We have a huge sand plum bush not far from our house.  Some people call them Sandhill plums.  Most Summers it does not produce much sand plums, but this year it was full of them! So I knew I had to share How to Make Sand Plum Jelly. My husband and youngest daughter picked several gallons of plums.  There were a lot more, but we left the rest to the wildlife

Many people will go down country roads or even the side of the highway to gather sand plums. I only have to walk out my door and over to the horse pasture to reach our closest bush.

What makes sandhill plums rare?

SAnd plums do not produce every year. Especially at our house. If the Spring was dry, then there may be no plums in our part of Oklahoma. Even if it is wet and sand plums are produced, bagworms may attack the bushes. This is what usually happens to our thickets.

My husband and youngest picked all the sand plums I used for this recipe, and for my sand plum syrup It’s a lot of work to process sand plums, but it is also a lot of work to collect the sand plums in the heat of Oklahoma Summer! I wasn’t willing to do both. LOL!

The first thing I did was rinse the sand plums, then lay them on a towel to dry. I then sorted the sand plums. A few were ripe and some weren’t. I put the ripe ones in the refrigerator and left the others out to ripen for a day or two.

When the sand plums are ready I place them in a large pot and cover with water. I turn the heat to medium and bring the water to a boil. I boil the plums until they all become soft and the skins pop. Next, I let them cool.

Once the plums cool off I turn them into plum juice. I use a juice bag, but you can use a cheesecloth. Once I squeeze all the juice from the plums, I put them in the same pot I used to boil the plums.  You may choose to freeze your plum juice to can later.  This also works if you’re waiting for your plums to ripen and you don’t have enough to can at the moment.  This way you can make a larger batch instead of multiple small batches.

How to Make Sand Plum Jelly, You Will Need

• 6 cups sandhill plum juice
• 7 cups white sugar
• 1 box dry pectin
• 1/2 pint canning jars

Instructions

Add pectin and all sugar at once then stir until dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for exactly 1 minute, Remove from heat.

Ladle hot jelly into hot sterilized jars and cool for a minute or two, then skim tops.  The top skin can be a treat for the kids.  I snuck a bit myself!

Process the jars in a water bath according to standard canning procedures for 5 minutes. If you have larger, process longer. Remove them from the water bath and set on the counter to cool. Check seals after 24 hours. Store any that didn’t seal properly in the refrigerator. Store all that seal in a dark place (mine go in the pantry) for up to 2 years.

Sand Plum Jelly

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Ingredients

  

• 6 cups Sand plum Juice
• 7 Cups Sugar
• 1 box dry pectin
• 1/2 pint canning jars or any canning jars

Instructions

 

• In large pot add juice then add all sugar at once and stir until dissolved. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly, and boil for exactly 1 minute, Remove from heat.
• Ladle hot jelly into hot sterilized jars and cool for a minute or two, then skim tops.  The top skin can be a treat for the kids.  I snuck a bit myself!
• Process the jars in a water bath according to standard canning procedures for 5 minutes, longer if your jars are larger. Remove them from the water bath and set on the counter to cool. Check seals after 24 hours. Store any that didn’t seal properly in the refrigerator

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. If you are looking for other great plum recipes check out my Sand Plum Syrup Recipe.

You can find the cute labels I used from World Label.

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