Plum butter – or pflaumenmus in German – is a traditional dark fruit spread. The funny thing about this jam is that it is slowly baked in the oven, rather than boiled in a pan. This concentrates the plum flavour and embeds the warm tones of winter spices. The result is a comforting fruity spread. We love to eat it on toast and pancakes, especially lovely during the colder months of the year.
We used to buy our plum butter  in Germany, just across the border from where we lived. It is one of the comfort foods we missed after our move to Scotland. But luckily it isn’t too difficult to make yourself, as described in the recipe below.
Plum butter recipe for about 2 kg
4 kg plums or damsons
1 kg brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground coriander
a good pinch of nutmeg
a good pinch of ground cloves
Quarter the plums and remove the stones
Mix the fruit with the sugar and spices and leave overnight to extract the juices
Simmer the fruit over a medium flame until the it is soft – 15-20 minutes
Poor into a roasting tin and place in a slow oven (about 150°) for about 2 hours until is has a thick, syrupy consistency. (If you have a jam pan, you can place it straight into the oven.)
Puree the hot mixture with a  blender until smooth
Poor the hot mixture into sterilised pots and let them cool upside down to ensure the pots are vacuumed.
