- ByLizzie Moult
- April 29, 2015
- 20 Comments
- 06 Recipes, Lifestyle
Davidson Plum jam is a rare preserveas itcan only be found in the Northern part of NSW and South East Qld. Davidson Plums grow on a native plant in our local area and are found in rain forests and dense bush. They tree originated in the Northern Rivers however can only be grown in the same micro-climate making them rare.
Roy and I are not big jam eaters but the other day one of our farm gate customers brought us some Davidson Plums to exchange for veggies. Boy did Roy’s face light up when he saw them. I got them to the kitchen immediately and started to make jam. As the only jam that Roy does like is Davidson Plum.
Next week Roy is home again and we will have to crack open a jar to see what it tastes like, to see if I can spark any childhood memories for him. I am a little nervous about my jam as it was hard to find a recipe, I had to ring around to a few ladies I know to see how they do it. In the end I went back to the standard jam recipe. Equal parts fruit to sugar, a little lemon for tartness – mind you these plums are naturally tart to begin with. I thought I would fancy it up by adding a vanilla pod.
The verdict will be given next week, stay tuned. . . In the meantime do you have a unique fruit or berries in your area?
Davidson Plum Jam
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Lizzie Moult, www.strayedtable.com
Recipe type: preserves
Serves: 2 jars
Ingredients
- 700 g davidson plums
- 700 g sugar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways
Instructions
- Start off by washing your plums and then cutting them in half and removing the two seeds in the middle. Place them into a non reactive pot. Weigh the plums and add equal parts sugar. 500g = 500g sugar ect.
- Add the lemon juice and vanilla pod and heat the mixture over a moderate heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a light rolling boil and allow to simmer for an hour or until the mixture has slightly thickened.
- Test the mixture by putting a small amount on a saucer and place in the freezer for a minute to see if it sets.
- Once the mixture is ready, pour out into to jars. Put the lids on immediately and allow to cool before storing.
Lizzie Moult
Planning, cooking, chasing kids & running an online business; it might seem like there is a lot going on. Yet Lizzie is all about living simply and creating a flexible lifestyle that enables plenty of travel, adventure and quality time. A lifestyle writer and photographer for over 10 years for numerous publications, working online for over 14 years Lizzie also works as Cognitive Behavioural Therapist to help people live a life with passion & purpose without people-pleasing, imposter syndrome and seeking approval at www.lizziemoult.com.
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20 Responses
I’ll bet your jam is going to be fabulous! Waiting to hear all about the taste test. 🙂
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Beautiful coloured and textured jam Lizzy.
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Yum…that’s all I can say, would have been nice on the pickets we made for afternoon tea today. Kathy
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That jam looks delicious. Homemade jam is the best.
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Terrific blog Fen!
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How did the Davidson Plum jam taste?
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I’m just about to make some Davidson Plum jam and would like to use your recipe……but would love to know how yours turned out! Would you make any adjustments to the recipe after tasting the finished product.
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These are maybe more common in the Wet tropics around the tropical North Queensland coast. My grandad used to make this jam and it’s probably my favourite. Tart and full of flavour much like Rosella jam.
I have just got my first batch of my tree I planted in the back yard a few years ago and can’t wait to make this.Reply
I have 4 Davidson Plum trees in a small rain forest we planted. Lots of fruit on this year, I am into my 4th lot of jam making today. Only difference I have to your recipe is I add some Lemon Myrtle leaves (which I remove later), and I use lime juice. I’ve been experimenting with different techniques and the last one I simmered the fruit first then removed the seeds, roughly skinned them and blended the skins before adding them back to the flesh, they can be rather tough. Doesn’t take long then to cook, about 20 minutes. Everyone in my extended family love this jam.
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Hey Ann, thanks so much for sharing your recipe. It sounds like it is well tested and adds a whole new layer of goodness when you add lemon myrtle and lime – YUM. This recipe was my first ever batch when we lived on the Sunshine coast. I am happy to report we live in the rainforest again where Davidson Plums originated from. Going to give your mix up ago. Thank you
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Hi Lizzie,
I made a batch of this yesterday as it looked yum! However it has turned into solid rocks in my jars?! I`m wondering if you have any suggestions about what may have happened… the only thing I can think of that was done differently was using an aluminum pot to cook it in.
Would this of had that effect?
Any help appreciated 🙂
Thanks!Reply
Hey, the pot would not have that much of an effect – its all about sugar to picton ratio and it sounds to me your Davidson Plums might have a large picton level which means that the jam sets super hard. Usually, with jams it’s about equal parts fruit to sugar. Where your plums juicy or were they hard?
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Just looked at your site to see if you knew about the pectin content of Davidson plums before I decide whether or not to add some to mine (from my garden in Cairns FNQ). No problem I’ll test the jam myself. Saw Indhu’s post which reminded me of a friend in Northern NSW who made this jam & it was inedible as it was solid & very tough skinned. The reason? Not necessarily the sugar content but because he just threw everything into the pot & cooked it up together, which My English Mum taught me jam making principles at an early age. The first step is always to gently simmer the fruit in added water till it’s fully cooked . THEN add the sugar, stir off the heat till it’s fully dissolved (if not it’ll burn!), bring to a rapid boil without stirring & start testing after 10 mins or so by dropping a little on a freezer-cold plate to see if it sets to wrinkle point. (You can also get a sugar thermometer which will tell you when it’s reached setting point). I’ve seen a few recipes that start cooking fruit & sugar at once & I wonder how they turn out! By the way I’ve had jam that’s too solid at times. I just re-heat it with some water OR under-set jam & re-jar it. It could also be used as fruit paste with cheese – I never chuck out the disasters! I’m making jam with native Burdekin plums too + cumquats & rosellas from my garden.
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YUMMO – I love the sound of your jam mixes. Unfortunately, I have no idea about the Picton content of the Davidson Plum – I am a big experimenter and depending on the fruit you may need extra sugar. It sounds like you have a solid base to go from your cooking experience. Picton could be added if you do like more a solid jelly.
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Would you recommend peeling the plums?
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I left the whole
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HI I have tried many ways of making Davo Jam, Today I am adding dried apples reconstituted and dried lemons which I will take out when thickened. Also using some Davidson Plum Powder which I put through food dehydrator, . so far smells rich and tarty sweet. I also use a vanilla pod in first simmer.
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Jam making is an art form and I think it comes with plenty of practice, and trying different ways to set the jam is important, over the years my recipes have evolved quite a lot. Love the addition of adding a whole vanilla pod 🙂
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I’ve made this jam twice now and it’s never taken anything like 2 hours! But it’s a delicious jam and I always look forward to the fruiting season in hopes I’ll be able to get enough to cook with.
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I have many Davidson Plum trees in my garden in the Sutherland Shire of Sydney. I found out that most of my trees are male and only 2 are females that bear fruit. The tiniest tree that is still in a pot below a 20m tall male tree has produced a small crop this year. The other female tree had only one plum but I suspect the co*ckatoos make have raided it I have enough to make a small amount of jam. The male tree has long flower stems coming from high up on the trunk whereas the female tree has little tufts all up the narrow trunk where each plum is produced. Clumps of plums were formed which ripened almost at the same time. I had given friends little trees that popped up in the lawn but they grew from underground tubers not dropped seeds so I think they were all male trees from the 20m tall one. Am about to make my first jam from them. Last jam I made was from my native Hibiscus flower buds. Unfortunately the plant died as so many of my trees have grown so large it was not getting the amount of sun it required. Hope my entry encourages others to try the Davidson plum tree in their garden. The trunks are so narrow and the palm like attractive leaves high up at the top don’t take away sun from other plants. Just make sure you get a female & male plant and have them close together.
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We are Roy & Lizzie an Aussie couple, who started food & travel blogging back in 2008, documenting our adventures, food discoveries, different cultures, and the natural world. We are here to inspire more people to leave their table and explore the world.
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