Enjoying the Fruit of Summer

My father-in-law was a farmer. He loved the land and anything it produced. He passed that love on to me as  newlywed in South Carolina when my husband and I moved there in 1977. Summer was a wonderful time to be invited to his and Jamye's kitchen. Harris would get an invitation to glean a farmer's peach trees or plum trees. He was always kind enough to take me along and he and Jamye would share the bounty with me. I was enchanted as I watched them freeze and can these gorgeous summer crops. One of these was plums. There in her South Carolina kitchen Jamye taught me how to make plum jelly. I thought it would be so hard...how would it ever setup? How would I get that juice out of the plum? Could I destroy this basket full of plums by ruining the jelly and waste that good fruit? Jamye assured me I was capable of following the Sure-Jell recipe....and a treasure of this delicious sweet spread was born! I rekindled that desire again this week at the Farmer's Market in Asheville, NC. PLEASE take advantage of this incredible market if you are ever nearby. I bought a beautiful basket of wild plums...you want to use the small tart ones, not the larger red ones....the tart mixed with all of the sugar in the jelly makes for a much better flavor. I bought a peach basket full.....which yielded an incredible amount of juice. I was able to make 32 half-pint jars of plum jelly and freeze two 5 1/2 cup recipes of juice to make jelly later if I want...like I will ever need to after making 32 jars!
I would encourage you to give this a try. What a feeling of accomplishment to see that red juice become gifts to share with your family and friends! Let's face it...anything you produce with your hands out of love is a gift from the heart!

If you are interested I will tell you now that juicing the plums is the hardest part...if you consider that hard. Put the washed plums in a large dutch oven. Cover them with water...just enough to cover. Too much water will dilute your plum juice. Put them over high heat and watch the plums burst as the water boils...and there is your juice! Allow the plums to cool in the juice bath. Strain the plums in a colander. If you want just juice lay a piece of cheesecloth (buy this at the paint store) over your colander. If you want some meat from your plums in your jelly strain without the cheescloth. Your juice is now ready to use. It takes 5 1/2 c. of juice and 6 c. of sugar for 9 half-pint jars. Follow the Sure-Jell recipe for cooked jelly. It really is very easy to follow. You can buy really cute jars at any WalMart that will make your jelly into beautiful gifts to give. What a great feeling to share this labor of love with others...and it tastes great!


PS...I was always intimidated by the "hot bath" some cooks use to seal their jelly with after making it. Don't be! Buy a block of Gulf brand paraffin (it is at Kroger with other canning supplies) and melt it by blocks very carefully over heat. Pour a thin layer over each cooled jar of jelly. The paraffin will seal the top of the jelly and keep it from spoiling. Now put the lid on and you are done!