Dapple Dandy Pluot Ginger Thyme Balsamic Jam

Ingredients:
4 lb Dapple Dandy Pluot, de-stoned
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 box powdered pectin
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 inch knob ginger, sliced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Prep jars/lids for canning. Place the pluots into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Add the sugar, ginger, lemon juice, vinegar and thyme. (I just tied the thyme to the side of the pot with kitchen string) Bring to a boil, stirring and breaking up any big chunks (I used a potato masher) until it begins to reduce and thicken. Stir in the pectin. Continue cooking at a low (rolling) boil for 2-3 minutes or until it looks jammy. Discard the thyme. Fill the jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom. Process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: 6-7 8-oz jars.


Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can. Here is a bunch of other canning books and equipment I find useful.

My thoughts:

To be honest, I bought these pluots because of their cute name. Dapple Dandy! We have a dapple dachshund so anything dapple catches my eye. Thankfully, they were also tasty. The best parts of plums and apricots. They were also very large (I've also seen this variety called Dinosaur pluots) and pretty firm-fleshed so they made wonderful jam. I know the title sounds like a mouthful but honestly, the ginger and balsamic only enhance the pluot's sweet-tartness.