Plum Membrillo (Plum Paste)

September 29, 2014  •  Appetizers, Condiments,

plum membrillo-1Every year I search for new things to make out of plums. I have two Italian prune plum trees, and they never disappoint. But when faced with thousands of plums, even after sharing with friends and food pantries, I need recipes!plums drying collageA fallback plan is always to dry what’s going to spoil before I can figure out what to do with them. It’s easy, and you can learn how to do it here. I chuckled when I looked back at that post – that early harvest was 100+ plums and I was impressed! This year I dried over 800 alone, then bagged them up for friends and family and froze the rest (so they don’t spoil as I like them dried with a both of residual moisture in them) for me. plum paste simmering-1Of course, you can make jams and jellies, but since I rarely eat them, it seemed like a wasted effort. But then I saw lots of articles about plum paste, the plum version of membrillo which is made from quince paste, and I knew I was on to something.plum membrillo 1-1Membrillo is simply a much thicker version of a jam and it couldn’t be easier to make. You cook that simmering fruit and sugar (don’t overfill the pot like I did!) until it is thick enough to set up. Membrillo is a classic condiment to add a cheese platter, something that I know I’ll use.plum membrillo 2-1Because of the high sugar content, it keeps for quite a long time in the refrigerator just like a jar of jelly. That also means this is perfect to make into food gifts. I put 3 3-inch squares of membrillo into each of these little cardboard boxes (use wax paper in between to prevent sticking) and then bagged them up tightly and stuck them in the fridge.plum membrillo 3-1And there you have it, a simple way to use up a large harvest of plums!

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