Damson and apple jelly

I always favour making jelly over making jam, indeed I’m not too sure when I even last made jam, whereas jelly can be guaranteed to be found bubbling away in my kitchen at least every couple of months.

My preference for jellies is two-fold, firstly they are just such a lovely colour, and secondly and far more importantly they require less prep time and I am lazy.

So, for this batch following obtaining a vast amount of damsons, it was damson and apple jelly.

Damson and apple jelly

Basic recipe

Damsons, left whole stalks removed but no need to de-stone

Cooking apples, cored and roughly chopped – about half the volume of damsons

Caster sugar

Jelly bag

Put the apples and damsons in a large pan with enough water to cover generously. Bring to the boil then cook gently until very soft and pulpy, this should take about an hour.

Strain through a jelly bag over a bowl overnight/ at least 8 hours, resisting the urge to squeeze the bag (results in a cloudy jelly).

Measure your juice.  For every pint of juice you’ll need a pound of sugar. Gently heat the required amount of sugar in a dish in the oven, until warm to the touch (150 C for 20 mins should do it).

Put the juice and the warm sugar in a pan – you’ll need a large one with lots of room for it to bubble. Bring to a rolling boil and once you have reached the setting point (start checking after 15 mins), pour into warm, sterile jars. A preserving funnel is a very worthwhile investment)

Testing for setting point

There are various methods of testing for the setting point, many cooks play about with thermometers but I prefer to use ‘the wrinkle test’ as it gives more control over achieving a desired set. A couple of hours before you start cooking the jelly place a few saucers in the fridge (you need multiple so that you always have a cold one).  When you want to test the set take a teeny bit of your jelly (1/2 teaspoon or so) and pour on to a cold saucer.  Leave it for about 30 seconds and then give the mixture a bit of a push with one finger.  You are looking for a distant ‘wrinkling’ of the mixture.   

Variations

Experiment with adding different flavourings, I chucked a couple of cardamom pods in mine. Or if you want a savoury jelly to go with roast meats rosemary would work well.

A note on pectin

This recipe does not use precise ratios of fruit as both are high in pectin, however with other less willing to set fruits always stick with a trusted recipe for that type of fruit/ fruit combination.