Yum
This delicious spiced Mirabelle plum jam with crunchy almond flakes is great on bread, pancakes, as cake filling, or as cheesecake topping.
I don’t like buying fruit and veg from the supermarket. I have to admit, I really miss the markets in Bucharest – they’re so colourful, so full, and you can see, touch, smell and even taste everything in order to buy only what’s best. For this reason I really like the small local shops that sell fresh and ripe fruits and veggies.
Last week I went for a shopping stroll and found the most flavoursome Mirabelle plums: sweet and with a strong perfume. I had never bought them before, but figured they would create an amazing jam. And so my adventure started: no recipe, just my food thesaurus that gives me ideas of how to pair different ingredients.
I’m still a beginner when it comes to jams, but I received the best compliment a cook could ever receive. My boyfriend told me that it is the best jam he has ever had, and almost finished an entire jar with one batch of homemade pancakes.
Cooking time: approx 2h
Ingredients
(for about 3x200g jars of jam)
1kg ripe mirabelle plums
1 1/2 cup of water
450g sugar
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp mace (or nutmeg)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 heaped tbsp almond flakes
Method
Chop the mirabelle plums. The plums are very soft, so I advise you cut them fairly small in order for the jam to be smooth (1x1cm).
Add the plums to a pot together with the lemon zest and vanilla essence. Add enough water to cover them (about 1 1/2 cups). Boil on high heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the plums have become soft.
Add the sugar and spices (mace, cinnamon, allspice) and turn the heat down to low. Cook it on low heat for about 1.5h. To test the consistency of your jam, you can take a small spoon and let it cool for a couple of minutes, until the melted sugar hardens. If you like your jam relatively liquid, 1.5h of cooking it should be enough.
Store your hot jam in jars and leave them in a cool place. Don’t forget to sterilise and seal your jars!
Enjoy!
Love, happyholism and nom-nom,
Ioana
0 comments
I’ve never tried mirabelle plums before – thanks for bringing my attention to them. This jam looks and sounds fabulous! Xx
I actually didn’t even know they existed. I went to a shop and they had them there, so I wondered what they were. They smelled really nice and they were very ripe, so I decided to buy them. This jam is really tasty actually. My boyfriend gave me the best compliment ever by saying it’s the best jam he’s ever had 🙂
The ingredients list has almond flakes but the repice doesn’t say when to add them. Are these just for when you serve the jam? Also do stir during the 1.5hrs low cooking time. Thank you very much for any input – I am a told novice jam maker! 😊
Hi Em,
Sorry about that, it must have been my mistake. I initially made this jam with the almonds inside, but now I wouldn’t do it that way. I’d toast them in a pan (no oil), just a little bit, before they turn dark brown, then just top the jam with them 🙂
You’ll need to stir every now and then, otherwise stuff will burn at the bottom.
Hope that helps, let me know how it turns out!
Ioana