Made Plum Jam 1st time ever, now a Question:

Used very ripe plums, water and sugar, sieved it all through, it set, the jars sealed etc.Tastes way tangier than the bought stuff and husband's well pleased.The question is this:as it has no preservatives in it must I keep the jam jar onced opened in the fridge? or will it be okay in the cupboard? and how long will it keep once opened depending on where I keep it?Many thanks to all you long suffering chefs out there dealing with obvious and mundane questions from amateurs like me!(but bless my sox I try! haha!)

I always put opened jam in the fridge.My preference however I think it would be fine in a cool cupboard for a week.Good on you for giving jam a go.Its not as hard as one may think.I've run out of jars now though except for the giant agee ones!

May seem weird, but I keep jam in the freezer. Keeps it tasting fresh

...sugar is the preservative in jam...if the fruit was not spoilt...and you used the right amount of sugar for the amount of fruit to preserve it...and the jars and lids were sterilised...then it should keep for a year or so...they didn't have fridges 60 years ago...everything went into the pantry...i remember cleaning out my grandmothers pantry and she had jam and chutneys in there that were 7-8 years old...still looked fine...although i wasn't going to eat them mind...

If jam stays too long in the fridge it turns crystalline and thickens.But darlingmole, it sounds as though your large family won't let it sit there long enough for that.

I'm with jessie981 - the freezer, except for the small amount set out for general consumption.

I make jam in small quantities but what I do do is boil the fruit with or with out water until soft amd mushy then freeze this. Write on lid ie 1.5kg plums for jam, requires sugar.
Then when needed I grab it out tip into pan and thaw, then slowly bring back to boil, remove stones/skins if need be, then add sugar and lemon juice. Means I can make out of season jam and I dont have heaps in the cupboards waiting to be eaten.

You're right elliehen~my big family is more like a swarm of locusts, especially at school holiday time!My mixture made 7 jars so that should last about 2 months (ish) if I'm lucky.
And cgvl that's a brilliant idea about freezing in lots for later in the year ~ never thought of that and will proceed to do that.
Gardie: you're right about jam making being quite easy but I'm always a little nervous trying something new that could be a potential disaster that no one wants to eat ha ha!

Thanks for all the feedback people ~ as usual I am not disappointed with everyone sharing their ideas and experiences (gota love this place x)

Freezing does keep the jam tasting fresh-made and I always freeze both jams and chutneys till I need them for that reason but jam does keep for years - literally.The only issue is that over time it darkens and tends to shrink and become stiffer. I tend to make a big lot of each type of jam, chutney and sauce every second year rather than smaller batches of each every year.

if your worried about it setting just add half an apple that you have grated you can do this with any jam your making green apples are best but any will do as long as you keep the skin on and grate that in too . if your worried about shrinkage get the wax they use for sealing jam and pickles and melt that on top you just dig it out when you come to use the bottle and wash and reuse .works well

Used very ripe plums, water and sugar, sieved it all through, it set, the jars sealed etc.Tastes way tangier than the bought stuff and husband's well pleased.The question is this:as it has no preservatives in it must I keep the jam jar onced opened in the fridge! or will it be okay in the cupboard! and how long will it keep once opened depending on where I keep it!Many thanks to all you long suffering chefs out there dealing with obvious and mundane questions from amateurs like me!(but bless my sox I try! haha!)

I always put opened jam in the fridge.My preference however I think it would be fine in a cool cupboard for a week.Good on you for giving jam a go.Its not as hard as one may think.I've run out of jars now though except for the giant agee ones!

.sugar is the preservative in jam.if the fruit was not spoilt.and you used the right amount of sugar for the amount of fruit to preserve it.and the jars and lids were sterilised.then it should keep for a year or so.they didn't have fridges 60 years ago.everything went into the pantry.i remember cleaning out my grandmothers pantry and she had jam and chutneys in there that were 7-8 years old.still looked fine.although i wasn't going to eat them mind.

If jam stays too long in the fridge it turns crystalline and thickens.But darlingmole, it sounds as though your large family won't let it sit there long enough for that.

I'm with jessie981 - the freezer, except for the small amount set out for general consumption.

You're right elliehen~my big family is more like a swarm of locusts, especially at school holiday time!My mixture made 7 jars so that should last about 2 months (ish) if I'm lucky.
And cgvl that's a brilliant idea about freezing in lots for later in the year ~ never thought of that and will proceed to do that.
Gardie: you're right about jam making being quite easy but I'm always a little nervous trying something new that could be a potential disaster that no one wants to eat ha ha!

Thanks for all the feedback people ~ as usual I am not disappointed with everyone sharing their ideas and experiences (gota love this place x)

when I was a kid, my grandmother who lived with us, made every kind of jam imaginable. No fridge, the jam was stored in the pantry. Sometimes it developed a bit of mould on top. This was scraped off and the jam eaten.
No adverse affects on anyone.

even open I keep mine in the pantry as I dont like it cold.

bump for other plum jam makers.

I just made some pink plum jam. 95% of the plums were yellow skinned, 5% were yellow with red blush and the jam turned out pink. Tastes great. I just put mine in the pantry. If it goes mouldy (doesn;t really get a chance mind you) I just scrape it off. Still alive after 50years of this.

cgvl - what a good idea. I will do this in future.

hi gardie, what a pity you are so far away. I have a heap of jars.

just love plum jam.never had any go mouldy, except some peach jam Imade last year. I always put wax on my too.

It should be fine but I keep mine in the fridge once opened anyway.

Made Plum Jam 1st time ever, now a Question:

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