Gimme da Negatives

This jam is sweet, bright, and a very pretty orange-pink color. I halved the pluots so that they would retain more of their shape as the flesh broke down. This resulted in nice big chunks of pluot. Dinosaur Egg Pluot Conserve Yield: about 4 half pints 4 cups (2lbs) pluots, pitted and roughly chopped 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup thinly sliced lemon peel or zest only Combine pluots, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a large saucepot. Slowly bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook rapidly to gelling point, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, adjust two-piece caps, process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Boiling pluots, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest See those big chunks! For the boiling water bath, I use the tamalera steamer that mum gave me for making tamales; it's the perfect size.

Emerald Beaut Plums and Dinosaur Egg Pluots  from the Silver Lake Farmers' Market The end of summer is quickly approaching, which also means stone fruit season is almost over. My goal is to preserve as much of this summer sweetness as I can. Erin needed strawberries for her first batch of jam, so we met up and went to the Silver Lake Farmers' Market. I bought two pounds each of Emerald Beaut Plums and Dinosaur Egg Pluots to put up in jars. The plums turn a bright yellow as they boil. They also break down quite rapidly; I will chop them into quarters next time so they retain some of their shape. Emerald Beaut Plum Jam Yield: about 5 half pints 5 cups (2 lbs.) coarsely chopped Emerald Beaut Plums 3 cups sugar 3/4 cups water Combine plums, sugar, and water in a large saucepot. Slowly bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook rapidly to gelling point, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch he