Sweets and drinksPreservesVietnam3 hours preparation, 30 minutes cooking
When plums come in all at once, this chewy preserve is the longest way to keep them. It cooks down thick, sweet and tart in balance, with a deep red color. The tricky part is knowing when to stop, since undercooking leaves it watery and overcooking turns it hard as candy.
The plums have to sit with the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend for 2 to 3 hours until it fully dissolves. Once the pot boils, some of the syrup gets ladled off into a separate bowl, leaving just enough liquid to cover the fruit before the cooking continues.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 43 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash the plums, dry them completely and score them lengthwise and crosswise as you like.
Put the plums in a large bowl, toss them with 250 to 270g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and leave them for 2 to 3 hours until it fully dissolves.
Tip the plums and syrup into a heavy pan or pot and add half a teaspoon of coarse salt to deepen the syrup.
Once the syrup boils, take the pan off the heat and ladle some of the syrup into a separate bowl, leaving just enough liquid to cover the fruit for the rest of the cooking.
Cook until the plums break down and the liquid is nearly gone, then squeeze in half a lime and stir it through.
Keep cooking until the preserve is thick and glossy, then take it off the heat, let it cool and transfer it to sealed jars.
Tips
Leave the pits in until near the end, since plum pits carry pectin that works with the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and lime to build body.
Lime juice also keeps the sweetness from turning harsh.
Keep the heat low and stir steadily toward the end, since a high flame scorches the bottom of the pot.
Let the preserve cool completely before jarring, since jarring it hot traps steam.
Score the fruit lengthwise and crosswise before mixing, since unscored skin keeps the sweetness on the outside.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.