Wild Plum Spritzer Food

WILD PLUM JELLY

Steps:

• In a stockpot, simmer plums and water until tender, about 30 minutes. Line a strainer with four layers of cheesecloth and place over a bowl. Place plum mixture in strainer; cover with edges of cheesecloth. Let stand until liquid measures 5-1/2 cups, about 30 minutes., Return liquid to the pan. Add pectin; stir and bring to a boil. Add sugar; bring to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly., Remove from the heat; skim off any foam. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles; wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 5 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

PLUM WINE SPRITZER

Steps:

• Line up 12 white wine glasses, fill with ice.
• In each glass, pour 1/4 cup Japanese plum wine, 1/4 cup sparkling water, and 1 T. lime juice.
• Garnish with lime slices, serve.

WILD PLUM SPRITZER

Steps:

• In a medium pot add 1/4 cup of water and pitted wild plums Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until pulp pulls away from skins. Stir regularly and smash wild plums as you stir. Place a mesh strainer over a large liquid measuring cup or bowl. Slowly stir with a spoon until juice seeps through to measuring cup or bowl. Discard the pulp. Repeat in batches until all pulp has been pressed and juice has filled measuring cup or bowl. If doing a bowl, you'll want to measure out mixture to see how much juice you got from your plums. Whatever amount you received will be the equivalent for the sugar and water. I received 1 3/4 cup of plum juice...so my simple syrup would have 1 3/4 cup water and 1 3/4 cup sugar. However if you got 1 1/2 cups plum juice, you'll do 1 1/2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. I hope this makes sense. So in a separate larger pot, add the correct amount of sugar and water. For me it was 1 3/4 cup water and 1 3/4 cup sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from burner and add wild plum juice. Stir. If mixture is has too much pulp, strain again with a finer mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Place mixture in a quart canning jar and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, fill glass 1/3 full with plum syrup and add sparkling water to make a full glass. Gently stir and drink!

PRUNE PLUM SPRITZER

Steps:

• Bring sugar, water, peppercorns, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan. Add plums; return to a boil. Let cool. Refrigerate until ready to use (up to 1 week). Serve over ice, topped with seltzer or a combination of seltzer and red wine.

WILD BLUEBERRY SPRITZER

Steps:

• Mix 1 oz. of blueberry syrup with 4 oz. lemonade and a splash of soda water. Serve over ice. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

MAMIE'S WILD PLUM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch tart pan with butter.
• Roll out the pie dough and press crust into the prepared pan.
• Arrange plums snugly, cut-sides down, on the crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, or up to 1/2 cup depending on the sweetness of the plums.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the tops of the plums are slightly browned and the juices are bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let rest until the juices have set, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with a bit of powdered sugar, cut, and serve.