Our 30-minute, foolproof method for preserving fruit

A simple skillet jam can give you more months with your precious plums

Hey Bean Team! We’re three days away from the official start of fall, and if you’re like me, your appetites are shifting with the seasons. But before we bust out the chunky sweaters and turn our attention to all things warm and cozy, there’s still some lingering summer goodness to eat like apricots, plums, and raspberries.

While making boatloads of jam is a worthwhile and sustainable way to keep the fruits of summer with you all year long, I truly don’t have patience for canning or the desire to stack my cabinets with dozens of jars. Enter skillet jam: the quicker, easier way to extend the life of summer’s bounty. There’s no vats of boiling water, no need for surgically clean tools, and no sticky, messy stress. Just yummy jam you can make with three ingredients (four or five if you’re feeling spicy) in less than 30 minutes, and with pretty much any fruit you fancy. 

30-minute jam session

Credit: Gabriella Vigoreaux

My Instagram feed runneth over with pumpkin content, but shoulder-season fruit is the best and I’m not ready to let go. Sometimes I’ve got just a little bit that I don’t wanna say goodbye to. Skillet jam lets me turn that modest amount of fruit into a quick, delicious jam that’ll keep in the fridge for a month or in the freezer well into winter. 

The secret ingredient is already in the fruit. They all have some level of pectin—a naturally occurring fiber that acts as thickener—in their skins, peels, and seeds. This is what gives jam its thick, jelly-like texture. Some fruits like apples, cranberries, and plums have a lot, so they thicken up better than others. (If you’ve ever opened a can of cranberry sauce, you know what I’m talking about.) Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries have moderate levels, while strawberries and peaches have even less. While you can add pectin to jams made with lower-pectin fruits, it’s not really necessary when we’re dealing with small batches. 

The other cheat code is that cooking things down in a wide, flat-bottom skillet helps the water in the fruit evaporate faster than it will in a pot. If you have buckets of fruit, skillet jam isn’t the way to go, but for smaller amounts (and busy schedules) it’s perfect. Think of the following recipe as a baseline you can jazz up with spices, herbs, or citrus zest. Got some bruising basil? Thinly slice and throw it in there. Cinnamon sticks, rosemary sprigs, or star anise pods add lovely depth and spice—just remember to fish them out in the end. Even a pinch of black pepper can make a simple batch of strawberry jam sing. Get creative or keep it simple. Either way, keep this recipe in your back pocket for the next time you’re in a jam-jam. 

Any Fruit Skillet Jam