Beach Plums are a sign that summer on Nantucket will soon ease into autumn. These deep purple (and if you are lucky, gold) fruits are ripening all across the island. They make wonderful jelly—or if a batch doesn’t set quite right, sauce for meats or even to pour over ice cream. Too hot this August to stand over a stove for long enough to make jelly? You can make juice from your beach plum harvest and freeze that until the weather is cool enough to make jelly.
Here is an unusual recipe that sounds absolutely delicious written by chef Jenn Farmer and published in 2012. If you have a recipe you’d like to share for publication, email us at yi@nantucket.net.
Beach Plum Butter
3 cups beach plums, pitted
Up to one half cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
One half teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
One half teaspoon ground allspice
Put the plums in a blender, adding water slowly as needed to create a puree. Place all the ingredients into a sauce pan and cook slow and low for about 30 minutes. If it is ready it will look thick and somewhat clear. Pour into hot sterilized jars, and process in boiling water for ten minutes if you are canning it. Otherwise use immediately and refrigerate the remaining butter. It keeps well for about 2 weeks. Yields 2 half-pints.