Wild Plum Jelly!

On our daily walks, Lacy and I found several trees bearing fruit that, with the help of Cathleen Garcia (first and second grade science teacher at school), we decided were plums. The fruit was not as big as the plums you would see at the store. If you've ever seen a plum tree out and about somewhere apart from an orchard, you've probably noticed the big mess that happens under the tree when the fruit gets ripe. It can be a slimy mess. Ruthie and I crawled around on our hands and knees selecting the fruit.



The next step is cleaning the plums. I dumped them into a sink and ran water over them.







Then, I inspected each one to make sure they were clean.

I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but the next step is that we pitted each and every plum. That takes a good amount of time and makes your hands sore.

Next, I processed The pitted plums in the food processor and dumped them in a pot with a little water and simmer them for about 20 minutes.






Next, I layered several layers of cheesecloth in a colander, set that on top of a cooling rack placed over a large mixing bowl. I put the cooked fruit mixture into the cheese cloth and left it for several hours to filter the juice. Be very careful not to squeeze or press down on the fruit because it will make your final product cloudy.




Next, mix the beautiful clear juice with the appropriate amount of sugar as listed in whatever recipe you're following. Also follow the recipe with regard to how long to cook it and when to add the pectin.



Next, process it in a water bath canner for the appropriate amount of time indicated in your recipe.




Finally, VOILA! Jelly! This picture doesn't capture the beautiful clear red color, and it certainly doesn't capture the AMAZING flavor.

If you have a fruit tree in your life somewhere. Let me know and I can make jelly or jam from that too!