[Sca-cooks] Plum loco

[Elaine Koogler]

I have used this recipe many times to make a wonderful plum sauce.  It comes
out slightly chunky, sort of like a chutney and has both sweet and hot
characteristics.  It comes from a book that we got with our wok, called
"Wokcraft" by Charles and Violet Schafer...so how truly Chinese it is is
anyone's guess.  I can only tell you that it is absolutely delicious,
particularly with pork!  Here 'tis:

4 pounds fresh plums, pitted
1 qt. cider vinegar
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 knobs minced fresh ginger
3 tbsp. salt
1/2 pkg mustard seed
2 tbsp. canned green chili peppers
2 tbsp. red canned pimentos
1 small chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic

Cook plums until soft in half the vinegar.  Make syrup with the other half
and sugar in a second kettle.  Cook until syrupy and add all other
ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until sauce is
thick...about 1 1/2 hours.  Yield:  6 - 8 1/2 pint jars.

Really Great!  Actually improves with age.

Kiri

Susan Fox-Davis wrote:

> My parents have two plum trees just dripping, even drooping with fruit.
> Cherry-sized golden plums and slightly larger purple-red plums.  I came
> home last night with three bags full and learned some useful things.
>
> 1.  The Juiceman Juicing Machine is not necessarily the most efficient
> way of making juice from soft fruit.
>
> 2.  Plumstones and gunstones both travel at a high velocity.  ZOUNDS!
>
> I gave up on the juicer after the first bag, although I now have two
> liters of wonderful nectar with I will freeze and use later.  The reds I
> will make my traditional Plum Butter, which is just equal parts plum
> puree and sugar, cooked until thickish.  Maybe do a batch with honey for
> that really, really historical effect, but it's going to take a long
> long time to cook.
>
> Plum vinegar [now there's a potential jalab!], plum brandy, plum vodka,
> I'm plumb tired out already and the tree hardly looks like I've been
> picking.  Any more ideas, period recipes or such?
>
> Selene the rosy-fingered
>
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