Plums

Hubby brought me home a bucket-full of plums.  Ooh!  They taste delicious, but it’s too many for me to just eat.  So I’m working on figuring out what to do with them.  I came across this recipe on a site today, and although it sounds like a lot of time being consumed, it does sound interesting.  And in just a few short weeks I may just have….. Sugar Plums!

Sugarplums(and other stone fruits)

1-2 pounds of plums (any variety) fully ripe but not too soft
lots of white granulated sugar
a large, heavy saucepan, preferably enamel or stainless so you can leave the plums in
a wire rack — a cookie cooling rack works very well — set up over a cookie sheet covered with wax paper or a dehydrator

Wash the plums, cut them in half and remove the pits. Do not peel the plums.

Put a thin layer of sugar in the bottom of the saucepan
Lay the plums halves, cut side down, on the sugar in a single layer. Add enough sugar to completely cover the layer of plums, then lay another layer of plums on top. Continue layering until all the plums have been used and are covered.

Put the pan on the stove over the lowest heat possible. The sugar needs to dissolve in the plum juices without burning. While this is happening, stir very gently and scrape the sugar away from the sides of the pan. Try to disturb the fruit as little as possible.

When all the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat until the syrup comes to a gentle boil.

Let the fruit boil for one minute, then remove the pan from the stove.

If you used anything but glass, enamel, or stainless, gently transfer the plums to a different pot/bowl/crock or whatever.

Carefully place a plate over the fruit to keep it submerged in the syrup. Cover with the pan lid or a clean dish towel and let soak for three days. The soaking process should be at room temperature.

After three days, carefully remove the fruit (I don’t remove the fruit) and bring the syrup to a boil. Gently return the fruit to the syrup, bring to a gentle boil again and let boil for one minute. Remove from heat and repeat the soaking process. Repeat the boiling and soaking process one more time, for a total of nine days soaking and approximately 3 minutes boiling.

After the last soaking, remove the fruit from the syrup. Heat the syrup again and dissolve one additional cup of sugar in it. Let the syrup boil until it thickens somewhat (it may darken as well, depending on what variety of plums you’ve use), add the fruit again and allow it to boil gently for four minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat. With a slotted spoon, carefully remove the plums one at a time from the syrup and rinse the excess syrup away under cool, gently running water.

Spread the plums on a wire rack and put in a warm dry place.
Turn the plums every other day. When the plums are almost dry (they should still feel a bit sticky) roll in granulated sugar. Finish drying.

The drying time may be anywhere from a few days up to about two weeks, depending on local weather. When the plums are completely dry, store in an air-tight container.

Now, what else to do with all those plums???

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