Specials Board: Damson Jam

Damson Jam & Vegan Mofo Day 21

With my small harvest of damsons I picked yesterday, I couldn't wait to make some damson jam. Most recipes will call for a hell of a lot more damsons than I picked but some is better than nothing, right? I love damson jam and its a hard call to pick between damson and strawberry for me, but during the winter months a little jam can make everything seem a whole lot better, bringing back fond memories of the taste of summer.

Jam making is straightforward, all you need is time and patience, something that I hadn't got much of today! Has anyone else stood over a pot of jam talking to it? Asking it to hurry up and reach it's setting point! My hubby wondered what was going on, and asked who I was talking to. When I replied that I wasn't talking to anyone just the pot of jam I was making, he gave me one of those looks as if to say "don't you think you should sit down for a bit and chill out" ha ha ha ha No can do! With all that delicious food I foraged and was given I had a lot of cooking to do!

I didn't even get started on that humongous beetroot my friend gave me yesterday, far too busy making sloe gin, damson jam and lots of other goodies for the freezer!

Ingredients
580g Damsons
290ml Cold water
480g Granulated sugar

Method
Count the number of damsons and place a small plate in your freezer too. What on earth is going on I hear you cry, count your damsons and put a plate in the freezer, I thought this was a recipe!

You don't have to count your damsons, especially if you have a bucket full! But it helps to know how many stones you need to remove. I had 104 damsons! The plate in the freezer is a neat trick, it will help you test for the setting of the jam. 

Add the damsons to a large pot, and cover with the cold water and bring the mixture up to a simmer. Using a potato masher start mashing the damsons so they burst, this will also help in removing the stones. Simmer for 15 minutes, your kitchen will smell wonderful a bit like red wine. Whilst its simmering start to remove the stones.

Next add the sugar and stir constantly until all the sugar is dissolved. The mixture will start spitting so be careful it can burn. Simmer for another 15 minutes, removing the stones as you go.

After 15 minutes do a set test. Take the plate out of the freezer and drop a teaspoon of the jam onto the plate. The cold plate will help cool the jam down, push the jam with your finger nail and if it wrinkles and has a skin formed then you have reached setting point. Don't worry if it doesn't, eat the little bit of jam on the plate and put the plate back in the freezer. Simmer the jam for another 5 minutes and repeat the test. 

Once you have reached your desired setting point, I don't like mine that thick, pour the jam into sterilised jam jars and top with a lid. Store in a cool place and once opened I always keep mine in the fridge. Enjoy!

Specials Board: Damson Gin - Ready for Christmas!

Damson Gin & Vegan Mofo Day 14

The other day whilst out walking with Marco, I came across a secret sloe berry hideaway, purely by chance. Marco was off sniffing something and after following him through a small wood which was pretty rough underfoot in places I came across a beautiful sloe tree full of lovely sloe berries. Straight away I thought no-one else knows about this! There was no footprints or trails through the undergrowth to suggest someone had been there before. My luck was in! After a closer inspection I thought the sloe berries needed another week or so on the bush, they were a little on the small side and they didn't quite yield when the berry was lightly squeezed like they would if they were fully ripe. They are early this year, you normally have to wait until October or after the first frost. If the sloe tree was in a place where people would walk past I would have picked the berries but as I had found it purely by accident and there was no sign that someone had been there before I decided to leave them and come back in a week or so. 

BIG MISTAKE!!!!

I've since been back, I even drew myself a little map so I could find them again and I was devastated to find that the tree had been stripped bare! I could have cried, even Marco picked up on my disappointment. There wasn't a single berry left on the tree, not even near the top. Whoever had found the tree after I had, hadn't picked to the foraging code, you never ever strip a tree, bush or even an area of its produce. You should only take a small amount for your own consumption. I was heartbroken, full stop, and I could have kicked myself for not taking just a few when I first found it.

Thankfully I had managed to get some damsons on an earlier visit to the community orchard where my parents live. So instead of making Sloe Gin I have made Damson Gin. I've made Damson Gin for quite a few years as I am lucky enough to have a friend with 3 damson trees who is more than happy to give me some big bags of damsons and in return I make her some jam. If you make this now it'll just be at its peak for drinking at Christmas, and it makes an excellent Christmas present.

Ingredients
520g Damsons
130g Granulated sugar
1 Litre Gin

Method
As soon as you pick your damsons, wash and dry them and freeze straight away. Freezing the damsons saves you the mammoth task of pricking each fruit so it releases the juice into the gin. Its a massive time saver and I thoroughly recommend it. Its the first year I have done this as I've only just bought a freezer, but I really don't know how I managed without it before. When I've pricked each damson in the past it has taken me hours!

On the day you decide to make the Gin, remove the damsons from the freezer and defrost. As they defrost you will notice that the bowl you are defrosting them in starts to show some of that lovely pink juice.

Once the damsons have defrosted, add a few damsons to a large kilner jar that you have sterilised. Top with some sugar and repeat until all the damsons and sugar have been used.

Top the mixture with gin, fasten the top and shake so that the sugar starts to dissolve. For the first day keep shaking the gin every couple of hours or so, then shake once every day for the first week. By the end of the first week all the sugar should have dissolved, but don't worry if you can still see some, keep shaking once a day. 

For the next 4 weeks turn the jar upside down and back upright every morning. Keep the jar in a cool dark place for up to 3 months. Then strain into sterilised bottles and seal.

If you make this now it'll be a great tipple for Christmas!

Layer the damsons and sugar

Add the Gin!

Damsons bathing in Gin

A Christmas Tipple