Another month has come and gone, and I’m deep in the thralls of recipe testing for my new book. I was optimistically hoping to post here more often, but I think once a month will probably be what I’m capable of until the book is finished. As such, I have a little last gasp of summer to share with you for this early September day. It’s a plum spoon sweet, based off of the delicious fruit preserves I had while visiting family in Greece this summer. They’re traditionally called “glyko tou kotaliu“, which translates to “spoon sweet”, and they make them with any manner of fruit you that’s around.
Traditionally the fruit is preserved in a syrup, but the means to create the syrup are varied. The more “old world” recipes involve putting the fruit, some sugar or honey, and lemon juice in a jar, sealing it, and letting it sit in the sun for several weeks to slowly cook and caramelize. But the more modern methods involve a saucepan, stovetop, and some simmering. This recipe is for the latter method, since I don’t currently have the bandwidth to add another culinary experiment to my to-do with with the book stuff happening. But perhaps next summer!
As for how to eat plum spoon sweets, they’re wonderful eaten on their own, but also taste great on top of some yogurt and granola, or with vanilla ice cream. You can also enjoy them on toast, as well! They will keep in the refrigerator for a couple months, but I doubt they will last that long because they are so profoundly tasty. And if you’re looking for another late summer recipe, I may point you towards this plum upside down cake. I hope you enjoy them + the last few weeks of summer, my friend!
Plum Spoon Sweet (Glyko)
A delicious medley of summer plums preserved in an anise and vanilla syrup.
Ingredients
- 1 pound plums
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 whole star anise
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Cut the plums in half and remove the pits. Sprinkle half the sugar on the bottom of a frying or sauce pan just big enough for all the plum halves to fit in a single layer, cut side facing down. Sprinkle them with the remaining sugar, drizzle with lemon juice, and then cover with lid and let sit for 12 hours or overnight.
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Uncover and add 1 cup of water and the star anise to the pan, and bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and cool to room temperature. Place clean mason jars, seal with a lid, and place in the refrigerator. Will keep for several months.
My Plum trees are only just showing buds to burst into bloom soon but this process for the fruit is most certainly going to feature in my Summer cooking. I am looking forward to using other fruits as well.
Thank you for this lovely recipe.
How many lbs of plums? It seems to be missing in the ingredients. Looks like a great recipe and good for so many uses
Thank you Mary! It cut off the first letter of the recipe when I imported it from my word document 😅 It’s one pound of plums, and I just corrected it in the recipe. Thanks so much!!