Zwetschgenmus or Spiced Plum Butter

When I was a child, we had several plum trees in our garden. One variety was called Zwetschgen, similar to the prune. Our Zwetschgen tree would overflow with fruit and our family would make Zwetschgenmus  (aka spiced plum butter) in a huge copper kettle that was heated by a piece of burning wood from underneath. We would have big glass canning jars with rubber rings in our pantry filled with delicious plum butter. ​

As children we could not get enough of this sweet, rich and gooey plum butter spread on country bread and topped with schmand. The best way to describe schmand is a fresh cream that is similar to Créme Fraîche or whipping cream. I used greek yogurt on my sandwich . 
In this country we call Zwetschgen Italian plums and they are seldom available where I live .  You can imagine how happy I was when I found them in a  local food stand. I bought all they had and made two different batches of Zwetschgenmus  and baked two different cakes.

My Zwetschegenmus is a tartly rich and earthy-tasting fruit butter with a slight taste of cinnamon and allspice. These sour little plums (without much juice or flavor) once baked turn into an amazingly flavorful treat. It’s like the frog that turns into a prince. For the Zwetschgenmus, I chose a recipe from Louisa Weiss’s Classic German Baking book. I have to say it turned out just as good as Helga Papas,’ my village neighbor who has made it for decades in Germany and always shared some with my family. My brother is especially fond of it and I will keep a jar for him to eat when he comes to visit me this year. If you see this little unpretentious plum in a store next to their juicy voluptuous cousins, don’t pass them by. You will not regret it when you have a spoonful of Zwetschgenmus.

The plums are baked in a heavy cast iron pot until they turn into a sticky mass and are completely broken down. Make sure you use a four-quart cast iron pot. I used a smaller one in my first batch, and it took twice as long to bake them the next day. The second time, I used a four-quart pot and baked it in 2.5 hours instead of 4. Luisa Weiss says that the recipe is easily doubled, but unfortunately I ran out of plums.

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Ingredients:

5 one-pint size jars with lids and bands

4 pounds purple pitted plums (around 5 pounds with pits)
2 cups (200 g) granulated white sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole clove

Instructions:

Wash, pit and quarter the plums. Discard those with dark spots inside. Put the plums, the sugar and the spices in a large bowl. Stir and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Luisa puts her fruit in the same pot she uses for baking. Let the pot or bowl stand covered overnight until the sugar is dissolved in the juice of the fruit.

Heat the oven to 350ºF/180 Celsius. Pour the fruit into the pot, making sure you scrape every little bit of juice and sugar into the pot. Bake uncovered for 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, sterilize 5 one-pint containers. I run my jars and rings through the dishwasher and put my lids in a pot with hot water. Do not boil the lids
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When the plums have broken down and the liquid in the pot has become syrupy, the Pflaumenmus is ready. Remove the pot from the oven. I put mine in the kitchen sink to prevent splattering. Remove the cinnamon stick, and if you see the allspice, remove that also (I didn’t see mine). Pureé the Zwetschgenmus with an immersion blender until  smooth. I leave a few chunks of fruit in it. Fill the still warm jars with the plum butter. I have a wide funnel that really helps. Screw on the lid and turn the jar upside down. You will know your jars are sealed when the lid doesn’t move or pop when you press on it. To be totally safe, follow the manufacturer’s instructions that come with the jars. 

Guten Appetit
recipe from Luisa Weiss in her Classic German Baking Book
by©sunnycovechef.com
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