Rosemary French Prune Jam

 

A couple of weeks ago I came across Holistic Squid’s Rosemary Fig Jam.

Now, maybe it was her beautiful pictures, the contrast of the luscious, dark purple figs with the fresh greenness of the rosemary… maybe it was her description of figs as erotic…

Maybe it was just, as my husband tells it, that I have a Jam Making Problem…

But, whatever it was, This. Jam. Had. To. Happen.

I just had one teeny-tiny problem. Holistic Squid hails from sunny Southern California… and I am from Upstate New York, where right now our most brilliant yellows are coming, not from the sun, but from the maple trees as they dress up for Fall.

Translate this as: No Figs in October.

You can, with patience, care, and luck, convince a fig tree to grow around here… ideally on a southern facing stone wall not more than a quarter mile from Lake Ontario. But even if you did, figs are Summer fruit… and Summer has long since said goodbye.

What we have, here in Upstate New York in October is prunes. These snotty little plum-like things–French prunes, to be exact–are everywhere at the Public Market, peeking enticingly out from between baskets of apples. I’m not sure if they are a reasonable substitute for figs; I am not sure that I have ever eaten a fresh fig.

However, French Prunes are a deep, luscious purple.

You can make jam out of them.

And, as it turns out, they are quite lovely with rosemary.

Rosemary French Prune Jam

Note: This recipe calls for Pomona’s Universal Pectin, which is a little different than “regular” pectin, but easy enough. Excellent directions come with the pectin, but if you want a quick tutorial on how to use it, you can find one here. If you are curious exactly how I found out about Pomona’s Universal Pectin (it fell on my head; honest) and why I use it instead of “regular” pectin, you can check out this post. 

What you need:

4 cups of prunes, pitted and chopped finely; there is no need to peel them

1/2 cup of raw honey, divided

2 T lemon juice (I use this kind.)

1/2 cup white wine (I used Salmon Run’s Chardonnay Riesling — not an affiliate link)

4 tsp calcium water–don’t worry; this is explained in the “refresher course” above, and in the package directions. Plus, the calcium for the calcium water comes with the pectin

3 tsp Pomona’s Universal Pectin (get it here)

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

A large pot with a lid and a rack like this to keep the jars off the bottom of your pot. When canning jam, I find that a large pot (deep enough for 1-2 inches of water over your jars) and a cooling rack work best.. While a water bath canner is an awesome thing to have, it is absolutely not necessary for this jam!

Canning utensils

Jelly jars, with (new) lids and rings. This recipe makes about 3 half pint jars, but I find that this recipe lends itself better to 4-ounce jars.

 What you do:

Combine the prunes, 1/4 cup of the honey, and the lemon juice in a bowl. Let it sit for about half an hour.

Place the prune-honey-lemon juice mixture into a saucepan over medium heat. Add the rosemary. Add the white wine and the calcium water. Stir often.

In a separate bowl, add the pectin to the remaining 1/4 cup of honey. Mix well. This takes a minute or two, but the pectin should completely dissolve into the honey.

Bring prune mixture to a full boil. Slowly add honey-pectin mixture, stirring constantly. Stir vigorously 1-2 minutes until the honey-pectin mixture is completely incorporated.

Return to a boil.

Take the mixture off the heat, pick out as much of the rosemary as you can without burning your fingers, place in jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, and can properly in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. (Remember to adjust for altitude, if necessary!)

This jam is really excellent with cheese and crackers, maybe with a little white wine. It is also excellent on pork chops.

If you are looking for more recipes in which to use Pomona’s Universal Pectin, it has its own book…Preserving with Pomona’s Pectin: The Revolutionary Low-Sugar, High-Flavor Method for Crafting and Canning Jams, Jellies, Conserves, and More, which is full of recipes that I just love. And a Rosemary-Wine Jelly, which I simply cannot wait to try!

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This post was shared on Nourishing Joy’s Thank Goodness It’s Monday, More the Merrier Mondays at DIY Home Sweet Home, Homestead Barn Hop at The Prairie Homestead, Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday, Tuned-in Tuesday at Healthy Roots, Happy Soul, and Happy Garden Mama’s Tuesday Greens! And on Holistic Squid’s Party Wave Wednesday, Wellness Wednesday at Intoxicated on Life, Whimsy Wednesday at The NY Melrose Family, and Herban Momma’s Wildcrafting Wednesdays! And, also, on Thank Your Body Thursday, The HomeArcre Harvest Hop at The Self Sufficient HomeAcre, and Small Footprint Friday, Natural Family Friday at Natural Family Today, and Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!

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