Plums preserved with vanilla

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 2 kg plums, ripe
• 300 g sugar
• 3 vanilla pods
• 1 ½ liters of water

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

First prepare the jars: Either pour boiling water over the jars and lids and let them stand for at least 10 minutes, or sterilize them in a saucepan or oven. Then let them cool. Meanwhile, wash the plums thoroughly and drain. Bring the sugar, water, and scraped vanilla pods to a boil several times, then let them cool. Now you can halve the plums, remove the stones, and place them cut-side down in the jars. Place 4-5 stones in each jar to enhance the flavor. Remove the vanilla pods from the syrup and pour the syrup over the plums to about 1 cm below the rim of the jar. Make sure the rim of the jar stays clean, otherwise the jar could seal and spoil the plums. Screw the lids tight or, as in my case, place rubber bands on the jar lids, then place these on the jars and seal with the clips. There are various ways to preserve the goods: In the oven: Place the drip tray on the lowest rack and place the jars on it. Make sure the jars are not touching. Fill the drip tray with lukewarm water to a depth of about 2 cm. Heat the oven to 175 °C and turn it off as soon as the first bubbles appear in the jars. Leave the jars in the oven for 30 minutes, then either remove them or open the oven door completely. In a pot: Place the jars in a single layer on a cloth or a DK insert in the pot and fill with lukewarm water to about 1.5 cm below the rim. Heat the water to 90 °C and then let stand at the same temperature for 30 minutes. The jars can also be left to cool in the pot. In two layers in a pot: Place the jars on top of each other in the pot with the cloth or insert and fill with lukewarm water to a level of 1.5 cm below the rim of the top jars. Heat the water to 90 °C and hold for 30 minutes. These jars must be removed from the water, otherwise they could fill with water as they cool! Place the jars on a cloth and allow to cool. Once the jars have cooled, check that the screw lids are tightened and that the rubber tab on the jars is facing down. Remove the clamps and label the jars with the contents and the date. The preserves will easily keep for a year, and usually even a lot longer. I serve the plums with crêpes, omelets, ice cream, in cakes, on tarts, etc. The possibilities are endless. 2 kg of plums yields about 10 jars of 370 ml each. You can also use cinnamon sticks instead of vanilla pods.