Preparing for the winter months in a Balkan household involves lots of pepper-roasting, jam making, and ajvar cooking. I love the process most of all; it serves as a way to connect to my roots, family, and it’s the social aspect of it all that just satisfies my soul. This year, it’s a bit lonely as I’m preparing all of my delicious zimnica alone. But the act of preparing it all shortens the distance between me and home just a little bit. One recipe of many that I love is Plum Jam or Dzem od Šljiva. It’s Balkan cooking at it’s best!
Plums in the Balkans are mainly associated with Šljivovica Rakija, the national drink of Serbia and found throughout the Balkans. Plums symbolize the fruitful orchards bursting with fresh fruit, carefully curated by families for centuries. Plums in my area are harvested by the ton, and when not making their way to the Kazan, the traditional Rakija-making machine, they’re making their way to big pots all over the Balkans ready to be made into delicious jam. Dzem od Šljiva/Plum jam is a staple, often made first when beginning the Zimnica process, and is a irreplacable component of every household’s pantry.
This recipe is very simple and requires only 3 ingredients. Well, 4 if you count the salt. And if you’re like me and like to stir while you cook, then you’re in for a treat. Opposite of making slatko, where you’re not supposed to stir, this one requires that you stir. The entire time. So get your wooden spoons ready!
This jam is delicious on it’s own or you know, in a palacinka or in some kiflice. My favorite way to eat this? On a slice of homemade bread with butter or margarine, topped then a generous tablespoon of jam. Add a glass of milk and it’ll take you right back to your childhood. Whatever way you eat it I know you’ll enjoy it. And it makes the most PERFECT gift for someone during the holidays. Who doesn’t love homemade jam? I know I sure do.
For this recipe in the USA, I use Italian Plums or sometimes called prune plums. I find that this gives the best result. Also, when choosing plums, I look for those slightly more ripe as they will be sweeter and will require less added sugar.
A note about this recipe: The plums and sugar need to sit in the pot you’ll be using overnight for a minimum of 10 hours. You need to layer the plums and sugar the night before intending to make this recipe.
Looking for other sweet treats instead? Check out the dessert and bakery sections! Both have delicious sweet treats to satisfy any sweet tooth!
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Domaci Dzem od Šljiva./Homemade Plum Jam
Course: ZimnicaCuisine: Balkan30
minutes50
minutesTraditional Balkan plum jam recipe!
Ingredients
15 pounds (7 kg) fresh Italian Plums (sometimes listed as prunes)
5 cups (1 kg) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar (2 kesice)
4 pinches of salt
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!).
Notes
- We like our jam with plum skins included, but feel free to peel your plums when you process them to remove the skin. You can also use an immersion blender at the end of the cooking process to blend everything together.
- After opening, keep jam jars in the refridgerator.
- This recipe makes 9 1/2 pint jars. My favorite jars are Ball jars.
