Hi All
Bit long winded but interesting enjoy.
DAMSON JAM
byJoyce Marsh-Brundrett
NB. This recipe can also be used for Apples, Apricots, Blackcurrent,
Cherry, Gooseberry, Greengage, Loganberry, Peach, Pear, and Plum jams.
Is your kitchen like mine - a graveyard of redundant gadgets which were bought in a moment of madness, then alter a few weeks, consigned to oblivion in the cupboard beneath the kitchen sink? Poor things! They must feel quite neglected. A few weeks ago, however, I did get one of them out and produced some very satisfactory home made jam.
First, let me tell you what brought on this untoward burst of energy. I was out exercising my dogs at some unearthly hour - about seven in the morning, if my memory serves me correctly, and feeling more than usually energetic, I took the pooches to a local beauty spot away from houses and traffic, and let them off the lead.
Some rather hefty pruning to the trees at the outer edges of the area, had exposed a hitherto unseen damson plum tree, and I discovered that it's lower branches, which trailed almost to the ground, were absolutely loaded with fruit. Well I never can resist something which is going free, and this was, after all, a wild tree, so quick as a flash, I got out one of the spare plastic bags which always accompany me on such excursions, and in no time at all, I had picked about three pounds of the purple fruit. In case you think I was greedy, the branches were still laden with fruit when I left in spite of my depredations.
Recipe was inspired by Leave it to Cook, (The slow Cooking Method) by Stella Atterbury. The slow cooking method can be done in most ovens, gas, electric, Aga, Esse and some Rayburns, or slow cooking electric casseroles, and the ideal temperature is 180 degrees F. (82 C.) I used a Tower Electric Casserole.
Method
for each pound of prepared fruit allow quarter pint (125 ml) water, 1 lb. (400 g) sugar
Cook the fruit and liquid in one or more covered containers in the oven's medium to cool position or in an electric casserole throughout the day or night. When cooked and still hot, transfer to a large saucepan or preserving pan, add the sugar, also hot, and place over gentle heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Raise the heat and boil rapidly for 2 minutes test for jell - the jam may well have set already, if not, it will only need another minute or so.
The flavour is great and the jam sets, without artificial aids in next to no time. To quote from the above mentioned book, the reason for this is that the pectin and acid in the fruit transforms the syrup into a jell and very slow cooking of the fruit without sugar is the best method of extracting pectin and turning fruit acid and pectose into pectin. Thus cooking the fruit with very little liquid and without boiling, produces the maximum pectin with the minimum loss of flavour and colour
As far as l am concerned, the great thing about this method is that the cook can go away and do other things whilst the slow cooking is going on. The actual boiling to set the jam is almost instantaneous compared to the time needed when using other methods which can take as long as half an hour.
An additional tip: Two ounces of chopped chrystallised ginger for each pound of apples or pears added to the fruit and water is excellent.
Teresa
Sounds lovely! I have just got back from holiday and the damson tree at the bottom of my garden is laden with fruit. Has anyone got a good standard recipe for damson jam? Do I have to take the stones out first? The only recipe I can find says something about weighing the pan and the cooked fruit to calculate the amount of sugar. It sounds complicated to me. Can anyone help?
AL My Damson Jam recipe says:-
1/8 pint water (if fruit is ripe)
1lb Damsons
1 Lb sugar
If Damsons are very underipe use
1lb Damsons
1/2 pint water
1 1/4 lb sugar
Put fruit & water into pan, simmer until soft, removing as many stones as possible.
Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
Boil rapidly until setting point is reached
Pour into sterilized jars.
Damson jelly you wouldn't have to remove the stones at all as it it all strained through a jelly bag! (then you allow 2lb Damsons, 1/3 pint water if ripe (3/4 pint if hard)
Sugar.
Simmer fruit in water until soft
Strain through a jelly bag
Measure the juice and allow 1lb sugar to every pint juice
Stir together until dissolved, boil until setting point is reached.
Good idea Teresa if you have a crockpot!
Don't waste them in fattening jam - put 'em in gin!! = Tim
Someone found my recipe in the archives ;)
did it with plums last year and it was very good in slow cooker. No worry of over boiling it to spoil flavour.
If you have a damson tree your very lucky it realy difficulite to find them they sell so quick.
Have fun making the jam dad says it is better if you keep it for a few months to mature.
Oh yes that comes from the expert damson eater in the family.
Oh Tim Gin and Damson to drink or look at ha ha.
I suppose you could put some drink in the jam oh bozzy jam well they do it to mincemeat.
How about having a least a dozen of them then Teresa?. We have been known to pick over 2 cwt of damsons. Cannot give them away at times either.
Damson Cheese is my favourite. Same recipe as Doris, but after boiling the fruit and before adding the sugar, rub the puree through a sieve, then for each pint of puree use 1lb of sugar. The unsugared puree may be frozen for later use, if like us you have run out of jam jars!
Oh Eric,
I am green with envy,
I managed to get about 14lbs from the little fruit shop in town. This is the only place which sells them and they go so fast.
Lovely fruit ripe some over ripe but the jam looks great ( dad only likes damson jam ) did save a bit for a damson crumble and an apple and damson crumble I am into crumbles at the moment.
Lakeland will send you some more jars overnight, Eric! With lovely chequered lids. = Tim
That slow cooker method sounds interesting - especially for low pectin fruits that are hard to get a good "set" from.
Yes Tim, but jam jars from Lakeland cost MONEY, a commodity I prefer to spend on essentials. like trees and plants ;D
And when you have filled the jars you then need somewhere to keep them, the store cupboards are just a leetle full at this time of year. I would post a photo but I was banned from taking them in the house.
Thanks to Tim I checked Lakeland site out well what dont they sell.
I never thought of buying jam jars I just recycle like my mum did. If OH finds my store and puts them out I go through recycle bin and reclaim them and find another place to hide them.
Find the house to warm for jam now so it in the shed
This is a plea for HELP! My wife has just finished turning this year’s crop of Damsons from our allotment into jam. This is the third year of “production†and over the past two, her efforts were rewarded with great D.jam. However, this years’ crop has failed to “thicken†during the jam making process. The jam has been made in two batches, providing 16 jars, but only two jars from the first batch set: all the rest are still runny.
What went wrong? Is it something to do with “pectin levels� But more importantly, can we still “save†the jam and still make it “set†by adding something quickly, or something else. The jam making was finished this afternoon.
All you can do, as far as we are aware is to empty out the jam back into the pan and carry on boiling until it passes the setting test. We had a batch like this last year and it took ages to bring ti to setting point. Damsons do not normally need extra pectin.
Yours are incredibly early, all 12 of ours are still green! (Thats 12 damsons. not 12 trees!)
Oh Eric what happened to your damsons this year frost? you use to make me green with envy.
Thank you Palustris for advice re: our runny jam problem. We will try re-boiling again tomorrow & will report if successful. We heard (or read) somewhere that too much boiling of jam could be detrimental, but will take the risk.
Yes, our damsons have ripened every July so far. We inherited the tree, along with two vic plums three years ago. All trees have so far always given good crops, but the vic plums ripen later & are still green & hard at present. A climate difference between where we both live? I think your around Oswestry and we are in Bristol. Doesn't seem that far apart though!
Ok which type of Damson do you both have?
It didn’t occur to me that there are variants of damsons (true novice)! I think it would take me some while to sort out the ID of our tree, though I know a little about its origins. Our allotment predecessor (Marie) rescued it as a sapling from being destroyed after some aborted scheme of someone else. She planted it 12 years ago, after getting permission from the local council etc.. I have doubts that it’s a local variety. There appear no other such trees on the allotment.
As for our damson jam, I’m v.pleased to say â€" some success. This morning we noticed that two jars had “set†over night, but others of the same batch not so. We re-boiled quite a few of the remainder, and approx ½ of these have since set, though we lost about 25% of their total volume in the process. We’re determined to have another go at the remainder tomorrow, though this is becoming hard work!
Thank you for all your advice again. Hope of interest.
We presume that our damson trees (probably about 10 of them ) are Shropshire Damsons. They are all wildings in the sense that they are in our hedgerow as opposed to having been planted dleiberately.
Wickham, sadly the process of reboiling does reduce the quantity of jam as you are getting rid of more of the water content of the fruit. This may be why the jam did not set in the first place, that fruit itslef may have been well hydrated. ie full of water.
An easy recipe for Damson Cheese.
Lightly cook damsons without any suger in a very little water just enough to stop them burning on the bottom of the pan. Remove stones with slotted spoon.
Whiz in a blender then to every pint of puree add one pound of suger. Bring to the boil and boil till setting point is reached. (put a small plate in the ice box of your fridge to get really cold for 10 mins - place a small amount on plate and it should wrinkle when pushed across)
Pot as usual.
This makes a delicious smooth 'cheese'. It used to be served in very small ramakin pots.
Use as you would jam.
Damsons are high in pectin so should set very quickly.