Homemade Cinnamon Spiced Plum Jam

This Cinnamon Spiced Plum Jam is an amazing way to preserve the the sweet flavor of your plums. It is a super delicious jam with soft, sweet junks of plum and an amazing spicy and sweet flavor making you feel all nice and cozy. Basically Fall in a jar!

The inspiration for this cinnamon spiced plum jam

Story time!

Plum is a fruit I have never really liked as a kid. However, one day we got a cinnamon spiced plum jam from our gardener and wow I was instantly obsessed! Ever since I am addicted to the jam and so is my dad. We need a jar of our favorite jam in the fridge at all times!

Nowadays I really like plums. You can eat them in so many ways and they just say fall! This year I decided that everyone should be able to enjoy the delicious jam I so love and decided to start recipe testing till I get it!

My family usually use a gelling powder to make our jams. However, after some research I found out that this is not very common in the rest of the world. Then I thought I could just make my jam with a little sugar as plums have a lot of natural pectin in them. However, depending on how ripe the plum is the jam might not properly set.

So, I needed a solution that makes sure that the jam will set and is available around the world. The classic way of making jam here in Switzerland is with gelling sugar. Gelling sugar is white sugar mixed with fruit pectin and citric acid. Jackpot! Most either knew what gelling sugar is and can easily get it or do have the separate ingredients to make it themselves.

Next I had to decide what gelling sugar ratio I will use to make my jam.

The gelling sugar ratios:

There are 3 different ratios typically used to make jam:

The 1:1 ratio:

1 part sugar and 1 part fruits

This ratio is the most commonly used ratio. Using that much sugar makes a very sweet jam. However, this version also has the longest shelf life as the sugar content is so high that the micro organisms can no longer spawn. Therefore, it gets very sweet but you can keep it for a very long time. Normally you can keep the jam even outside the fridge.

The high amount of sugar makes sure that the jam gels very well, especially with the extra pectin in the gelling sugar. Thus, the 1:1 ratio is perfect for fruits with a low amount of pectin like strawberries or cherries.

The 1:2 ratio:

1 part sugar and 2 parts fruits

This is my preferred ratio to use. It makes a much less sweet jam. However, with half the amount of sugar the shelf life gets reduced. After opening the jam you should keep it in the fridge.

The 1:3 ratio:

1 part sugar 3 parts fruits

This ratio makes a very fruity jam. However, the sugar is so low that the jam will not be good for very long. Most gelling sugars with that ratio have extra preservation agents in them to make sure you can keep the jam for a bit longer.

Alright, the third ratio automatically was not an option for me. When I make jam then I do it in big batches and need it to be good for a long time. The 1:1 and 1:2 ratio are very similar to each other. Here it really depends on your taste. Do you like it rather sweet or less sweet. The shelf life with both ratios is more than enough for normal use.

After testing both ratios I came to the conclusion that the 1:2 ratio is definitely my favorite. I have a sweet tooth but the 1:1 ratio is to much!

Therefore this recipe uses the 1:2 ratio. Feel free to use the 1:1 ratio, I tested it and it was good, just to sweet for my taste.

Are you ready to make this sweet and cinnamony jam to preserve all those beautiful plums and eat them all year around instead of just during autumn?

Ingredients for homemade cinnamon plum jam:

• Gelling Sugar: Gelling sugar is a commonly used way to make jam. If you can not get it where you live then I have a recipe to make it yourself below.

• Plums: Make sure you get sweet, ripe plums.

• Cinnamon Sticks: Cinnamon is the perfect pairing for the sweet plums and create an amazing fall flavor that soon will be a family favorite in your home. Make sure you get medium sized or big cinnamon sticks and not the small ones.

• Lemon Juice: The lemon juice increase the acidity in the jam as ripe plums are very sweet and help improve the set of the jam.

Homemade gelling sugar:

• 1kg sugar
• 20g pectin
• 10g citric acid

How to make homemade cinnamon spiced plum jam

Prepare the plums

Wash your plums.
Remove the stone and cut them small. I usually cut them in half and then each half into quarters. If you do not like big pieces in your jam then feel free to chop them even smaller.

Next you want to sterilize your jam jars in order to make sure they last long. I have a post on that if you don’t know how to. Make sure the jars are hot when the jam is ready. You want to pour the hot jam into the hot jars to make sure the jam lasts as long as possible.

Make the jam

Then add all ingredients to a big pot and bring it to a boil.
Let it cook for 5 minutes and keep on stirring so it won’t burn.
Turn off the heat and remove it from the heat.

With a spoon take some of the jam out, put it on a cold small plate and let it set in the fridge. That way you can test if the jam cooked long enough to actually set. Normally this isn’t a problem with plums cause of their high fruit pectin but I still always do the test

Finally you put a spoon into the hot jars and fill the jam into them.

Lid on and let it cool completely.

Shelf life of cinnamon spiced plum jam

How long a jams shelf life is depends on where and how you store it.

Store your jam in air-tight sealed jars. You can extra seal your jars after filling them with the jam to make sure they stay good extra long. You can do it in your steamer if you have one (each steamer is a bit different so read the manual it is explained in there) or you put the tightly closed, filled jars into a 10 minute water bath in boiling water.

Your jam will be good for up to 1 year when stored in a cool, dark place. Chill your jam in the refrigerator once opened. If you keep the jam in the freezer your jam can last up to 2 years.

Freezing is the best method of keeping your jam fresh and vibrant in color. Therefore, I highly recommend keeping 1 jar in the fridge to use and freeze all other jars.

The longer you store your jam the more it looses taste and its consistency. So, try to consume the jam within the first 6 months to get the best flavor.

Bigger batches:

You might ask yourself if you can make bigger batches of this jam.

You can absolutely do bigger batches. However, I would do it in 2 different pots. The more fruits and sugar you add the longer it needs to bring the whole mass to a boil and the jam will not turn out the same way.

Ways to use this cinnamon spiced plum jam

• Spread it on bread
• Have it on sweet bread like banana bread
• make PB and J with it, seriously the best!
• On pancakes or crepes

Other homemade recipes you might like:

Homemade Mint Extract Recipe – Oh Sweet Cultureshock

Fresh Homemade Basil Pesto – Oh Sweet Cultureshock