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Damson Jelly
Damson jelly is easy to make from this lesser known fruit. Hunt out some damsons in late autumn and get jellying! Just two ingredients and no pectin needed.
Servings: 30 servings (makes about 450ml / 1.75 cups)
Ingredients
- 700 g damsons
- 200 ml water
- 400 g granulated sugar - approximately – weigh the strained juice and match the weight in sugar
Instructions
- Freeze and defrost the damsons. Remove the stones with a cherry pitter.
- Add fruit and water to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the fruit is soft. Mash with a potato masher to break up the flesh.700 g damsons, 200 ml water
- Spoon the fruit into a jelly bag and suspend it over a bowl to catch the juice. Leave to drain for about 12 hours, until it stops dripping. Don't poke or squeeze the bag.
- Weigh the juice, and then add the same weight of sugar. You can weigh them in the saucepan you intend to use to save mess. This should be large and deep.400 g granulated sugar
- Place clean jam jars in the oven, and heat to 140°C / Gas Mark 1. Place the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Heat the saucepan gently to dissolve the sugar.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to bring the jelly to a rolling boil. Start testing for set, using either wrinkle, flake or temperature method.
- Once setting point has been reached, take the jelly off the heat.
- Fill the jam jars with jelly, and screw on the lids. Allow to cool. Store on a cool, dark shelf.
Notes
Hints and tips
- Never poke or squeeze the bag, as this will result in cloudy jelly.
- Don't add too much water at the start of cooking. If you use more than you need, you will need to cook for longer to get a good set and a good flavour.
- If your damsons are ripe need cooking but you don’t have time to make the jelly right away, then either just freeze the fruit, or cook and strain the juice. You can then keep this in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze and make the jelly later.
- For best results, tap the jam jar as you fill it, so that any air bubbles come out. It is best to put jelly in straight sided jars. Put the lids back on the jars while the jelly is still hot, to help seal them tight.
- For safety, I always stand the jars in a tray when filling them in case one cracks. It rarely happens, but it is possible and having a tray to catch any hot jelly is far safer.
- Use any white sugar – granulated or preserving sugar, which has larger crystals. You don’t need jam sugar, as there is plenty of pectin in the fruit.
• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.
Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.002g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 0.5mg | Potassium: 21mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 46IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 0.03mg