Preserving memories

and a recipe for Italian plum jam to make winter better

My mother was the queen of preserving.

It followed along with her inbred philosophy of using everything and wasting nothing, born from a childhood of barely modest means and hard work. We rarely bought canned anything: starting in August, the gleaming glass Mason jars would line the counters, filled with a quick succession of peaches, tomatoes, pickles, plum jam. Along with the homemade wine and the butchered pig, we were well provisioned for the long winter months ahead.

As I grow older, the memories of my mother seem to be more and more centred in the kitchen. Like a good fairy sitting on my shoulder, I feel her presence most strongly when I cook. I imagine her curiosity about ingredients she hadn’t tasted before, or cooking methods she hadn’t tried; her sweet tooth’s delight in a tarte tatin or hummingbird cake; her approval of using leaf lard in pastry dough; her instinctive hand with pasta and pizza dough.

Were she here, we might start cooking too impossibly late in the evening to make sense - canning tomatoes, say - a task that would keep us up until the wee hours. For no matter how much she might have nodded off in front the television earlier, her night owl nature was always just a cooking project away.

Though she didn’t make bread often - hers was a propensity to bake the sweet breads of festivity like pannetone - there was always a scarpetta on the table to sop up the last of the sauce in the pan, or on the plate.

Her love of food became mine, and it’s a legacy I cherish dearly.

Before her life in Canada

A lifetime of memories

As I write this, 30 years have passed since she left us. A lifetime of memories, and laughter and joy she would have savoured. But also a lifetime of gifts that she gave us. Stories to tell, traditions to share.

That plum jam seems to play in my memory the most. Rich, gooey and delicious, we used it for everything from thick buttered pieces of Italian bread to stuffing for gnocchi (check out my recipe for gnocchi di susine here). With Italian plums in season and in abundance at the market, I knew it was time to make this childhood favourite today. To both honour her memory and also to celebrate her love of life and its abundance.

It’s a small gesture. But one that bring back, in a rush, all the goodness that came from that tiny kitchen, that huge heart.

My mother in her impossibly small kitchen with my two sisters.

Plum Jam

makes 4-5 half pint jars

In my sister’s capture of my mother’s recipe, she uses only plums and sugar, and cooks down the jam in the oven, giving the final product a deeper flavour and thicker consistency. almost like a plum butter. I like to cook the jam low and slow on the stovetop, and I add lemon juice to balance the sweetness, for a more traditional jam finished product.

While many recipes call for the jam to be put through a food mill to remove the plum skins and create a super smooth consistency, I skip this step. The long cooking breaks down the fruit and skin into a delightfully spreadable treat, ready for that lovely warm piece of toast and butter.

Notes on canning stone fruit:

Stone fruit is naturally rich in pectin and high in acidity, so doesn’t require any additional pectin before canning. While it may seem logical to choose very ripe fruit for its sweetness, choose the “just ripe” fruit, as stone fruit loses both pectin and acidity as it ripens.

Ingredients

2¾ pounds (1.2 kg) Italian plums, washed, halved and pitted

8 ounces (228 grams/1¼ cups) granulated sugar

Juice of half a lemon, strained

Four-six pieces lemon peel

1. Place the plums, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel in a large, heavy non-reactive stockpot and cover for a minimum of 30 minutes so that the fruit begins to release its juices.

2. Bring the plums up to a boil over medium heat, and then reduce to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring to avoid sticking, for 3 hours. The jam is ready when the plums are completely soft and broken down, and has become thick and syrupy.

3. To test if the jam is ready to can, place a small saucer in the freezer. When the jam seems to be the right consistency, place a spoonful on the plate and put back in the freezer for one minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate: if the jam runs together, it's not ready; if the funnel you've created with your finger remains separate, the jam is ready.

4. Can the jam* and leave it to cool. The jam is shelf-stable and will keep for several months - if you can wait that long to eat it. If you don’t want to can the jam, you can also store it in jars in the fridge; consume within two weeks.

*Below is a step by step guide to canning the jam. You can also refer to this detailed step-by-step guide from Bernardin.

Canning Plum Jam

Equipment you'll need:

Canning pot or oversized stockpot
Mason jars (4 oz or 8 oz size)
Two piece snap lid closures
Canning tongs
Canning funnel

1. Prepare the Mason jars. Wash the jars and lids in warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly. In a large canning pot (or regular oversized stockpot), place the clean jars, submerge in water and bring to a simmering boil until ready to use.

2. When the jam is ready, and using the tongs, carefully lift and empty each jar of water, pouring the water back in the stockpot (keep the water simmering, replenishing if needed to ensure that the jars will be completely covered by one inch when placed back in the pot). Place on a clean tea towel.

3. Place the funnel in a jar and carefully ladle the hot jam in, being careful to leave a ½" at the top. Wipe any excess jam off the top of the jar, place a lid on the jar, and put a metal band (threaded lid) on, turning so that the band is on securely but not too snugly.

4. Using the tongs, carefully place the filled jars back in the water, and bring to a boil. Be sure that the water is a generous 1 inch above the jars. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove the jars with the tongs and place on the tea towel and let cool. Don’t tighten the lids, although may have loosened. Your jam jars will "pop" as they are cooling: this is a good thing! It means the jar is properly sealed.

5. Once the jars are cooled (at least 12 hours), you can test the seals in the following ways:

   - Look for a concave lid

   - Press the lid. if there is no give in the centre, your lid is sealed

   - Tap the lid with a spoon. There’ll be a high-pitched ringing sound when the lid is tapped.

   Check The Spruce for a great explainer on this.