Told You I’d Do It! The Making of Homemade Plum Jam

Above: The most recent harvest of plums from the garden

When I saw the abundance of plums we’ve had this year, I promised myself this was the year I’d learn how to make jam. With last year’s bizarre weather (and random cold fronts in the summer), all the flowers on the fruit trees died prematurely. So when this summer came around and the trees began to fruit… (and man did they fruit!), I decided I wanted to do something productive and useful with the fruit.

In the past, I’ve only made apple pies and pear pies. I never did anything else, and I never did anything to the plums except eat them. This year, I needed a change. And as promised earlier this month, making plum jam is one of my newest adventures!

Below: My pretty face with the final product!

First, I had to gather the ingredients: Plums, Sugar, and Fruit Pectin!

I had the hardest time finding the fruit pectin in the store. I looked up and down the baking aisle, the aisle with all the canned fruit and vegetables, the cooking utensil aisle… Nothing! Finally I asked a store manager who pointed me in the right direction. Can you believe that the fruit pectin was sold near the Zip Lock bags. Craziness, I tell ya!

Anyway, the instructions on the fruit pectin weren’t exactly clear on how I needed to sterilize the Mason Jars. They recommended a pressure cooker, which I don’t have. So I decided to ‘wing it’ as they say. I unscrewed the Mason Jars and placed them in a pot of water. I boiled the jars and lids about 10 minutes.

Below: The mason jars and lids in almost boiling water... It looks like the lids are fastened on the jars, but they weren't

After the water boiled for several minutes, I turned off the heat but didn’t take the pot off the burner. I figured I’d let them cool down while I continued to prepare the jam.

Making the jam itself wasn’t very difficult. According to the directions, I needed 3 pounds of plums. I didn’t know if this meant cut or whole plums, but I decided it must mean chopped plum pieces. (My sister and Cam were with me to help during this process). I cut and chopped the plums, keeping the skin on and discarding the pit. Turns out that 3 lbs ended up being 6 cups full of cut plums.

Below: Two views of the chopped plums... Does it look red and delicious?

The recipe also called for 7 ½ cups of sugar. (That’s A LOT of sugar). We were worried that we didn’t have enough in the cupboard, but fate was on our side! We were at my American grandmother’s house (not my biological grandmother who is in Vietnam, but one that I consider my surrogate/adopted grandma) for her 94^th birthday. We only found 7 cups of sugar in the sugar tin, but my American grandmother had stored small amounts of sugar in two other places in the house. So we used up ALL the sugar and we were able to get the required 7 ½ cups!

Above: The plum mixture at the beginning of the process

Next, I took out a large pot and combined ½ cup of water with the 6 cups of plums. I heated it, and right before it came to a boil, I stirred in all of the sugar. From this point, Cam took over the cooking.

Below: A view of the plum mixture as it is starting to boil after the addition of the sugar.

Cam, the Jam Maker. Doesn't he look cute in pink?

After the mixture came to a rolling boil, we added the fruit pectin and continued stirring for one minute. We turned off the heat and moved the pot away from the burner. There was foam at the top of the mixture. I read that adding the margarine will help prevent the foam from forming. Unfortunately, we did not do that.

We gingerly ladled off all the foam, trying not to take too many chunks of plum out of the mixture. The pink color was very pretty. Pink was the color of the night. Three people in the dinner party wore pink!

Below: Another view of the foam.

I sterilized my kitchen tongs. (I held them in boiling water for a few minutes). Using the tongs, I grabbed the mason jars, one at a time, and placed them on a towel next to the stove. I ladled the jam into each mason jar, and Cam screwed on the lid.

Below: The final jam mixture before it was placed in the mason jars

I just recently read an article recommending that you “process” the jars after you add the jam to it. (You have to boil the jar in water for 5 minutes or so). Unfortunately, I read that article 3 hours too late. I figured, I probably made a few mistakes in this jam canning process, but I’m sure the jam is still edible and will good for a while. I don’t expect we’ll keep it around for a year. It’ll be all gone and in our bellies by then!

Below: Several views of our final product! Sadly, it has to be settle for 24 hours before we can open a jar and try it out!

Tomato Update and More Plums

It's been a while since I blogged about the tomatoes in the SFG. Out of all my vegetables, they are doing the best. Although a majority of them are still green, they're getting larger and staying very healthy.

Surprisingly, the larger varieties are getting huge. After the mini-drought of the last few weeks haven't stopped them! The fruit is getting larger and new fruit continues to form. I sprayed organic insecticidal soap on all my plants recently, so hopefully that will keep the aphids and nasty bugs away. Cam also bought a large plastic owl from Wal-Mart. He says it'll keep the birds away from the garden.

Below: The large tomato varieties. Big Boy, Bonnie Original, Whopper




I wonder how much longer I will need to wait until these green tomatoes turn red? I'm not doing anything to these plants except watering. I wonder if I need to do anything extra to the soil to help the fruits ripen quicker.

The cherry and grape tomatoes continue to ripen. Sadly, the first red cherry tomato was not edible. The bugs had eaten part of the flesh, so my much anticipated taste test has been delayed. I hope the bugs don't get any more of my plants.

Below: The cherry tomatoes begin to yellow and turn orange. Red coming up!

The windy days of early June blew many of my grape tomatoes off the plant. I only have a few left, but new ones have started to grow. The ones that survived the wind are also beginning to have color.

Below: The grape tomatoes.

I know you must be so sick of hearing about the plum tree... but man, I'm harvesting more and more plums every day. Sadly, my family cannot harvest them all in time. First, we're all short people and our ladder isn't tall enough to reach the top of the tree. The plums are ripening and constantly fall to the ground.

Below: The ground near the plum tree is scattered with deep red, extremely ripe plums.
It's a sad sight. To think I could have picked all of those plums before they fell to the ground. But alas, they all ripen at different times. As I was harvesting today, several plums fell from the tree and I couldn't catch them in time. They ended up being food for the animals. Maybe a rabbit or two will eat these instead of the other vegetables in the garden.

Not to worry, there is still plenty of plums left on the tree. There are branches that are still full of semi-green and pink fruit. Tomorrow is another day and more plums will need harvesting.

Below: More plums to look forward to...


Below: Here is my harvest for today. Two large colanders worth of plums.

If I had to guess, I think both weighed more than 10 pounds each. I don't know what I am going to do with all the plums. They are definitely way too much to eat. They will spoil. Anyone know any good recipes?

I may learn how to make plum jam. Has anyone ever made homemade jam? I'd love tips.

Plum pickin’ fun

This year, the plum tree are full of fruit. More than we've ever had before. The other years that we've had plums, the birds and worms had a taste before we ever got the chance. The plums weren't as red or juicy as this year's. But this year, we've hit the gold pot! Tons and tons of fruit. Enough for the birds, worms, other little creatures and us humans!

The extremely ripe plums have dropped and are now scattered all over the ground. The birds have been picking at them, and they look delicious… If only they weren't on the ground. However, I was able to harvest a few ripe and semi-ripe plums from the lower tree branches. Sadly, the best fruit is still high above in the tree tops.

Above: The ripe plums . . . high above me, beyond my reach

I tried to climb up on a ladder to reach some of the ripe plums, but alas I was too short. (I’m only 5’0). I’m going to have to get Cam (he’s 6’2) to climb and try to harvest them for me. I wanted to make plum preserves, but with the way they are ripening, I don’t think I’m going to have a chance anytime soon.

For some reason, the plums on the lower branches are taking much longer to ripen than the plums on the highest branches. Maybe as the summer passes, I’ll be able to harvest more plums. Well, if the birds don’t beat me to it. Another chance for me to learn the virtue of patience!

Below: My meager harvest for today. Not enough to make preserves, but plenty for a delicious weekend snack.

Thank you for everyone's comments on the snake. My sister has been doing some research, and she says that the snake looked like a rat snake. Not poisonous, but still scary! Hopefully we've seen the last of him.

Harvest Time!

Yesterday, I decided that it was time to harvest another head of lettuce. I was going to follow some of your advice—taking a few leaves of lettuce at a time, so that the head can continue to grow. The only problem is that we have more than six heads of lettuce that are still growing in the garden. Way too much lettuce to eat at once! So I'm going to wait to try the other method when I'm down to 2-3 lettuce heads.

Below: A nice, large head of lettuce ready for harvesting!


The lettuce heads are actually starting to form a head. Cam and I have been waiting all summer for his development! But for this particular lettuce head, I was afraid that if I continued to let it grow any larger, it would begin to seed and get very bitter.

Plus, I was in the mood of creating my signature salad: caramelized shrimp, bite-size oranges, almonds, and refreshing lettuce tossed with balsamic vinaigrette. I know it's not amazing or novel, but I love this salad. It combines all my favorite ingredients. Plus it's chocked full of vitamin C!

Below: A few pictures of the lettuce head after it was harvested. Delicious!

You can tell in the picture that a few bugs got a mini-bite of the lettuce before we could harvest it. I think I should have sprayed the organic insecticidal soap on it, but most of the greens are edible!

At my parent's house, the plums are beginning to ripen. Because of last year's unfavorable weather, their fruit trees didn't fruit. The frost killed all of the flowers. However, this year has been amazing in terms of the fruit production!

Below: A ripe plum ready to be picked.


Below: See how pretty it looks in my hand?

This plum was juicy and delicious! I cannot wait until more fruit ripens, and I can learn how to make jams, preserves and more! It'll be a summer adventure!

Finally, I thought I'd show a picture of some unripe plums on the tree . . . plus a bird nest! It's too high up for me to see into the nest, but I bet there are some eggs waiting for momma bird to come back!

When little visitors decide to make their home in your garden, that's when you know that you're a successful gardener! My parents planted this plum tree about 10 years ago, and it's been home to some adorable baby birds and one rabbit!

Adventures in my parent's garden

I visit my parents every weekend, and something very interesting happened today. I happened to be telling them about my vegetable garden at Cam's house, and they suggested that I grow some vegetables in their garden.

Below: My father and me in his garden



Above: My sister and father after hoeing the land. He hates pictures. Look at his funny smirk.

My parents are expert gardeners. When we lived in Vietnam (I was born there), they grew various vegetables, herbs, and fruit to sell at the open-air marketplace. My mom used to sit outside on the street each morning and afternoon trying to sell their harvest. We lived in a small village called Binh Canh, just outside of the city of Nha Trang in South Vietnam. In our village, the women gathered on the streets of the village to sell their product. You could find everything you needed for the day's meals--meat, vegetables, fruits, salt, pepper, other condiments, etc. And because we didn't have refrigeration back then, everything had to be fresh every day.

Anyway, the point is that my parents really know how to grow vegetables. When we moved to the United States, they continued to garden. Although they no longer grow vegetables, they grow Asian mints to sell to the oriental markets. Their mint garden is always successful and very beautiful.



For some reason, they've slowed down their mint production this year. They're still growing tons of mint, but I guess its not a priority anymore. Instead, their garden has blossomed--literally. They've planted rose bushes... or some type of flower. Because I'm not a flower person, I'm not really sure what type of flowers they are. But they are very pretty.

Above: My 21-year-old sister, Bicky, in the garden.

In addition to the mint and very pretty flowers, my parents also have a fruit orchard. That's what I call it anyway. When I was in 8th grade, they planted two apple trees, two pear trees, and one plum tree. Today, the trees are huge and bear fruit every year. This year, they're fruiting like crazy. I don't know what we are going to do with all the fruit. I'll probably make apple and pear pies. And the plums, we'll just eat.

One year, the family did make plum wine, and it was interesting. But we're best at making wine with grapes. When my dad makes red wine, it's so delicious! Mmm!

Below: The apple trees.



Below: A close-up of a growing pear.


Below: The plum tree.

One good thing about the plentiful plums: the birds tend to eat half of our crop right when it turns red... so we don't have all the extra fruit. Extra crop is a problem with the apples and pears. The birds only eat a few, but the rest just sit on the tree until we pick it.


The apply tree below has a very cool history. My parents didn't buy this apple tree. My dad devoured a delicious apple from the supermarket, and he enjoyed it so much that he saved the seeds. Today, the seeds of that delicious apple have grown to become the tree below.


Unfortunately, the apple was probably a hybrid, so the tree is sterile. The fruit on the tree is tiny and will never grow to a full size. We can't enjoy the fruit, but it does provide nice shade.

Below: My parents also grow Asian persimmons (Diospyros kaki) in the yard. They have several persimmon trees, and each tree always bears fruit. Because it's early in the summer, there isn't any fruit yet. These trees are still very pretty to look at.


If you are unfamiliar with persimmons, you should definitely look it up. It's a really cool looking fruit. In my opinion, the Asian persimmon looks like a tomato plant, only it's orange and the skin is very tough and fibrous.

Below: A photograph of the American persimmon plant from Park Seed.
It's similar to the Asian, except the Asian has a more square-like shape. I'll have to snap a photo of my parents' fruit when it comes in, so you can all see.



Now to something really neat. My parents live near the railroads (it's the price to pay to get an extra large lot). And near the railroad track, there's a very tall plant that grows. From far away, all you see are these beautiful purple flowers. On closer inspection, you notice that there are little peas that grow on the plant.

My sister calls it "the wild pea plant," and my dad says "I don't eat anything I didn't plant myself." But it's still really COOL that it grows out there in the wild. And it does look like pea pods. I slit open a pod, and little peas came out. I almost want to eat it, but I'm not in the mood to have my stomach pumped, in case its a poisonous plant.

Photo 1: The purple flowers that give birth to the peas


Photo 2: The actual pea pods. Cool, isn't it?


In my parents' garden, they also have an overgrown asparagus plant. My dad said he planted it, but then never got around to harvesting it. So it's REALLY grown tall, and sadly it's inedible. (After I took the photograph, he did cut it down).

Below: Overgrown asparagus


Now onto the vegetable garden that my sister and I started in my parents' backyard. We went to Home Depot and bought two tomato plants, two eggplants, one cantaloupe plant, one red bell pepper, two watermelon, one package of cucumber seedlings, one cabbage plant, and a bunch of seeds.

My parents have a raised bed that they plant everything in, and it's seemed to work wonderfully for them for many, many years. I let my dad do the teaching because I trust him as the expert. Everything that he plants always thrives. He really has a green thumb. I hope that after this summer, I can consider myself as a baby expert gardener. :-)

Below: Cucumber seedlings near a mint bed. Look at how tiny they are compared to the garden tools!


Below: One cucumber plant after transplantation.

I watched my dad plant the cucumbers in the raised bed. Unlike me, he dug deep and buried much of the stem. He didn't pay attention to the carton instructions, and it definitely seems much healthier than the cucumbers I tried to plant at Cam's house.

Below: Take a look at the SFG cucumbers.

It's been two weeks since I transplanted them, and they won't stand up straight. I think my father's method is best. But I am a first time gardener, and I'm continuing to learn better ways to garden.

Now onto cabbage. I'm not a big cabbage eater, but I saw the plant at Home Depot, and I decided to give it a try. After being transplanted, it looks healthy. The package said it was a 50-lb green cabbage and that it would take 80-some days before it would be ready to harvest. I guess it will only form one cabbage head. I'm excited. One cabbage is enough for me and my family.


Above: The cabbage after it was watered. It's neat how the water drops just roll off the cabbage leaves!

And being the tomato freak that I am, I had to buy two tomato plants for my new garden. This time, I stayed away from the tiny tomatoes. I went for Roma tomatoes and the Bonnie Traditional. I don't have these varieties at Cam's house.

I'm very anxious to see how it will turn out. I bought plants that already had flowers on them. I figured they would fruit quicker.

Above: My Roma tomato plant.

Home Depot also had different varieties of eggplant. We chose two different types: (1) the classical eggplant you see at the grocery (2) a longer, thinner variety. I can't remember the exact names, but once it starts producing fruit, I'll write it down and announce it!

Below: One of the eggplants. Isn't it a beaut?

I applaud my dad for making the plants look so healthy after transplantation. It was really fun to watch him. A real family learning experience. For me, gardening is a hobby. For my dad, it's his life. He used to do garden to support the family, and I guess it'll always be a part of him. For as long as I can remember, he and my mom have always had a garden of some kind.

Below: A watermelon plant.


I hope you enjoyed this tour of my parents' garden. As my veggies grow in both Cam and my parents' garden, I'll document their journey from seedlings to delicious food that I nourish my body with. :-)

Happy June 2008!