Plums are a favorite fruit around these parts and I do all kinds of yummy things with them. Plum jelly. Plum Apple Sauce. Asian Plum Sauce.
But one of our favorite canned plums recipes is this one for Spiced Plums.
You can use Italian plums, or wild plums, or regular ole plum plums.
This recipe uses a light syrup that is gently spiced, with an added splash of alcohol (namely Brandy) if you choose to add it.
I suppose, if you wanted to, you could skip the water altogether and just can these in straight Brandy.
These are great served room temperature with pound cake or hot as a cobbler or crisp.
I image they’d be pretty good with ice cream, too. I’ll have to give that a try soon.
This recipe makes anywhere from 5 – 7 pints depending on the size of your plums and how tightly you pack them in the jar.
I usually have a little syrup left over and I’ll can that up along with the jars of plums.
The syrup is good mixed into a fruit salad or thickened up for a bread pudding sauce. Or to sweeten oatmeal or even rice pudding.
There’s no end to what we have found to do with it. I’m going to try to hide some and add it to my next batch of water kefir.
But I digress. Again. 🙂
Shall we begin?
The plums can be processed in either a water bath canner
, which is what you’ll see in the pictures, or a pressure canner
. Instructions are included for both canners.
Spiced Plums
- 4 pounds of plums
- 5 c water, or if you want to get really fancy, 4 cups water and 1 cup Brandy
- 2 c honey
- 2 oranges, juice and zest
- orange zest (optional if you don’t want to zest the ones you have)
- 5 to 7 – 1″ cinnamon sticks (1 per pint jar) (I like to get my organic spices from Starwest Botanicals)
- 15 to 21 cloves (3 per pint jar)
- 5 to 7 pint jars
, clean and hot - 5 to 7 rings and new lids or Tattler reusable lids, prepared following manufacturer’s instructions
, clean and hot
or 
, prepared following manufacturer’s instructions
this glass juicer was my grandma’s 🙂
In a large pot combine the water, Brandy if you’re using it, honey, orange juice, and cinnamon sticks.
Bring that fabulous concoction to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
While that’s simmering wash and pit the plums. Depending on how big they are, cut them either in half or in quarters.
For very small plums you can leave them whole, but prick the skins so they don’t burst during processing. Cuz that would just be sad.
I quartered these guys cuz they were so big
After the syrup has simmered for 10 minutes, add the plums. Bring the plums and the syrup back to a boil, stirring frequently, then remove it from the heat.
here’s the plums in some syrup-y goodness
Prepping the jars
To each hot pint jar add 3 cloves and 1 tsp of orange zest. Fish the cinnamon sticks out of the syrup and add one to each jar.
I usually start with the 5 jars and add more if I need to.
prepping the jars
Now add the plums to the jar leaving 1/2″ of headspace. Try to fit them in as tightly as possible without squishing them.
Sometimes it feels a little like playing Tetris. Only with food. Hot food. That could, just possibly, burn your fingers.
the syrup is hot too!
Next, ladle the hot syrup over the plums, using a canning funnel
. The funnel not only helps get the stuff actually inside the jars, but it also helps keep the stuff off of the rims of the jars.
Then, remove the air bubbles with your handy dandy little air bubble remover thingy
and top off with the syrup as needed, again, leaving 1/2″ headspace.
Wipe the rim with a clean cloth dipped in vinegar (vinegar cuts through the syrup), seat the lid, and put the rings on finger tight. Fill and close the remaining jars.
Processing
into the waterbath canner
Process in a boiling waterbath canner for 20 minutes for pints or quarts.
start processing time when water comes to a full boil
Or process in a pressure canner for 10 minutes at 6 pounds pressure for pints or quarts. Whichever canner you use, don’t forget to adjust the time or pressure according to the altitude chart.
I actually had some syrup left so I canned that too!
After processing, allow the jars to cool, undisturbed, 12 to 24 hours. Don’t forget to check the seals before you put the jars away.
What would you eat these beauties with?
More awesome canning recipes you should try:
Spiced Plums
Ingredients
- 4 lbs plums
- 5 c water OR 4 c water and 1 c Brandy
- 2 c honey
- 2 oranges juiced, and zested (more zest may be necessary)
- 5 - 7 1" cinnamon sticks
- 15 - 21 cloves
Instructions
- In a large pot combine water, Brandy if you are using it, honey, orange juice, and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
- While that's simmering wash and pit the plums. Depending on size cut them either in half or in quarters. For very small plums you can leave them whole, but prick the skins so they don't burst during processing.
- After the syrup has simmered for 10 minutes, add the plums. Bring the plums and syrup back to a boil, stirring frequently, and remove from heat.
- To each pint jar add 3 cloves and 1 tsp or orange zest. Fish the cinnamon sticks out of the syrup and add one to each jar.
- Now add the plums to the jar leaving 1/2" of headspace. Try to fit them in as tightly as possible without squishing them.
- Cover the plums with the hot syrup. Remove the air bubbles and top off with syrup as needed, again, leaving 1/2" headspace.
- Wipe the rim with a clean cloth dipped in vinegar, and adjust the lid. Fill and close remaining jars.
- Process in a boiling waterbath canner for 20 minutes for pints or quarts. Or process in a pressure canner for 10 minutes at 6 pounds pressure for pints or quarts. Whichever canner you use, don't forget to adjust the time or pressure according to the altitude chart.
- After processing, allow the jars to cool, undisturbed, 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals before you put the jars in storage.
Michelle says
That looks so good! Plum jelly is one of my favorites. I keep hoping I’ll find a wild plum tree on our farm, but I may have to break down and plant one. I don’t think I’ve ever had spiced plums, but you make them look really good!
Cery says
Love plum jelly! Finding a wild plum tree would be pretty awesome. 🙂
Kim Thomson says
I planted a young one a few years ago. Best decision – so many wonderful fruits year after year.
Cery says
Hi Kim! That’s so awesome. My parents had fruit trees and pecan trees. I have dreams of an orchard of my own one day.
Blessings!
Jamie Marie says
Looks yummy, thanks for sharing with us on the homesteader hop!
Cery says
Thanks for stopping by, Jamie.
Stephanie says
This recipe was SO good. I had a ton of juice left over from the first batch so I added 4 more pound of plums in and canned those, too.
Cery says
Hi Stephanie! I have to admit, I’m a little addicted to these. lol I’m glad you got a bunch more canned! Blessings!
Jennifer says
I did the same thing. Only ended up with 7 jars total. Totally forgot to add the orange zest, so I added it to the spiced plum jam I made next. I am going to use the left over syrup for sangria- after all this work, I deserve it!
Cery says
Hi Jennifer! Plum sangria sounds mighty tasty! 🙂 I bet the orange zest was great in the jam too!
Maureen says
Tried this recipe….so much juice left over so next year I will make a half batch of juice. Haven’t tried them yet…just pressure canning them now. They look pretty and smell delicious
Cery says
Hi Maureen! This is one of the prettiest things I have in my pantry. And they taste amazing! 🙂
Sue says
I don’t have a lot of experience with canning, but this recipe looked so delicious, I just had to give it a try! The plums I used were small, so I left them whole and intact, using quart jars. The outcome is beautiful and I ended up with good seals. Not sure if I did anything wrong, but I lost a lot of the juice during processing. I left the 1/2 inch head space as instructed, but the juice level in the jars is now a couple inches down, and the top layer of plums are not immersed in the juice. Is this okay for the pantry shelf to use down the road or do we need to refrigerate them and use them soon?
Cery says
Hello Sue! I’m so happy you made the plums. They are one of my favorites! Don’t worry about the liquid loss. There are several things that may have happened. But the fruit inside the jars is safe to use. It will probably discolor a bit, but it’s ok to eat.
Possible causes include air bubbles in between the fruit, or uneven heating in the canner from temperature fluctuations. That happened to me with one of the newer stoves I had. There was a safety feature built into it that turned the heating element off after it reached a certain temperature. It still maintained a full roiling boil, but it lessen a little before the element cooled off enough for it to come back on.
Blessings!
Paris Wolfe says
Why is brandy missing from the final recipe? Is there a pH problem?
Cery says
Hi Paris! My apologies, I left that out of the recipe card. Add the Brandy to the water when you begin making the syrup. I’ve fixed it in the instructions. Thanks!
Dwight says
What does brandy do for the flavor of the canned prunes ?
Cery says
Hello Dwight! The brandy just adds a little depth of flavor. You can vary the amount you put in each jar to suit your taste, or leave it out entirely.
Cery
MARY says
Cery, making these today. Can less honey be used without comprimising the flavor? I plan to use the brandy.
Cery says
Hi Mary!
Yes, you can use less honey and they will still taste amazing!
Blessings!