It’s our Aunts method. We have never had an issue with spoilage.
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Ok Rooster, here you go; recipes adapted from Serious Eats.
V 1 Chinese Plum Sauce
2 lbs plums, pitted and chopped (I use Green Gage)
1/2 cup good cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger* ( I usually double the
amount & often put whole slices in there too)
2-4 garlic cloves, minced, with whole slices if desired
1 Star Anise pod
Red and green jalapeño, sliced on the angle ( use according to
the heat you want) maybe 1/2 - 1 cup, deveined & seeded if you
want it milder
Put all in a large pot and cook down until it's the consistency
you want
Ladle into hot sterilized jars and process in a water bath for ten
minutes.
So for years I’ve tried to duplicate a bottled or canned sauce I used to buy at the Asian stores. I was never able to achieve that color I wanted.
But last year I had an epiphany and nailed it. I simply used the recipe above & put all white or light ingredients (duh, took awhile 
) Here is what I did:
V 2 Chinese plum sauce:
2 lbs plums, pitted and chopped ( these must be a light green or yellow to get the right color)
1/2 cup good quality white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce (I used 3 crabs brand, Red Boat too strong)
3-6 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger, plus a few coin size slices
2 garlic cloves, minced, plus slices, if desired
1 star anise
1/2 - 1 cup sliced green and red jalapeños
Few Sichaun pepper corn, tied in cheesecloth
Cook in a large pot until you reach the consistency you want. Ladle in hot sterilized jars and put in the water bath for a 10 minute process.
Notes: I do all my jar sterilizing in the dishwasher, just time everything
To be ready at approximately the right time
Fill your water bath canner with hot water to avoid thermal shock when you put the jars in
I wear a pair of those stretchy gloves with plastic/rubber on the bottom side - these really save my hands when canning & you can get a great grip when putting the rings on the jar
Things I use these for: gifts, potsticker dipping sauce (usually put sesame oil in or Doctor it a bit for flavor profile I want) it’s excellent to top Brie with, warm & then sprinkle with chopped toasted macadamias - lots of other ways too, basting pork on grill, poured over pork or chicken in the oven, etc
Just message me if you have any questions and good luck!
Oops, sorry for the crappy looking V 1. the perfectionist in me wants to redo it, but I will leave it as is. 
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Checked yesterday at my favorite little green market. They had some from Ca, but neither the box nor the fruit sticker mentioned the variety. Even the manager didn’t know. It’s possible the harvest was very small, considering your tree didn’t fruit. Apricots are tricky & a bit fickle with weather.
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I’ll talk pectin with you. Sure Jell Light is what I use, but typically cut down on the amount sugar beyond what they say & I also sometimes cut down on the pectin. I use it so I won’t have too cook the berries too long. I get a fresher flavor and better color in this way. But that’s just me. I’ll cook certain things down though, like apples or even some peaches.
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Wow! This is super helpful. I’m going to pantry shop first and then return with questions. Many thanks.
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Correction to my post upthread; the fab pepper relish recipe comes in the Sure Gel Light package, not the MCP. Sorry for the error.
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My Aunt makes apple pectin in batches that we add to jams and jellies that dont gel easily rather than powdered pectin.
edit to add, my Aunts notes
7 tart apples
4 cups water
2 T fresh lemon juice
Cut the apples into quarters, it’s not necessary to peel or core them. Combine with water and lemon juice in a large stainless steel or enamel pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain the mixture through a sieve or place solids in a wet piece of cheesecloth and hang it over a bowl for 6-12 hours to strain. Ladle the liquid into hot jars and process for 10 minutes in a water bath.
For each cup of finely chopped low pectin fruit, add 1 cup of homemade apple pectin and ¾ cup of granulated sugar. Combine the fruit, apple pectin, and sugar into a stainless steel saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice if you are using a low acid fruit. Stir frequently. Bring your mixture to a boil over high heat and boil rapidly, uncovered, until the mixture forms a gel about 10 to 15 minutes.
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Made some peach rhubarb jam this weekend. Peeled the peaches, chopped everything, and boiled with some sugar and a healthy splash of bourbon that I keep some vanilla beans in.
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I think I can smell it!
The birds got most of my nectarines (does anyone use pecked fruit?), but I have some pluots , then figs coming on.
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We overpicked cherries as usual this year. Our u-pick place is 3+ hrs drive away, so we always feel like we need to pick a lot. 60 lbs this year, about 1/3 rainier and 2/3 bing. Knowing we can’t eat it all before it spoils, we have made a few pints of yellow cherry/lime/jalapeno preserves, and plan to do some bing/lemon/red wine preserves later today. I don’t use pectin, so I make sure everything is tart.
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Today my poor suffering husband and I are going to bed late again, jamming. Tayberry jam, and strawberry jam. No fancy add ins. But if I had a vanilla bean, I might’ve tossed it in with the strawberries…
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Beautiful & never would have thought to pair those fruits! Probably a gorgeous color too. We had a fairly small harvest of rhubarb this year, so it became a strawberry rhubarb pie & a layered strawberry rhubarb dessert. Plums will be on soon and raspberries, followed by blackberries. Looking forward to jamming.
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I would use pecked fruit & just cut out the bad places. Lovely looking pluots too and baby figs to be. Envious! I think we can grow figs here in gardening zone 8b, will have to check it out.
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I overbought cherries (Bing) at the store last night, so may riff on some of your ideas. Thanks for the inspiration!
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I think you should be able too - I had a friend who grew them in 9a.
It would be very nice to have a fig tree and its fruit in our yard! Good to hear your friend had success in 9A. Thanks!
I bought too many Bings as well, and am planning a shrub, but am looking for more ideas too.
I think I am hoping for “Bing/lime/jalapeno preserves”. But with Fresno chili! Is there a recipe or something?
Possibly somewhere. Think I would char them to get the skin off, then deseed and get the veins out if desired. I think it would be really tasty and you could just make jam your normal way. Oooh, now I’m thinking peach and shishito chiles…
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I diced mine raw and threw it into the fruit and sugar as they cooked.
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