Chinese Five Spice Plum Jam

This plum jam is a simple summer pleasure. Livened up with some Chinese five spice and rosemary, it’s a great summer spread with cheese and crackers.

Plums will never rate as high as peaches and nectarines on my summertime stone fruit deliciousness scale but every once and awhile I spy them in the store and I’m like “damn, that plum looks good.”

*This post is sponsored by Crunchmaster, a 2017 partner of Running to the Kitchen. All content and opinions are my own.

That happened recently.

I bought some, they were so sweet and amazing and then I serendipitously got an email from a local farm that plums were now available for “pick your own”.

So instead of saying to myself “I should go do that” and deleting the email never to actually go and do it, I made good on my #NewBeginnings (more on that in this strawberry basil cider slushies post) promise to take advantage of more of the local stuff I always say I want to do, wrangled Brandy to come along and went and did it.

ps- it’s like they knew we were coming and placed the most amazing rustic farmhouse ladder in the trees specifically for #lifestyle shots. A blogger’s dream.

While I could happily eat these sweet little things one after the next just as they are (or turn them into sweet and tangy plum juice), I happened to also pick up some local honey lavender goat cheese at the farm with the thought of making a sweet and savory plum jam and smearing both on some Crunchmaster multi-grain crackers.

A few (or twenty) of those with a cold summer drink is basically my idea of the perfect patio happy hour.

Chinese five spice powder is one of my favorite spices to pair with fruit.

It’s also a key ingredient in these Chinese boneless spareribs which are hands down my favorite takeout dish to make at home!

It’s half sweet with cinnamon and cloves but also just a touch savory with things like fennel and pepper in it and it somehow just magically transforms whatever it’s added to into the perfect balanced bite.

This plum jam is still sweet enough to dollop into yogurt or spread on bread (persimmon jam is great for that too!) but savory enough to easily go well on a goat cheese smeared cracker for a savory light appetizer bite.

I loved pairing it with the sea salt Crunchmaster cracker for that added pop of salt to an otherwise sweet/tart/herby combination.

Other ways to enjoy summer plums: grilled scallops with tomatillo plum salsa and goat cheese honey stuffed plums

From the simple jam with the sweet plums as the star of the show to the lavender and honey infused goat cheese to the whole-grain, seed packed crackers (which are also gluten-free and non-GMO certified), each bite is the perfect example of how simple and seasonal ingredients can come together into something far greater than the individual components.

Love this plum jam recipe?

Try other jam recipes such as Jalapeno Mango Jam, Strawberry Chile Jam Breakfast Sandwich, Vanilla Fig Preserves and Blueberry Ginger Jam and Goat Cheese Crostini.

Chinese Five Spice Plum Jam

Author: Gina Matsoukas

This plum jam is a simple summer pleasure. Livened up with some Chinese five spice and rosemary, it’s a great summer spread with cheese and crackers.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 cups chopped plums
• leaves from 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 1-2 tablespoons honey *see note
• 1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

 

• Combine plums, rosemary, honey and Chinese five spice in a small sauce pot over medium-high heat.
• Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a low simmer, stirring often until plums start to break down.
• Add the lemon juice and continue cooking and stirring until mixture is thickened and reduced to a jam-like consistency.
• Remove from heat and let cool. Jam will thicken even more as it cools.
• Serve with goat cheese (I used a honey lavender goat cheese) and crackers.

Notes

Add honey according to taste preference. I used 1 tablespoon for a relatively tarter jam. If you like things sweet, add at least 2 tablespoons to start and adjust to taste from there.

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1SERVING | Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Cuisine American

Course Sauces, Dressings & Spreads

Keyword Chinese 5 spice plum jam, paleo, plum jam, vegetarian

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Gina Matsoukas

About

Gina Matsoukas is the writer, founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.