Home canning helps gardeners preserve their harvests for year-round use. Canning plums is a great way to maintain the quality of your fruit, while helping you remain more self-reliant. Learning how to can plums is simple and protects the flavor of your fruit without the use of chemicals. With this helpful excerpt from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Complete Guide to Home Canning, you’ll learn the hot pack process for canning plums in a boiling-water canner. Try this and our other canning resourcesto help you stock up after each harvest.
The following is an excerpt from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning covering how to can plums.
Canning Plums — Halved or Whole
Quantity: An average of 14 pounds is needed per canner load of 7 quarts; an average of 9 pounds is needed per canner load of 9 pints. A bushel weighs 56 pounds and yields 22 to 36 quarts — an average of 2 pounds per quart.
Quality: Select deep-colored, mature fruit of ideal quality for eating fresh or cooking. Plums may be packed in water or syrup.
Procedure: Stem and wash plums. To can whole, prick skins on two sides of plums with fork to prevent splitting. Freestone varieties may be halved and pitted. If you use syrup, prepare very light, light, or medium syrup.
Hot pack — Add plums to water or hot syrup and boil 2 minutes. Cover saucepan and let stand 20 to 30 minutes. Fill jars with hot plums and cooking liquid or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Raw pack — Fill jars with raw plums, packing firmly. Add hot water or syrup, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
Adjust lids and process.
Processing directions for canning plums in a boiling-water, a dial, or a weighted-gauge canner are given in the Image Gallery.