1. Ingredients

Plum: 1.5kg
Brown sugar: 700g
Ginger: 1 branch
Salt: a little
Lime water: a little
Honey: 2 cups

2. How to make soft plum jam

Step 1: Prepare ingredients

Soak the plums in diluted salt water for about 30 minutes. Then, use your hands to scrub each plum under water, then drain.

Use a knife to make deep cuts around the plum and soak it in lime water for 4 hours. Next, wash the plum thoroughly with water several times.

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Use a knife to make many deep cuts around the plum. Photo: giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn

Peel the ginger, wash it and crush it. Squeeze out the juice and put the pulp in a separate bowl. Dry the ginger pulp in a roaster or oven to prevent mold.

Step 2 : Marinate plums

Boil a pot of water, add plums and blanch for about 1 minute, then remove and soak in ice water for 10 minutes.

Remove the plums from the basket and place them on a high place to dry completely. Next, put the plums in a large bowl, add 700g of brown sugar and mix well.

Soak the plums for about 12-18 hours. When the plum juice flows out, dissolve the sugar. The longer the plums soak, the more juice they release and the more thoroughly the sugar is absorbed.

If you have time, soak it a little longer, the soft plum jam will be less sour.

Step 3 : Plum stew

Take out the bowl of plums, stir the sugar at the bottom and then pour the plums into the pot. Boil the plums until the water in the pot boils for about 5 minutes then turn off the heat.

Next, scoop the plums into the pan and add the plum juice from the pot to the pan so that the water covers half of the plums.

Next, pour the ginger juice into the pan and cook over medium heat. While cooking, occasionally use chopsticks to gently stir the plums so they dry evenly. Don't use too much force or the plums will be crushed.

When the plums are almost dry, add honey and stir well. Honey will help the jam taste better and have a beautiful shine.

When the plums in the pan turn slightly black and the sugar water in the pan is just thick, turn off the stove. Remove the pan from the heat to avoid burning the plums.

Step 4 : Dry the plums

Take the plums out and put them in a basket to drain the water. You can use the spring roll skimmer to hang the plums and let the water drain back into the pot of boiling water. Then, sprinkle the dried ginger on top of the plums.

As for the plum water, you put it in a glass jar and store it in the refrigerator for later use. This is plum syrup, which makes a delicious drink.

When the plums are dry, place them on a tray to dry. During the day, when the sun is strong, take the plums out to dry. Remember to keep the plums in a high, clean place to avoid insects and dirt. At night, bring the plums inside and turn on the fan to dry them.

If you want to eat dried, chewy plums, dry them for about 4 days. If you want to eat soft plums, dry them for 3 days.

Step 5 : Finish

After drying the plums, store them in a clean jar, sprinkle some dried ginger on top for flavor and use gradually. If you put the jam in the refrigerator, it will last longer.

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Attractive soft plum jam. Photo: bachhoaxanh

3. Notes on making soft plum jam

To make delicious Hanoi- style soft plum jam, you should choose firm plums. Plums that are just ripe enough to touch should feel firm, not mushy or soft. If you use overripe plums, the jam will be crushed and will not retain its beautiful shape.

Choose to buy fresh plums with signs such as: round fruit, still has stem and leaves, shiny, not mushy, not wormy.

The plum cutting step is quite important. It will determine whether the plum jam is even and beautiful or not. You can cut it vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

When cutting plums, make sure the cuts are even and do not overlap. Do not cut the plum completely and avoid cutting all the way to both ends. If you do this, the plum will be very easy to crush.

If you remove the seeds, the time to soak the plum flesh with sugar will be faster. Put the seeds in a cloth bag, tie it tightly and soak, cook, and simmer together. Then when finished, take them out.

When making plum jam, you should use minced/crushed ginger so that the plums can absorb the ginger's aroma more easily.

The amount of sugar when simmering can be increased or decreased depending on your preference. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar to the soak.

When stewing plums, you should stew them in one layer to avoid the plums overlapping each other.

After drying the plum jam in the sun, put it in a glass jar, cover it carefully or put it in a tightly tied plastic bag.

Also, store the plum jam in a cool place, away from sunlight, or in the refrigerator. This can extend the shelf life of the jam up to 5-6 weeks.

If you like to eat the plum jam while it is still soft and wet with sugar, you can stop at the step of cooking the jam. If you want to store it in a jar, then dry it in the sun as per the full instructions above.

Hanoi's soft plum jam meets the requirements of being naturally soft and chewy, with a light ginger aroma and the characteristic sweet and sour taste of the fruit flesh.

This dish is delicious when spread on bread, mixed with yogurt or used to make plum sauce ribs or pan-fried duck with plum sauce.

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