Damson Jam
Damson jam is a little different to most jams out there. It's loaded not just with sweet flavour, but also a delectable sourness inherent in the skin of the fruit. This small batch damson plum jam is ideal for anybody who likes their fruit preserve with a little edgy flavour to it, especially since it also embraces enticing baking spices. Makes 2 x 340g jars.
Servings: 34 20g servngs
Calories: 64kcal
Equipment
- 1 Large saucepan with a heavy base
- Digital food thermometer e.g Thermapen
Ingredients
- 500 g Damsons
- 500 g White sugar Granulated or Caster
- 125 mml Water
- 1 Cinnamon stick 10cm
- 5 g Fresh ginger (3 x 1mm thick slices)
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Roughly chop each damson in half and add to a large saucepan. Don’t worry about removing the stones for now.
- Add in 125ml water and cook for around 10 minutes until the fruit softens enough for the stones to fall away from the flesh of the fruit.
- Remove the stones using a metal spoon.
- Rub the stones in a sieve to extract any lingering flesh. Discard the stones but add the flesh back into the pan.
- Add the sugar and spices then cook gently for 10 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
- Turn the heat off and let the fruit and spices infuse for 1 hour, then take the spices out of the pan and discard them.
- (Optional) start sterilising your jars when there are 15 minutes of the infusion time left.
- Return the pan to the heat. Bring to a rolling boil and cook until the temperature reaches the jam setting point of 105 degrees Celsius (221 degrees Fahrenheit) on a digital food thermometer such as a Thermapen.
- Let cool for 10 minutes then decant into sterilised jars.
Notes
- Do not peel the damsons – the skin adds a unique flavour and tremendous colour to this spiced damson jam.
- Take your time when removing the stones from the part-cooked jam to ensure you don’t leave any behind. Some people even count the fruits they add to the pot so they can also count the stones back out.
- Even if you think you have removed all the stones, it’s a good idea to warn people that there may be a stray stone hiding within the jam, just to help avoid an incident.
- Do ensure that your jam is cooked to the right temperature. If it is not cooked to the setting point it will not set. However, jam that is cooked well beyond the set point will turn out too thick to spread.
- If you do not have a food thermometer it is still possible to check that the setting point of the damson preserve has been reached. Put a small saucer into the freezer at the start of the cooking process. When you think that the jam is sufficiently cooked spoon a small amount of it onto the plate. Count to 15 then push it with a finger. It should wrinkle and take time to spread back out over the plate. If it just runs around the plate it needs to be cooked for a little longer and tested again.
- If you intend to store your damson plum jam for longer than a few weeks don’t forget to sterilise the empty jars whilst the jam is cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 64kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 0.4mg | Potassium: 24mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.04mg