Yesterday, my kids and I were invited over to my friend Ellen's house to can fresh plums with her. I had never canned before and while the visit originated as a way for my kids to have a fun experience canning, I ended up being the one who delighted in the process the most. Her plums are out of this world delicious. And we got a little taste of the water bath canning process.

Making and canning jam isn't as hard as it seems. Maybe it was because Ellen patiently walked us (me) through the step by step process. Or maybe it was that she had all the right tools for waterbath canning and everything prepped. Whatever it was, I walked away, wanting to can more!

We picked the plums from Ellen's gorgeous Santa Rosa Plum Tree....So yummy!


She had the jars,the lids, the pectin, sugar, the stock pot, and the jar lifter. We were set!


I was so enthralled with the process that I forgot to take down notes for a tutorial. We cut the fruit, added pectin, boiled it down, adding in sugar, poured it into the jars, sealed them, put them in the boiling water, etc. You can probably find step-by-step instructions at pickyourown.org (although even they make it sound more complicated that it really is.)

Ideas for plum jam:

• Spread on scones, bagels, and breakfast breads
• Slather it on pork roast (Ellen's suggestion)
• Cookie, ice cream and jam parfait
• I am thinking of using my jam to make this (below) delectable stuffed french toast with plum jam and cream cheese!