Plum Butter

Today I have a super simply recipe to share with you guys for plum butter- it’s SO good on toast, pancakes, or in a sweet little cake recipe I’ll be sharing with you guys in a few weeks. This is such an easy recipe and it would work perfectly with plums or any stone fruit.

Sometimes it’s nice to have something sweet, tart, and a little jammy in the fridge plus if you’ve got some leftover fruit this is the absolute perfect thing to do with plums. Even if they are a little over-ripe, they will work perfectly here. Let’s get to it!

How to Make Plum Butter

We’re starting out with, you guessed it, some fresh plums. I find that plums vary pretty dramatically in size, so I recommend using a scale for this recipe so you can be sure you have the right amount- for me this took about 5 fresh plums this time.

In a medium saucepan, combine the chopped, pitted plums with water, sugar, and some fresh lime juice. This mixture gets cooked down and simmered for about 15-20 minutes, until the plums are very soft, the mixture has thickened and reduced, and everything is very bright reddish pink color.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt and vanilla bean paste. Then use an immersion blender to blend everything into a smooth butter-like consistency. This can also be done by transferring the mixture into a normal blender or food processor if needed!

And that’s it- you can store this in the fridge in an air-tight container for 2-3 weeks and enjoy it on every dang thing in the meantime. I’ve even made iced lattes with it and it’s AMAZING!

Tips & Tricks for Plum Butter

This is a super simple recipe but I have a few tips to help you along the way:

• How do I know how many plums to use? Since plums are often slightly different in size, I recommend weighing your fruit here. You’re shooting for 1 pound of fruit once the pits have been removed. For me this was about 5 plums this time around.
• Don’t stress about chopping evenly because everything will get blended up after cooking. You want the fruit roughly chopped so the inside is exposed and things can cook evenly, but it’s not super serious!
• How do I know when it’s finished cooking? The plum mixture should have reduced and thickened significantly as the plums break down. It will also become a deep pink-reddish color and the plums will be very soft.
• What if I don’t have lemon juice? I used lime juice for this batch and it was stunning, so lime or lemon juice would work perfectly. Optionally, you can also swap in something like apple cider vinegar instead. We’re working with a very small amount to simply brighten up the flavor profile here- I’d cut it in half if using vinegar!
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people between about 3,000-7,000 ft. above sea level do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes. That said, this recipe should work well at most altitudes!

Enjoy!

Print

Homemade Plum Butter

Servings 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh plums
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbs. fresh lemon or lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or extract

Instructions

1. Pit your plums and chop them into rough chunks, leaving the peels on the plums. In a medium saucepan, add the chopped plums and the water and bring this mixture to a simmer, cooking the plums for 15-20 minutes, or until they are softened and some of the water has evaporated.
2. Stir in the sugar, lemon juice, and salt, and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes. The mixture should be reduced slightly and the plums should be very soft.
3. Use an immersion blender or a potato masher to blend the mixture to mash the plums and create a thick, jam-like consistency. Let the jam cool completely before making the cake.

Nicole Hampton

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!