Larder Love

The best preserving recipes plus easy cooking and baking too

  • ALL RECIPES
    • PRESERVES & LARDER
    • COOKING & BAKING
    • COLLECTIONS & CUISINES
  • TIPS & TRICKS
    • HOME HINTS
  • MY COOKBOOKS
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT ME
    • PRIVACY
Home » Homemade Jam » Spiced Plum And Apple Jam

Spiced Plum And Apple Jam

Author: Karon Grieve Published : September 2020

Recipe
plum and apple jam
spiced plum and apple jam pin image

I love autumnal fruits and berries. And this plum and apple jam mixes two of my favourite fruits. Throw in the added spices and this tasty jam makes the winter months far more cozy.

spiced plum and apple jam

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • This plum and apple jam is super simple and easy to make with just a few ingredients.
  • Versatility; You can make this plum jam recipe your own by changing the spices to suit your own taste.
  • It’s useful – Don’t just think of this easy plum jam as something to spread on your toast in the morning. It goes great with a cheeseboard and is particularly good stirred into sauces and gravy, especially for duck or pork.
  • Economical – you can use foraged apples and plums to make this amazing plum and apple jam so that costs you nothing!

This simple plum and apple jam for me is the taste of autumn in a jar. It’s warming and spicy, sweet and fruity. We are saying goodbye to the summer berries and hello to the richness of autumnal fruits.

plums and apples in a basket

When I was growing up we had an ancient apple tree in our garden. The neighbour’s plum trees hung right over our wall. The bounty from those trees was always eagerly awaited.

My brother and I would climb the apple tree and grab as many as we could and scale the wall for the plums.

But my Mum got first dibs for her jam making. My Mum made this plum and apple jam every year. While she just used to spice hers with cinnamon I’ve added a few more warming spices to ramp up that flavour.

cooking up the fruit

Ingredients for plum and apple jam

Plums You can use any plums you like to make this plum jam.

Apples Again, use any kind of apples that you have to hand here, though I would step away from the bitter cooking apples for this plum and apple jam recipe.(again, use any apples here)

Sugar You can use either plain white granulated sugar or a light muscovado sugar for this jam, I’ve gone for a mixture of both! The muscovado sugar will give a light caramel type flavour to your plum and apple jam. If you use a darker brown sugar the caramel flavour will be much stronger. The choice is yours.

Spices – I have used a good mix of spices here; cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, allspice, fresh ginger and a bay leaf. You can select the spices that suit your own tastes and what you happen to have in the larder.

Sugar notes;

I’ve used a combination of two types of sugar in my plum and apple jam. You can easily just use all white sugar if you like. But I love the depth that the muscovado sugar adds to this jam.

Spice options

If you don’t have whole spices as I’ve used here you can use ground spices. For this plum and apple jam recipe, I’d use 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp ground allspice and 1/4 tsp ground ginger.

The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

spoon of jam and splats

How to make plum and apple jam

Peel the apples core them and chop into chunks. Try to keep the chunks about the same size as that helps things cook quicker and at same time.

Remove the stones (pits) from the plums and cut into quarters. You don’t need to peel the plums.

Now make a little spice bag out of a piece of muslin and pop in the plum stones and the spices you’ve chosen. Tie this together with string.

Toss all ingredients (apart from the sugar) into a deep pan, add water and simmer gently for about 15 minutes till the fruit is soft and tender. Give it a good squish with a potato masher to crush everything down to pulp.

Add the sugar and let it dissolve, then raise the heat to a boil and skim off any scum that forms as it’s boiling.

Once it reaches the magical setting point of 105C (about 10-12 minutes) remove from heat, scoop out the spice bag and ladle into sterilised jars.

Pro tip

Using the plum stones adds extra flavour to your jam. The plum stones themselves give off an almost almond like flavour. So don’t let them go to waste.

jar of jam with spoon on top

New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.

Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;

How to make great jam and marmalade

How to make cool curds

How to make great jelly

How to make chutney and relish

How to sterilise jars and bottles

Sticky situations – troubleshooting your preserves

Different types of preserves

My favourite preserving kit

How long will this jam last?

Like most of my jams (only the sugar-free jams are different), this plum and apple jam will keep for up to a year. Once opened store it in the fridge and use within a month.

Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.

jam spoon on counter

How to use plum and apple jam

Don’t just think of this tasty jam as something to spread on your morning toast.

Oh no, this spiced plum and apple jam is way more versatile than that. Think outside the jar my friends!

I like to use mine on a cheeseboard, it goes really well with rich mature cheeses.

Add plum and apple jam to a simple toasted cheese sandwich to lift it to new heights.

Thin the jam a little with water and use as a glaze on pork when roasting. You can do the same with root veggies too.

You can make a great plum sauce with this jam by adding some soy sauce and water. Or just thin it down and use as a glaze on roast duck too.

Stir the plum and apple jam into Greek yogurt or your overnight oats for the perfect quick breakfast.

Want a hearty winter brekkie, then stir this plum jam into your porridge for a great start to the day.

Add some brandy (just a splash) and then use this jam as a topping for really good quality vanilla ice cream and you have the perfect almost instant dessert!

group of jam jars and spoon on top

How much jam does this recipe make?

I got 5 little 150ml jars from my plum and apple jam recipe. I like making small batches of jam with any fruit I have to hand. Just double up the recipe to make a bigger batch.

I like giving my jams away as presents at Christmas and little jars are great for this.

larder links

Looking for more plum jam recipes? Then check these out before you go;

Completely sugar free spiced plum jam

Plum jam with walnuts and brandy

French mint and mirabelle plum jam

Plum jam with Chinese spices

Refined sugar free chia plum jam

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.

Photos And Tips AboveMost of my recipes have step by step photos and useful tips plus videos too, see above.
spiced plum and apple jam

Spiced plum and apple jam

Karon Grieve
A rich and fruity jam with lots of spices perfect for everything from toast to glazing meat and as part of a cheeseboard or dessert topping too
4.75 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Comment Bookmark Saved! Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course preserves
Cuisine British
Servings 50 servings
Calories 72 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 375 g plums
  • 625 g apples any type
  • 500 g light brown muscovado sugar
  • 300 g granulated sugar
  • 300 ml water
  • 1 small cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise
  • 3 cardamom pods split
  • 3 allspice berries
  • 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 bay leaf
Metric – US Customary

Instructions
 

  • Peel and core the apples and roughly chop
  • Remove stones (pits) from plums and quarter them (keep the stones)
  • wrap all spices and the plum stones in a piece of muslin and tie with string this is your spice bag to add flavour
  • heat the plums, apples, bay leaf and spice bag with the water and simmer for about 15 minutes till fruit is tender. Give it a squish with a potato masher
  • Add the sugar and let it dissolve completely then raise heat and boil till you reach the setting point (105C) remove from heat and ladle into sterilised jars
  • Dispose of used spices and bay leaf and wash muslin for future use

Notes

Calories shown for one serving of my plum and apple jam which is approximately 1 tablespoon.
Your plum and apple jam will keep for up to a year in a cool cupboard, once opened store in the fridge and use within a month.

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 0.1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.01gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 3mgPotassium: 41mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 33IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.1mg
My Top Tips*Always read the full recipe first. *Assemble all your ingredients and everything you need before you start. *For baking check the size of tins I’m using as this makes a big difference to your cakes. * I use medium sized eggs unless otherwise stated. * I use extra virgin olive oil unless otherwise stated. * I use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated. * Check out My Preserving Kit!
Tried this recipe?Mention @LarderLove or tag #LarderLove

Filed Under: ALL RECIPES, Autumn/Fall, Foraging Recipes, Homemade Jam

« Traditional Scotch Pancakes (drop scones) +video!
Quick and Easy Tomato and Mascarpone Soup »

Comments

  1. Michelle says

    September 17, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    Can this jam be hot water bathed to seal the jars? If so, how long? Thank you!!!

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      September 17, 2020 at 4:09 pm

      Hi Michelle
      I don’t water bath mine but you can do this. I’d do it for 10 minutes.
      Hope this helps.
      K

      Reply
  2. Margo D says

    October 8, 2020 at 10:39 pm

    5 stars
    I made this the other day when I found some plums at the store. I am keeping one jar to use when I make the Brown Butter Apple Cake. The jam is excellent. I had a little syrup left over, and served it over treacle pudding.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      October 9, 2020 at 11:15 am

      Hi Margo
      So thrilled you like the jam so much and are also keeping some to make my brown butter apple cake. Love the idea of serving this with treacle pudding, yum!
      K

      Reply
  3. Margo D says

    January 8, 2021 at 5:36 pm

    Update: Because I am lifetime Weight Watchers, I used Splenda granular substitute, and Swerve brown sugar substitute. That way it has zero points per serving of 2Tablespoons.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      January 9, 2021 at 9:31 am

      Hi Margo’
      What a great idea and a way to make a lovely jam without sugar guilt.
      K

      Reply
  4. Madeleine says

    September 23, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    How many jars or ml does this make?

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      September 29, 2022 at 9:10 am

      H Madeleine,
      I’m a little confused by your question as it says both in the recipe card itself how many jars of jam this makes and also has this in the post itself – I got 5 little 150ml jars from my plum and apple jam recipe. I like making small batches of jam with any fruit I have to hand. Just double up the recipe to make a bigger batch.
      K

      Reply
  5. Barb says

    February 18, 2023 at 5:20 am

    4 stars
    My first try at jam making. It was delicious! I used a Dutch oven and was surprised at how jam really splatters when boiling. Lol totally worth it. I changed a couple spices, no bay leaf, double cinnamon. But it worked out beautifully.
    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      February 22, 2023 at 9:55 am

      Hi Barb
      Glad you liked it so much.
      K

      Reply
  6. Reanna says

    September 19, 2023 at 3:59 am

    I just tried this recipe with some wild plums. I accidentally forgot the light brown sugar! Would you happen to know if I opened all my jars up and recooked it with the brown sugar would it still be okay? Ugh… shouldn’t have made this at night while tired:(.

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      September 19, 2023 at 9:22 am

      Hi Reanna
      Open the jars, pour into a pan, add the sugar and bring it to the boil till you get to setting point. Remember to sterilise the jatrs again before pouring back into them.
      K

      Reply
  7. Scott Spencer says

    September 22, 2024 at 12:37 am

    HI Karon,
    I have made a few of your Jams with alcohol so far and all are perfect for the hair of the dog morning !!
    What alcohol would you recommend to add to this ? I’ve noticed you use Gin a fair bit, not sure if this is a British thing or not ( I’m Aussie but Yorkshire and Huddersfield parents) so I’m wondering is vodka too hard or is it the juniper in the Gin bringing out fruitier flavour ?
    I also may have no clue ? love to know your thoughts.
    Cheers
    Scott

    Reply
    • Karon Grieve says

      September 25, 2024 at 12:44 pm

      Hi Scott
      Glad you like my recipes so much. If you wanted to add some booze to the plum and apple jam I’d go with whisky or rum as they are both warming type spirits which would go well here I think.
      K

      Reply
4.75 from 8 votes (6 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Karon Grieve

SEARCH MY SITE

Follow Larder Love

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Trending Now

elderflower jelly
wild garlic salt
homemade dandelion liqueur
gentlemans relish on toast with jar behind
rich and creamy mushroom soup
quick and easy simple scones recipe by larderlove

Summer Recipes

raspberry jam
chocolate scones on plate
dandelion and walnut pesto
smoked salmon muffins
chicken fajita traybake
red pepper chutney in jar with sandwich
blackcurrant jelly with coffee
nasturtium caper in jar

See more Summer recipes...

BUY MY BOOKS

Karon Grieve books
my foodgawker gallery

Follow Larder Love

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Privacy Policy & Disclaimers

 

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright Karon Grieve - Larder Love © 2018. All Rights Reserved.

  • 92

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.