A Glut of Plums

Can you really have too much of a good thing? I raided my friend's plum tree a few weeks ago to throw together some plum jam, then had some left over and made plum chutney, then put a few in the freezer to brighten up a gloomy fruitless winter breakfast and made a giant plum and apple crumble to last the weekend.

Still finding myself with a bagfull of plums and a need to try something new, I thought I'd try a plum ketchup. Similar to tomato ketchup but fruitier, cooking up a batch of dripping-ripe sweet plums creates a smooth, sweet and tangy dipping sauce that can be used as a dip for tortilla chips, a rich sauce to serve with duck and pancakes or a sticky side for hot and spicy chicken wings.

It might take a while to persuade the kids to use it instead of the more traditional tomato ketchup with chips but I think I might work on it.



 



Plum Ketchup

1 kilo plums, stones removed and halved
1 red onion cut into chunks
3 large cloves of garlic
10cm of ginger, grated
250ml cider vinegar
400g dark muscovado sugar
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
1/2 tsp chilli flakes

In a blender, blend the plums, onion, garlic ginger and vinegar together.
Put into a pan with the sugar and spices and stir to dissolve the sugar.
Heat the mixture till it comes to the boil then turn the heat right down and simmer for 30-45 minutes till thick.
Either bottle as you would jam, or keep in the fridge for up to a week.