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    Home » Recipes » Cooking Tips » Wild Plum Recipes: Plum Jelly & Plum Fruit Leather

    Wild Plum Recipes: Plum Jelly & Plum Fruit Leather

    Published: Aug 24, 2015 · Modified: Apr 23, 2018 by Bren

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious plum jelly and plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe that uses the entire plum (minus the pit). Try finding and picking some today, they are a delicious treat from nature.

    (Learn to pick plums and prepare the juice in this article, then check out my Wild Plum Jelly recipe and No Sugar Added Plum Fruit Leather.)

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    Collecting Free Supplies

    My father likes to call me the “Scavenger Martha Stewart.” It’s a nickname I picked up after gathering pine cones from the balcony of my fist apartment to make fall wreaths for my friends and neighbors.

    The habit has stuck as I’ve moved around the United States. I’ve collected blackberries from ditches to make cobbler; fall leaves to make wreaths; mussel shells and driftwood from beaches to make vase filler; and even rocks to edge flower beds.

    Now that we are living in the Midwest I collect wild plums to make jelly. My suburban neighbors have lots of questions when they see me out on a dog walk, tote bag in hand, picking the ripe fruits from the wild edges of our common areas.

    I am only too happy to explain that I am making wild plum jelly.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    Wild Plums of the US

    There are around 30 varieties of native wild plums growing in the United States. These include the:

    • American plum (also called Creek plum or Wild Goose plum) that grows in Midwest
    • Pacific Wild plum (sometimes called the Western Wild plum) that grows in Oregon, California and Nevada
    • Sand plum or Sand Hill plum that grows in the southern U.S.
    • and many more varieties!

    These tasty treats are smaller than domestically raised plums and are generally not as sweet. They are about the size of a large cherry and range in color from yellow to red.

    Wild grown plums can be tart or sweet but they have a huge plum flavor. They are the perfect fruit for making fruit leather and jelly.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

     

    How to Prepare Wild Plums for Recipes

    1.Pick the plums once they are firm but soft to the touch and easily fall from the branches. The skin of the plums may appear dusty and can be marked with black splotches from growing wild.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    2. Wash the plums.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    3. Cut the plums in half , remove the pits and any bad spots. The pits should easily pop out. (Tip: If the plums are not ripe enough to easily remove the pits set them aside for a day or two and they will ripen.)

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    4. Place the plums in a saucepan with ½ cup of water per 4 cups of plums. Simmer the plums until the fruits are soft and easy to mash with the back of a spoon, about 15-20 minutes.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    5. Line a colander with a double layer of cheese cloth and place over a collection bowl. Spoon the hot plums into the colander and allow the juice to run into the bowl for about an hour.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    6. You should get approximately 1 cup of pulp and 1 1/2 cup of juice from 4 cups of pitted plums.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

    7. Use the juice in this Wild Plum Jelly recipe and reserve the leftover plum pulp for making No Sugar Added Plum Fruit Leather.

    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.

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    Wild plums are a forgotten American delicacy that can be used to make delicious wild plum jelly and wild plum fruit leather. It’s a two-for-one recipe! Learn about wild plums, how to make plum jelly, and how to make fruit leather with no sugar on BrenDid.com.
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    Wild Plum Fruit Leather Using No Refined Sugar »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anne K

      August 24, 2018 at 1:53 pm

      My juice is no where near as bright as yours, did I do something wrong?

      Reply
      • Bren

        August 27, 2018 at 12:27 pm

        No! It can just be the original color of the plums! 😉

        Reply
    2. Heather Roberts

      July 25, 2016 at 8:53 am

      I came here via pinterest thinking there would be a recipe for the jelly and fruit leather based on the image that was posted. Maybe change the wording on it?

      Reply
      • Bren

        July 25, 2016 at 10:00 am

        There is actually a link at the top and bottom of the post to the jelly recipe and fruit leather recipe. This article about preparing the juice got so long I had to give them each their own page. Thanks for stopping by Bren Did!

        Reply

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