 cups pitted and chopped Italian Plums
4 cups pitted shopped Cherries
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 cups granulated sugar




Put your clean, chopped stone fruit into your pot. Make sure it is non-reactive. I have a beautiful copper kettle my hubby got me a few year's back. That is another post.

Add your lemon juice to your fruit keeping the heat on low to medium you want to slowly cook your fruit to soften it for smashing. The longer you cook it down the more natural juice you will get from the fruit. It is a magical process.

My jam's are non pectin jam's. I have used pectin in the past and many of my recipes call out for it but through the year's I have found more taste, less sugar and a beautifully set gel to most of my jam's.

The trick is heat. Be patient any good jam is not something I want to rush if your in a rush get out of the kitchen. Alright your fruit should be softening up to be able to start crushing. I use a potato smasher and an immersion blender. I start with the potato smasher to because I do not always want to blend the fruit to much. I want you to have a nice piece of fruit to see and taste when eating my jam's.

Here are my two magic tools.





Alright moving on you want to get the consistency of your jam to what you like best. Now it is time to add your sugar and get the jam up to temperature. Add you sugar one cup at a time and keep the flame on high. You want a boil you can not cook down. Your thermometer should get to a temperature of 223 degree's to gel.

Here is a link to the whole Gel Point Topic. This post will lead you to the Make your own Pectin post and the good old Pectin or No Pectin Post!


Well now back to our Jam. Now that you have added all your ingredients and have it up to a good temperature turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Now if it is gelled it will get a nice film on top but no worries it will still be hot enough for your jars and you can easily stir in the little film. It looks beautiful!




Have your jar's ready. Cover your counter to protect the jar and the counter. Fill your jar's to 1/2 inch from the top. Wipe the rims. Place the lid and twist top . Twist it taunt and put into the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Once the time is done let them sit for a few minutes and then remove and place on a covered counter for no less than 24 hours. Once done Remove the Twist and wash your jar's.

Label and Store.

Disclaimer: This is not an all inclusive recipe for making jam. You should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the canning process before proceeding. Please consult your local Agricultural Extension Service for additional information.