Plum & Cherry Confiture with Rosemary

Black berries, raspberries, plums, apricots, peaches, mangos, strawberries, cherries, meyer lemons, blueberries - you name it, its in season.

This afternoon, summer promised to last a few extra months while I made confiture with the fruit I had on hand.

Making fresh fruit confiture is simple. Absolutely simple.

And there are few things better than getting to open up the flavors of summer in the middle of a cold, wet winter (its rains a lot here). Consider the bright, smiling taste of plum and cherry jam with a hint of rosemary on a scone. Or drizzled over crepes/waffles/pancakes. Yes. Perfect. This next winter just might be bearable.

Plum & Cherry Confiture with Rosemary

3 lbs. fresh fruit (1/3 pitted cherries and 2/3 peeled and sliced plums)
3 lbs. sugar (Okay, okay. You really are supposed to use equal weights of fruit and sugar but I just couldn't - I used closer to 2.25 lbs.)
1 sprig rosemary
juice of 1 lemon

Combine the fresh fruit in a large dutch oven or stock pot and heat over medium until some of the juices begin to release. Add the sugar and mix well. Continue to stir often over medium heat until most of the liquid from the fruit is released and the sugar is dissolved. Add the rosemary sprig. Allow the mixture to simmer until thickened.*

When ready to can, add the lemon juice, give it a couple of stirs, remove the rosemary and then remove the pot from the heat. Spoon the jam into warm, sterilized jars.** Put the lids on immediately and allow jars to cool at room temperature. As they cool, the lids will seal.

Once at room temperature, store in a cool, dark place or open immediately, try not to eat it all and keep it in the refrigerator.

*Note on thickness: For a quick test, put a little of the mixture on a spoon, stick it in your refrigerator for a couple of minutes to cool and then run your finger through the jam to check for your desired thickness.

**Note on Jars: Be sure to have washed your jars and lids prior to use. Also, an easy way to sterilize them and keep them warm until you use them is to put them in an oven at 250 degrees F for at least 20 minutes.