Domaći Dzem od Šljiva/Homemade Plum Jam

Directions

• Wash your plums really well then cut each one in half and remove the seed.
• After all the plums have been cleaned, layer the plums with the sugar in a large, wide-bottomed pot. If you don’t have a wide bottom pot like those traditionally used for jam, you’ll need to split up the plums into a couple of different pots. I had to use 2 for this amount.
• Layer the sugar and the plums until all of the sugar and the plums have been used up. One layer sugar, one layer plums and so on.
  
  If your plums are very ripe, reduce the amount of sugar by 1/3. I find that this ends up being enough if the plums are really sweet naturally. If you have a mixture of both very ripe and just ripe, use the full amount.
• Cover your large pot (or multiple pots) with lids or plastic wrap. Let sit overnight for a minimum of 10 hours to release their juices.
• After the plums have soaked overnight, uncover the pot and add a couple pinches of salt (I used 4 total pinches of salt for this amount). You’ll notice the plums have released their juices and have softened at this point. They will also smell like Rakija 🙂 Turn the heat to medium-high.
• Once the mixture reaches a boil, begin to stir the plums and reduce the heat to medium. Continue cooking and stirring for 50-120 minutes until the mixure has reduced, the plums have cooked down, and the mixture has become thick. When stirring, make sure you scrape the bottom, corners, and sides of the pot to prevent burning and sticking. The amount of time it will take cook will depend on your stove.
  
  If the mixture begins to boil too rapidly, reduce the heat slightly to maintian a consistent boil but not a rapid boil.
• Just before the jam is done, add your vanilla sugar and stir to incorporate. Test if your jam is done by dragging your wooden spoon across the bottom of the pot. If it leaves a distinct track in the jam, it is done. If it runs back in on itself, keep cooking the jam and test again a few minutes later.
• When done, remove from the heat and cover with a kitchen towel then ladle into sanitized jars, and proceed with the canning process (outlined below).
• Canning Process
• Wash your jars and lids with soapy water then set aside. Place jars in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer. Put lids in a separate pot of hot water. Leave jars and lids in water until ready to fill.
• Lift jars out of hot water one at a time, draining water. Ladle hot jam into hot jars using funnel or just a spoon, leaving 1⁄2-inch headspace.
• Wipe rim and threads of jar with a clean, damp dish cloth. Remove lid from hot water. Place lid on jar. Screw band down evenly and firmly, just until resistance is met.
• Using tongs (called canner) lower each jar into the hot water. Put lid on pot. Bring water to a boil. Start keeping time after water comes to a rolling boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes at a gentle but steady boil.
• After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and remove lid. Let pot cool five minutes, then remove jars and set them upright on a dry towel. Do not retighten bands. Let jars cool 12 to 24 hours.
• Once cool, check lids for a good vacuum seal by pressing on center of each jar. If center is pulled down and does not flex, remove band and gently try to lift lid off with your fingertips. If lid does not flex and you cannot lift it off, seal is set. Label each jar and store jars in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 1 year (or more!).