Plum Butter: Arguably The Best Use Of Plums

What’s the difference between plum butter and plum jam, you might be wondering? While jam is typically made of cooked fruit with the addition of pectin to make it somewhat gelatinous,  fruit butter is basically a reduced fruit puree. Fruit butters are usually silkier, more spreadable, and use waaaay less sugar. Plus, while time-consuming, they tend to be a bit easier and less finicky to make. If you want to, you can heat process the plum butter and it will keep longer, but chances are you’ll end up using it up pretty quickly anyway!

How To Make Plum Butter

Ingredients

• 4 lbs plums, pitted
• 1 orange (zested and peeled)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup honey (less if your plums are very ripe and sweet, more if they are on the tart side)

Directions

1. Puree the plums in a food processor or blender. Put the puree through a fine mesh strainer and discard the skins.
2. Pour the puree into a heavy-bottomed pot and add about a tsp of orange zest as well as 3 tbsp of orange juice along with the vanilla and honey. Stir well to combine.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook, stirring periodically, for 75-80 minutes (or until the butter has a pancake batter consistency).
4. Taste the plum butter at this point and make any adjustments you need – more honey if it’s too tart, a squeeze of lemon if it’s too sweet, etc.
5. Once the plum butter has thickened, allow it to cool. Pour it into jars and store in the fridge OR heat process for longer storage.