Transform leftover maesil plums into a bold, zero-waste jam!
Have you ever wondered what to do with those syrup-soaked plums left behind after making maesil-cheong (green plum syrup)? Don’t throw them away! In this recipe, we give those plums a delicious second life by turning them into a cozy, chai-spiced blueberry plum jam.
It’s naturally vegan, uses minimal sugar, and brings out the deep, tart-sweet flavor of plums—paired beautifully with the warmth of chai spices and the brightness of blueberries.
🌻Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Perfect for toast, oatmeal, or yogurt bowls
- Zero-waste: A smart and sustainable way to use up maesil syrup plums
- Bold, spiced flavor: Chai spices add warmth and depth
- Vegan & refined sugar-free
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🧺 Ingredients
- Leftover Ume from Chai Plum Syrup(pitted): This recipe uses the spiced ume plums leftover from chai-flavored plum syrup. If you're using ume from regular syrup or maesil-cheong, you’ll need to add spices separately (cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves). Details are listed in the "NOTE" section of the recipe card below.
- Blueberries: I used frozen blueberries since my chai plum syrup finished early this year, but fresh seasonal berries work just as well—use whatever you have on hand.
- Sugar: I like to use unrefined sugar but you can use any type of sugar you prefer. This recipe uses about 60% sugar in relation to the total weight of the fruit. For a less sweet jam, use 50%. If you prefer a sweeter and longer-lasting jam, go up to 70%.
👇 Exact quantities and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
🤷♀️ How to Tell When Your Jam Is Ready
One of the trickiest parts of jam making is getting the consistency just right.
If you boil off too much moisture, your jam can end up sticky and hard to spread. On the other hand, if there's too much liquid left, it can turn out watery and difficult to handle.
So before you start, let’s review an easy way to check if your jam has reached the perfect consistency.
💧 The Cup Water Test
- Prepare a glass of cold water: Fill a glass with cold water. Once the jam starts to thicken, turn off the heat and drop a small spoonful into the glass.
- Check the texture: If the jam sinks as a soft blob and slowly spreads on the bottom, it’s done!
If it breaks apart or dissolves right away, it needs more simmering.
🌼 How to Make Your Plum Jam
Let's get started!
- Remove the pits:
Take the leftover ume plums and remove the pits. Discard any that have become too hard or wrinkled. Use only the soft skins and flesh.
- Coat with sugar:
In a bowl, combine the ume plums, spices, and blueberries. Sprinkle the sugar over them evenly. (You can also mix everything directly in the pot you’ll use to cook the jam.)
- Mix well:
Stir gently with a spoon to distribute the sugar evenly. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes until the blueberries begin to release their juices.
💡 Tip: While waiting, sterilize your jars by boiling them.
- Check for juice:
Once the fruit releases enough liquid, transfer everything to a saucepan to start cooking.
- Simmer gently:
Cook over very low heat, stirring often so it doesn’t burn or get too thick.
When the jam looks shiny and thick but still has some liquid, it’s probably ready. A good sign is when you drag a spatula across the bottom of the pot and you can almost see the pan for a second before it fills back in.
💡 You can also double-check the consistency with the cup test mentioned earlier.
- Jar while hot:
Fill the sterilized jars with hot jam, leaving about 5–10mm from the rim.
💡 If you don’t like finding whole spices in your jam, just take them out with a clean spoon before putting the jam into jars.
🍽 Tools
- Sterilized Jars: This recipe makes about 1.5 jars (187 ml each). I usually vacuum-seal one jar for long-term storage and keep the rest for immediate use.
- Enamel Pot: I use a 24cm Fuji enamel tempura pot. It’s great not just for frying but also for making jams, sauces, and even simmered beans.
- Bowl
- Spoon
- Spatula
- Ladle
☀️ Storage Tips
- Store in a sterilized jar in the refrigerator
- Best consumed within 1–2 weeks
- For longer storage, freeze in small portions or vacuum-seal (de-air) the jars.
🍞 How to Enjoy This Jam
- Spread on sourdough toast or English muffins
- Swirl into plant-based yogurt
- Top on pancakes or waffles
- Pair with vegan cheese & crackers for a bold snack
- Add to oatmeal or chia pudding
- Use as a filling for vegan thumbprint cookies
- Gift in small jars for eco-conscious friends!
☝️ Tips & Variations
- Use frozen blueberries if fresh aren’t available
- Adjust spice level to your preference—make it mild or extra cozy
- Try adding chia seeds for a texture boost and natural thickening
♻️ Reduce Waste, Add Flavor
This jam is the perfect way to practice zero-waste cooking. The leftover maesil plums still have plenty of flavor, especially when paired with warming spices and sweet berries.
You might find yourself making maesil-cheong just to make this jam!
👨🏻🍳 FAQ
A: No problem! Just take out the whole spices with a clean spoon before you put the jam into the jars.
Or, you can keep the spices separate while cooking and put them at the bottom of each jar before filling it with jam. Let the jars sit for a few days so the flavor can spread.
A: Yes! Frozen blueberries work just as well as fresh ones in this recipe.
If you try this recipe, please share your thoughts in the COMMENTS 🐒. Also feel free to ask any questions or leave any requests!
🥐 More Vegan Recipe with Cinnamon
If you love cinnamon, don’t miss my fluffy vegan cinnamon roll recipe!
It’s made without vegan butter, uses just a small amount of oil, and contains less sugar than most classic vegan cinnamon rolls—so you can enjoy them with less guilt!
🌈 Latest Vegan Recipes
📖 Recipe Card
Vegan Chai-Spiced Blueberry Plum Jam (with Leftover Maesil Plums)
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Spatula
- 1 ladle
- 2 glass jar (187ml)
- 1 enamel pot
Ingredients
- leftover plums & spices from plum syrup (Use chai plum syrup leftovers with spices. For regular plum syrup leftovers add cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves separately (Check out NOTE below).)
- blueberries (Frozen or fresh seasonal blueberries can be used.)
- sugar (Adjust amount between 50%-70% of fruit weight depending on sweetness preference.)
Instructions
- Remove plum pits: Remove the pits from the leftover plums. Discard any with wrinkled or hard skins. Use only the soft skins and flesh. If you like, finely chop the plum skins.leftover plums & spices from plum syrup
- Weigh and prepare: Weigh the pitted plums, then prepare three times that amount of blueberries. Measure sugar as 50-70% of the combined weight of plums and blueberries.blueberriessugar
- Mix sugar and fruit: Place the leftover plums, spices, and blueberries in a bowl and sprinkle sugar evenly over them. You can also put everything directly into the pot you will use to cook the jam.
- Mix and rest: Stir thoroughly so sugar is well distributed. Let the mixture sit for about 30 minutes until the blueberries release their juice.
- Sterilize jars: While the sugar is blending in, sterilize the storage jars. Place jars, lids, and water in a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Remove carefully and place upside down on a rack to dry.
- Simmer the jam: Once the fruit has released enough liquid, transfer the mixture to a pot and simmer gently on very low heat. Stir constantly to avoid burning or over-thickening. When the jam looks glossy and still moist (refer to the cold water test for readiness), turn off the heat.
- Jar the jam: Fill sterilized jars with the hot jam, leaving about 5-10 mm space at the top. If the spice pieces bother you, remove as many as possible with a clean spoon before filling.
- Vacuum seal for long storage: For long-term storage, vacuum seal the jars.
Notes
After removing the pits and any tough skins from chai plum syrup leftover plums, we were left with only 60g of usable plum flesh.
Based on that, we used three times the amount of blueberries (180g) and sugar equal to 60% of the combined weight of plums and blueberries (144g).
You can adjust the sugar amount between 50% and 70% depending on your taste.
This quantity makes about one and a half 187ml jars of jam. If the spice pieces bother you:
Try to remove as many spice bits as possible before filling the jars with a clean spoon.
Alternatively, you can keep the spices separate and place them at the bottom of the jar before adding the jam. Let the jar sit for a few days so the aroma from the spices infuses nicely. If you want to use leftover plums from regular ume syrup:
Prepare the spices accordingly. For example, if you have 60g of pitted plums, use just under 1g total of cardamom and cloves, plus a cinnamon stick, making about 3-4g of spices in total.
If you have 120g of plums, double the spice amounts.
These spice amounts are based on the quantities used in my rooibos chai recipe.。
This jam is one of those happy surprises that comes from not wanting to waste ingredients. The sweet-tart plums from maesil-cheong have so much potential left in them, and paired with the cozy warmth of chai spices and juicy blueberries—honestly, I’d make maesil-cheong just to get these leftovers again!
Wishing you all a wonderful, healthy, and happy day🕊
💬Did you try this recipe? Let me know how it turned out in the comments— or mention #vegin_vegan_vegun or just tag us @veginveganvegun with your delicious creations!
sumi says
I was looking for a way to use up some of my leftover ume when I came across this recipe. Since I made regular plum syrup, I added the spices later.
The slight bitterness and sourness of the plum go well with the blueberries. I look forward to making it again next year.