How to Make and Can Plum Sauce at Home

Marie Overton
Oct 11, 2021
2 min read

Updated: Jun 25

The tangy taste of plums makes a great counterpart for the spices in this plum sauce. Plum Sauce makes for a great addition to pork, chicken, fish, or as a marinade. I think the color of this sauce is so pretty and the mustard seeds floating in it add for a beautiful variety in the look when compared to some of the other canned goods. I love having this plum sauce in my pantry.

Four jars of plum preserves on a tray, surrounded by fresh plums, an onion, and a yellow pepper

Plum Sauce

Ingredients Needed to Make Plum Sauce:

Makes: 4-pint jars

4 pounds Plums
1 small Finely Chopped Onion
2 teaspoons Garlic (minced or crushed)
2 cups Brown Sugar
1 tablespoon Salt
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Mustard Seed
2 tablespoons diced Anaheim Peppers (or other mild hot pepper)
1 tablespoon Ground Ginger

Preparation:

Prepare your boiling water bath canner by filling it about halfway full with water and place it on the stove on medium heat.

Wash plums under cold running water; drain. Remove pits. Chop plums.

Peel and finely chop the onion.

Peel garlic and mince.

Cook Sauce:

Hands hold a pot of broth with chopped onions, spices, and mustard seeds on a granite kitchen counter, mid-cooking

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan except for plums.

Bring to a boil and add the plums.

Hands stir chopped plums and onions in a pot on a stovetop, making a glossy red-purple mixture.

Cook over medium-high heat until it is a thick sauce.

Fill Jars with the Plum Sauce:

Hand ladling dark berry jam into glass jars on a speckled countertop, with lids and a metal funnel nearby.

Using a jar funnel, ladle hot sauce into a hot jar, leaving ½ -inch headspace. Clean the jar rim if needed. Center the lid on the jar and adjust the band to finger-tip tight. Repeat this process until all of your jars are full.

(For quality, American made Superb canning lids and jars follow this link and use the coupon code WP20 to get 20% off your purchase.)

Process the Jars of Plum Sauce:

Place the filled jars into the water bath canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 to 2 inches. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover the water canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process pint jars for 20 minutes. (Adjust the processing time if you are above 1000 feet.)