Amazingly Tasty Plum Jam

How to Make Plum Jam:

Cooking the Preserves:1. Cut 12 lbs of plumbs in half, pit them and place in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle well with 4 1/2  cups sugar. Using a large spoon, stir plumbs with sugar until all are coated.  If your plums are overripe or already very sweet, you may only need 4 cups of sugar total. You can add more sugar to taste while its cooking. Let plumbs sit at room temp with the sugar for about 1 hour, or until sugar is somewhat dissolved.

2. Transfer plumbs/sugar mixture in to a large cooking pot.
3. Place it on the stove uncovered and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure if you see a light boil to stir because the whole pot may not be boiling, just the center. If it stops boiling after you stir it, continue boiling until everything is uniformly bubbling, then simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Let the pot stand uncovered until it is just warm to the touch or reaches room temp.

4. As soon as it cools, repeat step 3. You will bring it to a boil a total of 4 times, stirring to prevent scorching the bottom. This is why it takes 2 days to make. It’s really easy though and so worthwhile!  There’s no “set” waiting time between boilings. If 2 days doesn’t work for you, by all means, take 3 days. Preserves have plenty of sugar so they won’t spoil at room temp if you leave it on the counter overnight. If you want the preserves to have an even thicker consistency, you can boil it 5-6 times if you wish. (Note: the fourth time you boil, bring it to a boil over a little lower heat and stir a few extra times to prevent scorching. Also, it thickens more as it cools.)
4. The last time you bring it to a boil you will want to transfer it to sterilised jars while it’s boiling hot.

Note: Current safety standards say that it’s best to put the jars in a boiling water bath with 1-2″ water covering the lid (instead of the baking method) for ten minutes after tightening the lids to preserve shelf life and kill any potential bacteria. 

Custard from scratch

Ingredients

570ml/1 pint milk
55ml/2fl oz single cream
1 vanilla pod or ½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, yolks only
30g/1oz caster sugar
2 level tsp cornflour

Preparation method

1. Bring the milk, cream and vanilla pod to simmering point slowly over a low heat.
2. Remove the vanilla pod (wash the vanilla pod, dry and store in jar with caster sugar to make vanilla sugar).
3. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour together in a bowl until well blended.
4. Pour the hot milk and cream on to the eggs and sugar, whisking all the time with a balloon whisk.
5. Return to the pan, (add vanilla extract if using) and over a low heat gently stir with a wooden spatula until thickened.
6. Pour the custard into a jug and serve at once.
7. To keep hot, stand the jug in a pan of hot water and cover the top with cling film to prevent skin forming.

Hot German Potato Salad

Ingredients

8 potatoes

8 slices of bacon

2 tablespoons plain flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup white wine vinegar 

1 cup chopped green onions

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
3. Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.
4. Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.