787 alum recipes

Find out why Little Jack Horner stuck his thumb into a pie by trying this delicious dessert.

Grandma's plum pudding: a traditional steamed Christmas pudding with raisins, currants, citrus peel, suet, and warm spices. Three hours of slow steaming for a dense, fragrant holiday dessert.

Traditional British Christmas plum pudding: a dense steamed pudding rich with suet, dried fruit, candied orange, and brandy. Made weeks ahead to mellow, then reheated and flamed for the holiday table.

Old-fashioned sweet crispy pickles brined for 14 days then finished in a cinnamon-clove vinegar syrup. A heritage canning recipe that rewards patience with the crunchiest, sweetest pickles you'll ever jar.

Traditional Pakistani chum chum made from fresh paneer, tinted with saffron, simmered in sugar syrup and garnished with cream, pistachios, and fragrant kewra essence.

Brie quesadillas with jalapeño-plum salsa bring creamy, buttery cheese together with sweet-tart stone fruit and a kick of chili. A 30-minute appetizer that punches way above its weight class.

Ripe plum filling for pierogies uses fresh peeled plums with sugar and cinnamon tucked inside pierogi dough. A traditional Eastern European sweet dumpling filling with three ingredients.

Sesame-crusted tofu cubes fried golden and served with a homemade plum dipping sauce made from fresh plums, soy, and teriyaki. A vegetarian party appetizer that serves 16.

Fresh-juicy plums add an extra yumminess to these moist and nutty cupcakes. Pack one or two into your or your kids's lunch-box. Yum!

Red plum spice cake made with plum baby food for moisture, cinnamon, cloves, and vegetable oil baked in a Bundt pan. A dense, spiced oil cake with a clever shortcut ingredient that keeps it moist for days.

This buttery and fluffy upside-down plum cake will for sure make everyone who has it want a second slice.

Georgian chicken with tkemali-style plum sauce: whole chickens broiled with butter, served under a tart plum sauce spiked with garlic, coriander, and red pepper. A Caucasus classic.

Light plum or apricot tea cake made with egg whites, orange juice, and fructose instead of butter and sugar. A lower-fat fruit loaf that stays moist for days.

Plum conserve with oranges and walnuts: a rich, old-fashioned preserve of plums and whole ground oranges simmered with raisins and sugar, studded with walnuts. A nutty, jammy spread for toast and cheese.

Heritage crystal pickles brined for 5 days, boiled with ginger and alum, then simmered in sweet pickling spice syrup until glass-clear. A Southern canning tradition worth the wait.

Homemade maraschino cherries preserved in sugar syrup with almond extract and lemon juice. A three-day canning project for bright red cocktail cherries without artificial preservatives.