homemade sweetness

the other day i bought some sweet plums from the fruit stall at the corner of my block, ate a couple with mr.beehive that night, and then totally forgot about their existence...

until yesterday when i opened the vegetable compartment of the fridge, and saw these poor little plumpy jewels of juicy redness hanging in there, i knew i HAD to do something about it...

and look what i made from this...

to this...

turns out making homemade jam is so ridiculously easy & simple that you wouldn't even believe it! all you need is some fruits (in my case... plums), water & sugar. and that's about it!

steps
1. cut the washed plums in half, and remove the stones.

2. cut plums into small pieces. (you may want to remove the skin after cooking, but i like the slight sourness of it.)

3. add water into the pan until it starts bubbling.

4. add plums to the pan. simmer until the fruit is pulpy, stir in brown sugar and bring it to a boil until it reaches setting point.

5. remove from the heat, pour mixture onto a cold plate (place it in fridge in advance) and let it cool down.

6. jam is set when you run your finger through it and leave a crinkly track mark. if after two minutes the cooled jam is still too liquidy, continue to boil the jam until you have the right set. (i like it slightly runny though, it tastes more delicious.)

tips

- you can use any sorts of berries, stone fruits (peaches, apricots, nectarines, plums), citrus (orange, lemon, lime) or even apples and figs, whichever that suits your tastebuds.

- some recipes say that in order to enhance the flavor, you may crack some of the stones, remove the kernels and add them to the boiling water. just make sure you remove the kernels from the jam before potting.

- sterilising the jars (which i totally forgot about at my very first homemade jam attempt!!!) is simple. just boil the jars and lids for 5 - 10 minutes in water, and they are ready for pot, cover and label.