It’s plum season. How great is that? Plums are my favorite stone fruit.
This season I was fortunate to get a large bag of home-grown plums from my friend Karen. (Karen is also the adored dog walker for Blue Cayenne’s Chief Taster and Chief Quality Officer, Sweet Juliet. Karen’s many kindnesses are legendary around here.)
Today’s featured recipe is for a wonderful Plum, Rum and Raisin Conserve. This isn’t Blue Cayenne’s first rodeo with plums, though. Below you also will find some other wonderful plum recipes you may want to try this season while the plum supply is bountiful. (Or, you can, of course, just sit in your pajamas enjoying slice after slice of perfect toast slathered with the Plum, Rum and Raisin Conserve. Your call.)
Here is today’s recipe for the Plum, Rum and Raisin Conserve. This recipe is from Olia Hercules’ wonderful Ukrainian cookbook Mamushka. You can buy the book on Amazon here. or through your local bookstore. Hercules writes in her book that this conserve, beyond being delicious smeared on a piece of toast, makes a great Christmas gift or a mincemeat substitute for pies. Can’t wait to try this wrapped in a flaky pie crust!
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Plum, Rum and Raisin Conserve
Ingredients
- 1/2 C, golden raisins
- 6 T. run
- 7/8 C. soft dark brown sugar
- 4 1/2 T. clear honey
- Grated zest and juice of one lemon
- Grated zest and juice of one orange
- 6 T. water
- 1 pound pitted and chopped plums
- Vanilla paste to taste (I used 1 T.)
Directions
- Step 1 Add rum to golden raisins and soak overnight.
- Step 2 Combine sugar, honey, juice of lemon and orange (and zest) with 6 T. water in a pan. Bring liquids to a boil. Add plums and soaked raisins along with the rum and vanilla paste. Lower heat to a simmer and simmer for about 45-60 minutes.
- Step 3 When the mixture is thick, remove from the heat to cool a bit. Store in refrigerator .
But don’t stop with the conserve recipe, here are a couple of other ideas for this plum season.
First, it doesn’t get a lot more beautiful than this delicious Almond Butter Cake With Cardamon and Baked Plums. You’ll find the recipe from Blue Cayenne’s archives here.
Here is an exceptional (and quite stunning!) plum tart recipe: Plum Tart.
