I think damsons might be my favourite fruit. Not straight off the tree; that way they have a bitter edge which makes you purse your lips. But when they are cooked with sugar they are rich, perfumed and glorious. One of the most lovely things about them is their purplish bloom which imprints itself on your fingers when you pick it from the tree. I picked these beauties on Sunday and the tree stands next to a rose that due to my lazy gardening has suckers that have naturalised. My lazy gardening of course has its benefits, in this case the beautiful rosehips that are hanging heavy. I couldn’t resist picking some to add to my damsons.
I am not sure that the rosehips add anything in terms of taste to this jelly. The damsons overwhelm their delicate taste, but maybe some of their goodness will have hung in there through the boiling process. I am glad I added them for the photo above alone. Look at those colours! Autumn on a plate.
Makes about 3 jars
1kg damsons
300g rosehips
1 litre water
Granulated sugar
Method
Wash the rosehips well and remove the old flowers and check for insects. Chop these finely (wearing gloves if you do this by hand as the hairy seeds are an irritant, I use my food processor). Add to a large pan. Wash the damsons and add to the pan with 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil and simmer away until the fruit is soft. I mashed it with my potato masher. Strain the fruit through a jelly bag or large square of muslin tied at the top and hang over a bowl. The weight of the fruit and damson stones will mean that the majority of the juice will have strained through in 1 hour, but you can leave it overnight. Don’t be tempted to squeeze the bag though as this will make the jelly cloudy.
Pop a couple of saucers into the fridge to get cold.
Measure the juice and to every 600ml of juice add 450g of sugar. Return it all to a clean large pan and bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has dissolved increase the heat to bring it to a rolling boil. Check to see if it’s set by pouring a small amount onto a cold saucer. When it’s cooled push your finger through it and if it wrinkles it’s ready. Pour into warm sterilised jars and seal.
Use it like jam on your toast or as an accompaniment to meat, cheese or anything else that you fancy.
If you like this, then you might also like my pickled damsons, stewed damsons, damson ice cream, damson vodka or damson jam.
Nice. I’m planning some sort of hedgerow jelly this year, maybe with rosehips and sloes, and possibly haws. I’ve not spotted any wild damson trees locally.
I keep meaning to get round to haw jelly. Damsons are funny beasts, I think they like the central belt of the country more than anywhere else. I think someone planted ours in our garden long before we got here. I am very grateful to them.
Oh yes. I’ll make this. I have to say I don’t bother to chop rosehips any more. I honestly don’t think it makes any difference ( I’m lazy….). Did you know the French call the rosehip ‘gratte-cul’ – bum scratcher – simply because of those pesky seeds?
By the way, I insist you make damson ice cream while damsons are still in season. Best ice cream ever!
I will be making reshape syrup if I get time before they turn to mush so I will try your no-chop method. Bum-scratcher indeed. I remember throwing them down each other’s shirts at school. I have blogged my damson ice cream and I agree it is the best ever.