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.

Fruit Liqeurs

Now, I am a woman who likes the occasional drinkie and I particularly like a drink which doesn’t cost too much and I can take some sort of credit for how tasty it is. For that reason I am a big fan of making fruit liqueurs and at this time of year the markets and countryside are abundant with lots of tempting fruits. I have made more fiddly drinks, such as Limoncello, in the past but while yummy I still prefer the very simple gin or vodka based drinks which only require fruit, sugar, booze and maybe some added spices.


Fruity boozy goodness



The benefit of these sort of drinks is once you know the very simple method you can experiment with all sorts of drinks.

You will need-
Large sterile jar/ bottle (ensuring a large enough opening for your fruit of choice)
Fruit (sloes, damsons, plums, peaches, blackberries, cherries etc)
Caster sugar
Lots of cheap gin/ vodka (I always use very cheap supermarket branded spirits, there is no need to use the good stuff)
Spices (optional)

Prepare your fruit, ensure they are of sound quality (you don’t want anything bruised) and clean either by wiping over with a damp cloth (good for plums etc) or washing briefing (better for fiddly things like blackberries). Soft fruits such as blackberries can go straight in the jar but for fruits with a stone I recommend pricking a few times with a large needle. You want to fill your jar about two thirds of the way up with fruit, ensuring it is compact but not squashed, then pour on the sugar until it reaches half way up the fruit. Now pour on your spirit until the top of the container and chuck in any spices, seal tightly and give it a good shake. Shake it every day for a month and then strain it through a jelly bag and seal in smaller bottles after 3 months.

I have been known to use damsons and plums that have been used as above in making scrummy jams, and once just served as they were with ice-cream, that was quite an intense dessert though!

A few recommendations-

• Sloes need more sugar than damsons, plums less than either
• Sloes, plums and damsons all work particularly well with gin.
• Good spices to experiment with are vanilla pods, cinnamon sticks and with gin juniper berries work very well indeed.

Also experiment with mixers for the drinks and the endless variety of cocktails you can make, I have found pomegranate juice goes very well with elderberry vodka, and damson gin makes for a great punch at parties.