Preserved Plums

The Book of Household Management · Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) · 1861
Source
The Book of Household Management
Status
success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (4)
Instructions (15)
  1. Select large ripe plums; slightly prick them, to prevent them from bursting.
  2. Simmer them very gently in a syrup made with 3/4 lb sugar per lb of fruit and water.
  3. Put them carefully into a pan.
  4. Let the syrup cool.
  5. Pour the cooled syrup over the plums, and allow them to remain for two days.
  6. Weigh the other sugar (for the fresh syrup).
  7. Dip the lumps of sugar quickly into water.
  8. Put the sugar into a preserving-pan with no more water than hangs about them.
  9. Boil the sugar to a syrup, carefully skimming it.
  10. Drain the plums from the first syrup.
  11. Put the drained plums into the fresh syrup.
  12. Simmer them very gently until they are clear.
  13. Lift them out singly into pots.
  14. Pour the fresh syrup over the plums in the pots.
  15. When cold, cover down to exclude the air.
Original Text
PRESERVED PLUMS. 1581. INGREDIENTS.—To every lb. of fruit allow 3/4 lb. of loaf sugar; for the thin syrup, 1/4 lb. of sugar to each pint of water. Mode.—Select large ripe plums; slightly prick them, to prevent them from bursting, and simmer them very gently in a syrup made with the above proportion of sugar and water. Put them carefully into a pan, let the syrup cool, pour it over the plums, and allow them to remain for two days. Having previously weighed the other sugar, dip the lumps quickly into water, and put them into a preserving-pan with no more water than hangs about them; and boil the sugar to a syrup, carefully skimming it. Drain the plums from the first syrup; put them into the fresh syrup, and simmer them very gently until they are clear; lift them out singly into pots, pour the syrup over, and when cold, cover down to exclude the air. This preserve will remain good some time, if kept in a dry place, and makes a very nice addition to a dessert. The magnum-bonum plums answer for this preserve better than any other kind of plum. Greengages are also very delicious done in this manner. Time.—1/4 hour to 20 minutes to simmer the plums in the first syrup; 20 minutes to 1/2 hour very gentle simmering in the second. Seasonable from August to October.
Notes
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