Fruit

Roasted Plum Jam

by:
August 11, 2018
4.6
8 Ratings
Roasted Plum Jam
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Makes about 2 pints
Author Notes

This is my laziest way to make preserves: Just toss your fruit of choice with a bit of sugar, lemon juice, and any flavorings on a sheet tray. Macerate for a few minutes and roast until the fruit is soft and the juices thicken. Then, while it’s still hot, mash the fruit with a fork or potato masher, and transfer to a jar to cool. The resulting “jam” is easy to make, super adaptable to any kind of fruit, and can be made using much less sugar than traditional jam. You can make it with more or less fruit than is listed here, and adjust the other amounts to taste. It will keep for up to 1 month in the fridge, and freezes quite nicely in freezer jars. —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds (1.36 kg) fruit of choice, not peeled, pits/stems removed, and sliced or chopped (can be overripe, underripe, or perfect – doesn’t matter!)
  • 3/4 cup (149 g) granulated sugar (can be more or less, depending on how your fruit tastes)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 handful flavorings (such as a few pinches of salt or dried spices, vanilla bean seeds, a splash of booze, etc.)
Directions
  1. On a baking sheet, toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon juice, and any flavorings. Let macerate while the oven preheats.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and roast until the fruit is very soft and the juices have thickened a bit (they may even start to turn dark at the edges of the tray). Cooking time will depend on the type of fruit—smaller, softer fruits like berries will take 15-20 minutes, larger, firmer fruits like stone fruit may take 20-30 minutes.
  3. When the fruit is very soft and tender, remove it from the oven. While it’s still hot, use a potato masher or large fork to mash all the fruit on the tray. Transfer to a jar or other storage container and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.
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  • Hannah
    Hannah
  • eluu
    eluu
  • Erin Jeanne McDowell
    Erin Jeanne McDowell
  • Makie
    Makie
Erin Jeanne McDowell
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

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11 Reviews

Makie
Makie May 16, 2021
Be cautious, My loquats had so much natural juice that I had hot fruit sugar syrup flowing over the side of the baking pan. What a serious mess! Still the loquats are perfect for the chutney I'm making.
 
Hannah
Hannah January 21, 2020
Has anyone tried ginger jam with this method? Or rhubarb? In any case, I can’t wait to try a mix of the two come early spring!
 
eluu
eluu December 2, 2020
Would love to know if you've tried this! How did it turn out?
 
Julie
Julie September 9, 2018
I loved the idea of this. But after thirty minutes of cooking, my peach mixture was absolute soup, and I had to save it and make it to something more resembling jam by cooking down the liquid to the gel stage, and then adding the fruit back in. That was pretty labor intensive. Maybe with plums, or something with a higher pectin content?
 
Debbie C.
Debbie C. August 22, 2018
I made this with peaches. Tastes wonderful but is a bit runny. Any suggestions?
 
BellaRasa
BellaRasa August 22, 2018
Just made this and it's the only way I will be making jam from now on. Not only is it easy, it's low sugar and the roasting maintains the plum flavor. Thanks for sharing!
 
FS
FS August 19, 2018
Could I substitute thawed frozen fruit for the fresh? I'd go broke buying 3 pounds of fresh raspberries ...
 
Michele
Michele August 19, 2018
Would it be possible to roast the fruit then can it to preserve it?
 
Katie
Katie August 14, 2018
Do you think this would work with apples (given many are less juicy than, say, berries or stone fruits)? Thanks!
 
kbland10@gmail.com
[email protected] August 14, 2018
I just made this with apples and it is delicious but i left the peels on. Undecided about that since it isnt completely smooth. I did it at 400 for 30 minutes with brown sugar and True Lime. Tastes like delicious apple butter.
 
Erin J.
Erin J. August 15, 2018
Great response! I was going to say if you keep the temperature as recommended, you may need to increase the roast time - but it will definitely work!