Magiun la bloc, Romanian plum preserve

Name: Magiun la bloc, Romanian plum preserve
Ingredients: 4 kg plums (weighed with stones); 3 jars of 450 g with lids; 500 ml water

Jam - Magiun la bloc, Romanian plum preserve by Milena E. - Recipia

Magiun la bloc, a Romanian plum preserve, simmers without water, then bakes in the oven until thick. Spread it on bread, and after cooling this oven-baked plum preserve stays sweet and tangy, so dense that a teaspoon stands upright in it. I look for very ripe plums, because that’s what its sweetness depends on. Prep: 30 minutes. Cook: 6 hours and 31 minutes. Total time: 7 hours and 1 minute. Yield: 3 jars. Approximately 570 kcal and 9 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

4 kg plums (weighed with stones)
3 jars of 450 g with lids
500 ml water

Preparation

1. Wash the jars with warm water and dish soap, then leave them to drain. 2. Wash the plums and drain them. Remove the stems, split the fruit lengthwise in half and remove the stones. 3. Put the plums in a 4.5 l heavy-bottomed stainless steel pot, without water, and cover tightly. Leave them over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until they start releasing juice, then turn the heat right down and cook for another 45 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft. If they have released little juice, put a thick metal plate between the flame and the pot. 4. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mash the soft plums with a potato masher until you have a soft mixture that still pulls away from the bottom of the pot. 5. Turn off the heat, stir the magiun and put the lid back on. Set the pot on the bottom shelf of the oven, then turn it down to low heat, setting 2. Leave it for 5 hours, stirring 3 times. At the end, the magiun should have no liquid left, but it shouldn’t be dry. It will firm up more as it cools. 6. Towards the end of baking, put the empty jars, without their lids, in the oven for 30 minutes to sterilize them and keep them warm. 7. Set the warm jars in a metal baking tray and fill them with the hot magiun. Leave the oven on and bake the jars without their lids for 25 minutes on very low heat, until a crust forms on the surface. 8. Turn off the oven and leave the jars inside to cool. Bring 500 ml of water to a boil in about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the lids in the hot water for 1 minute. Take out the jars and screw on the lids.

Notes

For the walnut version, add 1/2 kg walnut pieces to 5 kg plums towards the end (contains walnuts); for the rum version, measure out 250 ml per 5 kg and add it at the very end too. Very ripe plums make a sweeter magiun, while firm ones may need more time on the heat. The 4.5 l stainless steel pot with high sides keeps evaporation slow; I don’t rush the stirring. Store the jars in a cool, dark place; once opened, the magiun keeps in the fridge for no more than 3 days. I spread it on bread, like a very thick jam.