Lower Vistula Plum Butter

Powidla sliwkowe from the lower Vistula valley are made from damson-type plums, stoned and cooked in open copper or steel pans over low heat for around thirty hours, stirred continuously, with nothing added - no sugar, no pectin, no preservative - until the water has gone and what is left is almost black, dense enough to cut, and intensely sweet from the fruit alone. They hold EU protected geographical indication as powidla sliwkowe. The plums come from orchards on the Vistula terraces, and the making is a communal autumn event in the villages, done in batches over a day and a night. The product keeps for years unopened. It goes into pierogi, cakes and the Polish yeast buns, and is eaten on bread. Autumn festivals in Swiecie and neighbouring villages centre on the cooking, with pans set up publicly and the stirring shared out.

What you actually see

• Thirty hours of cooking - open pans, stirred continuously, over low heat.
• Nothing added - no sugar, pectin or preservative, only plums.
• Dense enough to cut - almost black, and keeping for years.
• Autumn village cooking - pans set up publicly at the harvest festivals.

When to go

September to October. An hour.

Honest expectations

The genuine article is expensive because of the fuel and labour, and jam sold as powidla in supermarkets is usually sugared and thinner. Making happens over a few weeks in autumn only.

Nearby

Chelmno and the Vistula bluff towns are along the same stretch of river.