It's really easy to make your own Loquat Jam and there are many Loquat Jam recipes out there, but this one has something extra; the vanilla bean.
Jams are easy to make, I know people who anxiously wait every year for strawberry season so they can buy a flat of strawberries, then rush home to make jam. But wouldn't it be nice to make a delicious jam from fruit that you can't buy in most stores?
What Loquats Taste Like?
Japanese Plums (commonly known as Loquats here in Australia) are a staple in many backyards. They're also known as Japanese Medlars, Chinese Plums and knowns as pipa in China. A delicious fruit that many people don't know what to do with. I also love making Loquat Apple Crumble. Loquats taste like a cross between several fruits, like peach, apricot, and apple. When you get a really ripe loquat, my son says it tastes sweet like honey.
Japanese plums or loquats are closely related to the apple family, and have a slightly poisonous seed, like an apricot kernel. So don't eat the seeds, although you would need to eat a large amount to get sick.
How to Make Loquat Jam
This is a no pectin jam recipe. That means there is a large amount of sugar, and constant stirring required over a long period of time on low heat. So don't rush it, have patience, keep calm and stir.
Now I don't like to fuss with a lot of things when cooking, such as peeling tiny fruits. Some people like to blanch them then peel them, but if they are ripe, they will peel easily. I think it's not necessary to peel them. As the fruit cooks, it breaks down and softens the skin. When broken down, I use an immersion blender to blend it to a consistency I'm happy with. This loquat jam recipe is so easy, no peeling required.
Loquats are high in fibre and high in pectin naturally, so you don't need to add anything to your jam that shouldn't belong. Plus it has the added bonus of being the only fruit ripening during winter/spring, when no other local fruit is available.
A Chinese Plum Jam recipe that's easy, fresh and tasty, perfect for tomorrow's breakfast. Bon Appetit! Приятного аппетита!
Ingredients
- 8 cups seeded quartered loquats
- 6 cups sugar
- 1 vanilla bean
- juice of a large lemon
Instructions
- Wash and de-seed loquats. Cut them into quarters. Add lemon juice to prevent them from browning (but also necessary for the jam to thicken).
- Put the loquats, sugar and lemon in a large pot over high heat, stirring until the sugar melts.
- Cut the vanilla bean in half and add to the loquat mixture.
- Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, then reduce to a low simmer.
- Stir frequently to prevent from burning. The fruit will start to break down. You will need to cook this for approx 1 hour.
- At the 30 minute mark, remove the vanilla beans from the jam. Take a stick blender or immersion blender and blend the loquats. I like to leave some texture and lumps in my jam. Add the vanilla beans again and continue to cook for the hour time frame, until the jam is thick. I find that after blending, the jam can burn quicker, so remember to stir.
- Ladle into jars and seal with a lid. Allow to cool and set. Keep refrigerated unless you have properly canned and sealed the jam. Enjoy.
©PetersFoodAdventures.com
Kristy Osterhout
your recipe and it turned out delicious. For our last batch we added 1 cup of Jim Beam bourbon and its a winner. Thank you.
Peter's Food Adventures
Thanks for sharing your tip! 👍🏻👍🏻
Suzanne
We have a loquat tree in the backyard of the house we’ve been living in for 12 years! I just discovered that the loquats were edible!!!
Question - do you peel the loquats? I’ve been looking at different recipes - some peel and some don’t mention that step.
I’m excited to see how this turns out!!
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Suzanne, it’s exciting to discover a new fruit! 👍🏻 Some people blanch and peel the loquats, I don’t. Using a stick blender it all gets chopped up after it breaks down when cooking. It’s up to you, I just never had to patience to peel them! Good luck!
Ken
Made this today. I had about 16 - 18 Cups cleaned loquats, from the comments I gathered it might be too sweet for my taste. A neighbor brought over a loaf of fresh baked bread and I tried it out, Really good, thanks for the recipe. I have a fig tree which i put up figs most every summer, kinda the same recipe, again really good.
Ken
Forgot to say i used half the amount of sugar
Peter's Food Adventures
So glad to hear! Thanks for the feedback. Love it with fresh baked bread! ❤️
Darlene
I would like to try to use my Japanese Plums with some Sure-Jell. What directions are the closest? Would it be more like peach? Any ideas/advice would be appreciated.
Has anyone ever tried to do this by blanching and then using a food mill to get rid of the pit and the skins?
Darlene
Peter's Food Adventures
Sorry I haven’t done either, but I’m sure it would be similar to peach. Maybe others have advice 😊
David
Well, it's not real amaretto - made from almonds - but it tastes very similar. I call it loquavit (meant to be witty but probably pretentious). The original recipe calls it Italian Loquat Seed Liqueur, and you can find it at
http://www.guntheranderson.com/liqueurs/loquatse.htm
I use grain alcohol, diluted to about 33% proof (UK), and I use 1 unit of seeds by volume and 1 unit of (diluted) alcohol by volume.
For each 750cc of alcohol, I use the rind of a small lemon and 1 vanilla pod.
At the end of the month, I discard the stones, lemon rind and vanilla, measure the liquid I have, and, for each unit of liquid by volume, I make a sugar solution with 2/3 of a unit of sugar by weight and 1/3 of a unit of water by volume. In other words, if I have 750cc of liquid, I use 500gm of sugar and 250cc of water.
While it does improve with age, my liqueur is certainly drinkable as soon as it is made.
Peter's Food Adventures
Wow, thanks for sharing!!
betty threlfo
okay this is 2019 and I live in Perth. I grew up with loquats, and have a tree now in fruit... I have never made jam, but have got it in my slow crockpot so will see how it goes. I am diabetic so did not put as much sugar, but I have cut up some zest of the lemon, which I grow, and put that in it. later on will use blender and see how it goes.. thanks for that. Have managed to make c ranberry, and also orange jam, and orange and ginger, and will make some melon and ginger tomorrow.. thanks for the help....
Peter's Food Adventures
That sounds great! Hope you enjoy it 😊
David
Thanks so much for this elegantly simple and simply delicious recipe. Wonderful consistency, and using the blender is such an effective way to achieve exactly the consistency I like.
Like others, I found it a little sugary for my taste, so, for my second experimental mini-batch, I reduced the sugar slightly and added the lemon zest as well as the juice. Perfection!
Incidentally, I have a loquat tree in the garden, and so my first harvest usually means seeding and stalking several kilo at once (to freeze for ice cream and shakes (and, from now, to make jam). After a first year when the 'cleaning' took hours, I read of a technique that saves a lot of time. If the top of the fruit has the stalk still in, pull that out. Then use your thumb to push the bottom (the remains of the blossom) up through the fruit and out at the top. Magically, out come the stones, the 'sac' around the stones, and the remains of the blossom. You can either discard all of that, or save the stones to make a delicious liqueur that is very reminiscent of amaretto.
Peter's Food Adventures
Thanks for the great tips!!! 👍🏻
betty
okay how do you make amaretto..... the drink? betty
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Betty, sorry but I haven’t made Amaretto before.
Laurel
I have a pressure cooker / canner. I would like to properly can them so that I don't have to store in the refrigerator. How long should I can these at 15 lbs pressure?
Peter's Food Adventures
Hi Laurel, I’m sorry, I don’t know because I haven’t used a pressure cooker canner before. When you find out, please let me know so we can share it with other readers 😊
Jeff
Very tasty but too sweet to my liking, I'll use less sugar next time. Note that there is a small woody end where the flower was that I cut off first and discard along with the seeds. Also, when I removed the seeds, there is a sack surrounding them that I scrape out with my fingernail. Otherwise, Thank you for the recipe as I love loquats and can't bear seeing so much good fruit die and rot each year. Now I use so many more.
Joby Hughes
Great recipe! Thank you.
Peter's Food Adventures
Thanks for the feedback, hope you enjoy it!