Tag: jam making

Damson jam

Jars of homemade damson jam

We moved into our little Welsh cottage at the beginning of August in 2019 (just before any of us had ever heard the word ‘Coronavirus’). Less than 2 months later, we discovered that we have a damson tree in the garden that was plentiful with fruit ready to be picked.

Unfortunately, our range cooker was yet to be installed, so we had no way of cooking them; wed were preparing all our meals in a 2nd hand microwave that we brought with us from Yorkshire. We told one of our new neighbours to come over and pick as many as they could take away with them – there were many kilos. We were soon duly rewarded with a few jars of delicious, homemade damson jam – not a bad swap, we thought!

Small trug of damsons picked from trees in our garden

The next three summers saw not a single damson fruit on our tree, we thought it was dying. When September 2023 arrived, we managed to harvest about half a kilo… and discovered another young damson tree in one of our hedges. We picked about ¾ of a kilo in total.

Small trug of damsons picked from trees in our garden

I found a Damson jam recipe on the BBC website; however, looking at the comments, many people that followed it reported that there was way too much sugar stated (which was a weight ratio of 1-1 fruit to granulated sugar).

I left the fruit stones in the jam when I decanted it into the jars – I’m not fussy, and I know to look out for them when putting it on toast and in sandwiches. If you’d prefer to make jam without stones, you can remove them before cooking or by putting the just-cooked jam through a sieve before decanting.

Personally, I don’t mind a few stones in my jam jars. De-stoning the fruit is before cooking is time-consuming (especially if you’re preparing many kilos). Alternatively, sieving it while it’s still piping hot can be dangerous.

Jars of homemade damson jam

Damson jam

Print recipe Pin recipe
Course Condiment
Cuisine British
Servings 4 jars

Ingredients
  

  • 750 g damsons halved, stones left in
  • 500 g granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • Wash jars & lids in hot, soapy water, rinse, then place on a baking tray and put in a low oven for 10 mins or until completely dry. If you're using rubber/plastic seals, remove the seals and cover in just-boiled water. Ensure you also sterilise any funnels, ladles and spoons that you’ll be using.
  • Put the halved damsons into a jam pan or a large, wide, heavy-based saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to stop any skin sticking to the bottom. Put a couple of saucers into the freezer. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the fruit has softened.
  • Add the sugar and stir over a very low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved, up to 10 mins. This step is vital; if you don’t dissolve the sugar, the bottom of the pan may catch and burn and affect the final taste of the jam. Raise the heat, bring to a full rolling boil, then rapidly boil for 10 minutes. Don’t stir until the setting point of 105ºC is reached. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the jam by spooning a little onto a cold saucer (that you've put in the freezer). Wait a few seconds, then push the jam with your fingertip. If it wrinkles, the jam is ready. If not, cook for a few more minutes and test again, with another cold saucer. Once you've reached the 105ºC or setting point, stir the jam thoroughly.
  • Remove from the heat, skim off any excess scum. Leave for about 15 minutes to allow the fruit to settle; if you decant the jam too soon, all the fruit will sink to the bottom. Pour into the sterilised jars, label and seal.
 
I left the fruit stones in the jam when I decanted it into the jars. If you'd prefer to have jam without stones, you can remove them before cooking or by putting the just cooked jam through a sieve before decanting.
Personally, I don't mind a few stones in my jars. De-stoning the fruit is before cooking is time-consuming (especially if you're preparing many kilos). Alternatively, sieving it while still piping hot can be dangerous.
Keyword damsons, jam, preserves

Price Points: Preserve starter kits

Preserving starter kits | H is for Home

  1. Kitchen Craft preserving starter set, 4 pieces: £10, hobbycraft
  2. VonShef 9L Maslin pan jam preserving starter set bundle: £32.99, Amazon
  3. 5-Pieces preserve starter set by Kilner: £69.99, Wayfair

One of the things I love about the start of autumn is making jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys and all manner of other preserves. I made a batch of apple and chilli jelly this week… the first of the season.

Late summer is spent foraging for fruit such as wild raspberries, elderberries and blackberries. They’re added to the redcurrants that were harvested from our allotment in and are made into mixed fruit jelly.

You really should try it – it’s really easy, satisfying and far superior to most shop bought stuff. Get yourself one of these preserve starter kits and you’ll be quickly on your way to making your own.

Each has its own merits however, I’ve chosen #2 as the best of the preserve starter kits for a number of reasons. The most important component is the jam/maslin pan. It needs to be large, sturdy and made of the right material. It needs to be made of a non-reactive material such as stainless steel. Reactive metals such as aluminium and untreated cast iron can give a metallic taste to the food and can also cause discolouration. The pan also needs to be a good conductor of heat, for example, copper so that it achieves the high temperatures necessary in jam-making.

The next most important component is the thermometer. It’s not absolutely essential but, if you’re not entirely confident with using the cold saucer method, a thermometer is the foolproof way of knowing that the magic 105ºC/220ºF temperature has been reached.

A jam funnel is very useful if you’ve got shaky hands like mine, however buying the other components are less necessary. I have a huge store of different sized & shaped jars – I never put the finished jars of honey, mayonnaise, pesto etc into the recycling. With a little pre-planning, you shouldn’t need to buy jars specially for preserving. Just make sure ones you’re reusing have no chips or cracks and have their original airtight lids.

Having said all that – yes, both #2 and #3 come with jars as part of their kits. The former has the edge over the latter as the single 1-litre jar is much less practical than 6 smaller ones. If you store a litre of jam, jelly, chutney etc in a single jar you’ll have to eat all the contents within a couple of weeks of opening or it will go off. Also, you should store your preserves in the fridge once they’ve been opened. I usually have too much other stuff in the fridge to accommodate a litre-sized pot of jam.

In the years I’ve been preserving, I’ve never used a jar lifter (I use a pair of kitchen tongs), a jar wrench (just twist a dinner knife between the space between the lid and the jar) or a magnetic stick (again, I use kitchen tongs). So that’s 3 of the 4 Kitchen Craft items that would be neglected at the back of the cupboard. You could buy each preserve making component you think you’ll need singly – but it’s often cheaper to buy them as a bundle.

Gimme Five! Preserving tools

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selection of preserving tools

On our dog walk yesterday, we picked elderflowers. Today I made our first batch of elderflower cordial of the year.

Elderflower cordial always marks the start of my preserving season. Good kit always makes the jam, jelly, pickling or chutney-making process more successful. Here are a few preserving tools that I recommend!

  1. Swift stainless steel preserving pan: £59.96, Divertimenti
  2. KitchenCraft home made blister carded cooking thermometer: £5.99, Wayfair
  3. 24 assorted Kilner fruit jam labels: £2.50, John Lewis
  4. Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2: from £7.26, Amazon
  5. Ball® preserving starter pack: £19.99, Lakeland

Charity Vintage: Kilner jars

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collection of vintage Kilner jars for sale by & in support of Wesley Community Furniture(ends 23 Sep, 2014 20:07:23 BST)

With all the jam, jelly and preserve making that I’ve been doing this summer, I’m almost clean out of jars. I always give away a lot of what I make to family & friends so the jars are never to be seen again. This collection of 16 vintage Kilner jars for sale by & in support of Wesley Community Furniture* would set me up nicely again.

Kilner jars are great for preserves but are also useful for storing dry foodstuffs like rice, pasta, peas, beans, lentils and dried fruit. And they’re so much prettier than the plastic bags they come in!

*Wesley Community Furniture aims to work in partnership with others to provide furniture and other household items at the lowest possible prices to those in greatest need in Manchester, to further relieve poverty by providing jobs, volunteering and training opportunities, and to recycle and re-use as much of the material they receive as possible.