For the past five years, I’ve spent my late-summer birthday making plum jam. Parties are fun. Cake is good. But all I want is the quiet pleasure of standing over the stove, stirring and staring as the ...

Plums have long been a symbol of Christmas, with plum pudding — also known as Christmas pudding or figgy pudding (which is not a pudding in the American sense, but a dense British fruit cake) — ...

Spreading jam on scones is all well and good, but baking the jam directly into the scones is even better. Here’s why: Some of the jam stays soft and fruity, just as when you spooned it from the jar.

Q: We have a flowering plum (supposedly ornamental) tree in our front yard. This year, it is covered with small walnut-sized plums. Are these edible? I am envisioning plum jam if they are edible. A: ...

To achieve this plum jam nirvana, start with good fruit. It doesn’t have to be precious stuff — save that for eating fresh — but find fragrant plums and pluots. That’s obvious. This next trick, less ...

For the past five years, I’ve spent my late-summer birthday making plum jam. Parties are fun. Cake is good. But all I want is the quiet pleasure of standing over the stove, stirring and staring as the ...