Damson Recipes

With the hedgerows giving us such a wonderful bounty this year I thought I would start with a little identification lesson. From left to right we have sloe, wild plum and wild damson.

I freeze my foraged treasure on the day I pick them after removing all stems and washing and drying the fruit carefully first. All of these foraged fruits will make excellent preserves and today I am going share two recipes for damsons.

Damson Vodka

Ingredients

500g damsons

250g sugar

1 cinnamon stick

1 clementine

700ml vodka

Makes one 750ml bottle

Method

Start off by sterilising a 1.5 litre Kilner jar. Carefully wash and pick over your fruit removing any stems or damaged fruit. Add the sugar, cinnamon, clementine zest and vodka to the still warm jar and give it all a good shake. The heat from the jar will help dissolve the sugar. Using a table fork prick each damson four or five times and add to the jar. Leave the fruit in the vodka for at least three months shaking as often as you remember. Then strain through a sieve lined with a piece of muslin into a sterilised bottle. It will keep for up to a year but I bet it doesn’t last that long. If you are not a fan of cinnamon just leave it out.

Damson Cheese

Ingredients

1kg damsons

750g sugar

1 lemon

Method

Place the damsons in a large preserving pan with 150ml of water. Cook the damsons gently over a low heat until they are completely broken down. This will take about 1 hour. Cool the pulp then put the mixture through a nylon sieve into a measuring jug. For every 600ml of puree add 450g of sugar to a clean pan. Add the damson puree and lemon juice to the pan also and heat gently stirring constantly until all the sugar has dissolved. Keep cooking the mixture till it forms a thick paste which shows you a glimpse of the bottom of the pan when you draw a spoon across the base.

Place in warm sterile jars. I use straight-sided jars lined with liquid Glycerine to enable you to turn out the cheese in one piece.

Fig Preserve

A few Sundays back we had the pleasure of visiting our very dear friend Penny Pink at her Grandmother’s home in Chepstow. Not only were we treated to a divine leg of lamb with redcurrant jelly for lunch, but we were also treated to a carrier bag full of figs picked from a rather large tree in the garden. I then spent the entire return journey dreaming of what I could make from my unexpected bounty.

Penny now lives with her husband and baby daughter in Perth and we miss them all greatly. Now every time I eat this preserve I will have happy memories of our sun-filled Sunday at granny’s to remember.

Ingredients

900g figs

1 tsp salt

1/2 vanilla pod

1.2 litres water

1.2kg sugar

1 sachet powdered pectin

4 lemons

Makes five 200g jars        

Method

Chop each fig into approximately 10 pieces and place in a pan with a lid. Sprinkle with the salt and contents from the vanilla pod half and cover with the water.  Let the pan stand in a cool place for 24 hours.

The next day add the sugar and pectin to the pan and heat gently until all the sugar is dissolved. Finally add the lemon rind and juice to the pan and stir well. Increase the heat and bring the pan to a rolling boil. I would expect it to take about 20 minutes of boiling to reach setting point but that is only a rough guide. Use the plate test to establish your preferred consistency. (See Hints & Tips).

Place in warm sterile jars. Should keep for up to a year.

Cherry Vodka and Cassis

After going to our local ‘Pick Your Own’ last weekend we had an abundance of produce to turn into delicious recipes for you to try. So this week it is two for the price of one. The cherries were a generous donation from the lovely Jez Carr, who picked them in his neighbour’s garden and brought them into work for us all to share.

Cherry Vodka

By breaking open some of the cherry stones this fruity liquor will take on the flavour of frangipani.

Ingredients

600g cherries

500g sugar

70cl vodka

Makes one 750ml bottle

Method

Start off by sterilizing a 1.5 litre Kilner jar. Carefully wash and pick over your fruit. Separate out 200g of the cherries and split them in half and remove the stones. Break the stones in half using a rolling pin and add them along with the split fruit to the jar. Add the rest of cherries, sugar and then the vodka. Leave the fruit in the vodka for at least six weeks then put into sterilized bottles.

Cassis

Totally amazing flavour; like swimming inside a blackcurrant.

Ingredients

600g blackcurrants

500g sugar

70cl vodka

Makes one 750ml bottle

Method

Start off by sterilizing a 1.5 litre Kilner jar. Carefully wash and pick over your fruit being careful to remove any stems. Add the fruit and sugar to the jar and then top with the vodka. Leave the fruit in the vodka for at least six weeks then put into sterilized bottles.