Wednesday 24 July 2019

Damson jam

Making jam in this weather?!!!*** I know, but tell the damson tree, the fruit is ripe and dropping and my freezer has no space, it is already crammed full with other fruit. We switched the Aga off days ago in order to keep the house cool, something that happens only rarely. Himself is happy, he loves stir fries and the small wood-fired barbeque has been set up outside where he creates impressive displays of cooking in the wok. (A man, food and fire - my, what a thing to behold!)
Anyway, back to the grind, I had the job of processing a bucket load of damsons before they spoiled in the heat.
With the Aga out of action I had to resort to the electric ring and cooked my damsons in batches using 3lbs of fruit per batch, leaving plenty of room in the pan so that I could get a good rolling boil. I use just over 2lbs sugar to 3lbs damsons to get a good sharp flavour and it is a fruit that always sets well.
It's a sticky business!
But the results are worth it.  12lbs made today, with more to come tomorrow.

13 comments:

  1. Weather to hot but your jam looks wonderful and will be appreciated this winter.
    parsnip

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    1. Yes, you are right, come the winter months I shall be so glad that I made it!

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  2. That looks good Rosemary, and I bet the taste is superb.

    A man at his grill cooking dinner is a beautiful sight to see.

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    1. Only veg get grilled in our house, but he's a really flashy wok chef, the meal ready in minutes!

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  3. I am sure the scent in your kitchen is great, too!
    O.K. often grills for us when we spend the weekend at his place, too. Always good!

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    1. Food cooked and eaten out of doors always seems especially tasty.

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  4. I made strawberry jam in really humid weather a few weeks back...when the berries are ready, you have to get in gear!! Ha ha ha...man, fire, food...love that! :)

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    1. Mm, strawberry jam, delicious! I have problems getting a good set with that. Nothing quite like it though for eating with scones and clotted cream!

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  5. In my garden the gooseberries are waiting to get picked, but till now I haven't found any recipe I would like to try. Any idea, what I could do with them?

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    1. Do you like chutney? There are lots of good recipes online. If you have masses of gooseberries and can't be bothered to top and tail why not juice them and use the liquid for fruit fools. (I sweeten with elderflower cordial.)

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    2. Oh, great, thanks, I'll try that. Shame on me, I haven't picked them yet.

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  6. Homemade jam is so far removed from store bought stuff, it is akin to two different products. If I lived close to you I would come and beg shamelessly for a jar of your damson jam!

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    1. If you lived near, David, I would give you a bucket of fruit so that you could make a good supply of jam for yourself - it tastes good!

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