Summer in Oklahoma means lots and lots of wild sand plums. We have so many of these bushes on our 10 acres of land and the wildlife love them.
Once several years ago when we were still homesteading that land, I attempted to make jelly from wild sand plums. I had heard that it could be done with just the fruit, sugar and water. Well either I did something wrong or that recipe was wrong. It never jelled. But the good news is that it still made a delicious syrup for pancakes!
What I would have given then to have this recipe. As soon as the plums start to ripen this year, I intend to give it another shot.
I was rummaging through old recipe forums and found this one that I want to try. When I read the first ingredient I realized what may have gone wrong for me so long ago. It calls for part of the fruit to be under ripe. All the plums I was using then were well ripened. I had not heard of this before so I am very curious to see if this is the key.
Of course this recipe also calls for powdered pectin and that might be the real secret. Ha ha.
I am not sure how many 1/2 pint jars you will need for this one...it didn't say. So have a dozen ready just so you don't run out in the middle of jarring it up. Better to have too many than not enough! Also, don't ask me who Helen Ruth is but we are grateful that she shared her recipe!
Helen Ruth's Sand Plum Jelly
Ingredients
Preparation
Once several years ago when we were still homesteading that land, I attempted to make jelly from wild sand plums. I had heard that it could be done with just the fruit, sugar and water. Well either I did something wrong or that recipe was wrong. It never jelled. But the good news is that it still made a delicious syrup for pancakes!
What I would have given then to have this recipe. As soon as the plums start to ripen this year, I intend to give it another shot.
I was rummaging through old recipe forums and found this one that I want to try. When I read the first ingredient I realized what may have gone wrong for me so long ago. It calls for part of the fruit to be under ripe. All the plums I was using then were well ripened. I had not heard of this before so I am very curious to see if this is the key.
Of course this recipe also calls for powdered pectin and that might be the real secret. Ha ha.
I am not sure how many 1/2 pint jars you will need for this one...it didn't say. So have a dozen ready just so you don't run out in the middle of jarring it up. Better to have too many than not enough! Also, don't ask me who Helen Ruth is but we are grateful that she shared her recipe!
Helen Ruth's Sand Plum Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 lbs sand plums, 3 lbs ripe and 1 lb under ripe
- 1 cup water
- 1 package powdered pectin (1-3/4 ounces)
- 7 cups sugar
Preparation
- Wash and pick over the plums; do not pit or peel. Crush them in the bottom of a large enameled kettle with the 1 cup water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Crush again with a vegetable masher as the fruit softens. Strain through a jelly bag: add a little water to bring the measure up to 5 cups of juice.
- Return juice to the kettle, reserving 1 cup in which to mix the pectin; combine pectin mixture with juice and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugar, continue stirring, and boil hard for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat, skim, and immediately pour into hot 1/2-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headroom. Cap with two-piece screw band lids. Give a 5-minute boiling water bath.
I just created a brand new jar label specially for this recipe.
These will really make your jars look special!
Check it out!
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| Buy it HERE |
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