This sugar free wild plum jam is sweetened with a bit of honey and spiced with cloves and anise. Easy and delicious step-by-step recipe.
Picking ripe wild mirabelle plums straight from the tree was so much fun! I had plenty of plans for them: sugar free wild plum jam, Georgian tkemali sauce, blueberry plum galette (coming soon!) and of course eating them raw for breakfast on top of my oatmeal. Today I’m sharing a wild plum jam recipe with you, which is sugar free and spiced with cloves and anise. It smells and tastes so good, that it’s currently my favorite jam.
Spices give it a unique Christmassy aroma, which is making me to look forward to Christmas now, in the middle of August. I’m not sure I made enough jam to survive until then, because we already emptied 4 of the 6 jars I made! If you are planning to store it longer, make sure to double or tripple the recipe. It’s really that good!
The best thing about this jam (besides its wonderful taste) is that it’s absolutely guilt-free! No sugar, just a bit of honey and agar-agar powder to thicken it up. The consistency is just right, so you can spread it on a toast (or homemade French brioche), top your oatmeal or yoghurt with it or even add it to salad dressings (like I did). This wild plum jam is healthy and delicious, so I can’t think of a reason not to go to this mirabelle plum tree again and make even more wild plum jam!
How to Make Sugar Free Wild Plum Jam
The procedure of making it is really simple. You can use any plums for this recipe, not necessarily wild. Pit your plums, blend them (or don’t, depending on what consistency you like more), add honey and spices, bring to a boil and add agar-agar powder, dissolved in a bit of hot water. Then simmer for about 20 minutes until it’s nicely thickened.
Sterilize your jars before transferring the jam into them. I usually boil them for at least 15 minutes together with lids. This jam isn’t made for storing longer than a month in the fridge.
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Check the recipe below for additional details:
Sugar Free Wild Plum Jam
Ingredients
- 1 kg or 2.2 lbs wild plums
- 5 tablespoons honey (or more to your taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves ground
- 1/4 teaspoon anise ground
- 2 teaspoons agar-agar powder
- 100 ml or 1/2 cup boiling water
Instructions
- MAKING JAM: Pit your wild plums, blend them (or don't, depending on what consistency you like more), add honey, ground cloves and anise and bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk agar-agar powder with boiling water until smooth. Add it to plums and simmer for about 20 minutes until it's nicely thickened.
- CANNING: Sterilize your jars before transferring the jam into them. I usually boil them for at least 15 minutes together with lids. This jam isn't made for storing longer than a month in the fridge. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are some more canning, pickling an preserving recipes for you:
What is your favorite way of making a “healthy” jam? What kind of sweetener do you usually use? Leave a comment below!
Cheers,
Elena
Esther Vallins says
Hi there,
This looks amazing, but wondering if you could recommend a substitute for agar agar, as I am allergic to it, of all things!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Esther, that would be pectin or pectin sugar. I guess you will need more pectin than agar-agar. You can check the instructions on the package. Hope that helps!
Sar says
Im going to make this , I found a tree on a walk in the country and this sounds so good.Thank you for your really good website 🙂
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Sar, thank you so much for your lovely feedback! I hope you enjoy the recipe and make the best out of the plum season 🙂 I picked up plums for this recipe from a tree somewhere in the fields. Glad I found it! 🙂
Brittany says
Your recipe sounds wonderful, however it is NOT sugar-free. The honey and even the plums themselves contain sugar. In your nutrition facts label it even states there are 13.2 grams of sugar per serving (how much is a serving?). A better title would be ‘refined sugar-free’ because you are not adding refined sugar. Honey would count as adding a sugar, too. For people who need to be aware of their sugar/carbohydrate consumption (i.e. diabetics) it is important for them to know this info and stating a recipe is sugar-free when it really is not is misleading. I do applaud you on creating a healthier version of the typical recipes with large amounts of refined sugar, though! I have a plum tree in my back yard and will have to try out your recipe with all the plums I have coming on!
Elena Szeliga says
Hi Brittany! Thank you so much for your feedback! That’s a question of terminology: I obviously mean refined sugar free, as you wrote. I guess if you have serious health issues like diabetes, you probably know that you shouldn’t consume honey, right? 🙂 Anyway. I really appreciate your feedback and hope you use this recipe when your plums are ripe!