Damson and Sloe Gin Jam

Damsons are a proper old school English fruit, a small plum with indigo skin and green flesh, about the size of a queen olive.  I'm lucky enough to have grown up with a damson tree in our back garden which faithfully produced a great crop every year of these little blue beauties.  They made their way into many a good damson crumble throughout my childhood.

Now that my brother and I have left home, even though my dad loves a crumble and happily eats it for breakfast, there are way too many for him to get through on his own.  Luckily I'm here to rescue the whole crop every year to turn into jam - it would be a crime to let them rot on the tree.

This year Melissa and I gathered just over 1.5 kilos which we rushed back to Brighton to make into a beautiful preserve (I learned the hard way last year that damsons don't last long at all once picked).  This just happened to be the perfect amount for my Damson & Sloe Gin Jam recipe.  The sloe gin adds an extra dimension without being overpowering and it has a lovely set - perfect for spreading onto hot buttered crumpets or on a scone with clotted cream and a pot of tea.  Mmmm.

Damson & Sloe Gin Jam
Makes about 6 x 340g jars

1.5kg damsons
1.25kg granulated sugar
50ml sloe gin

1. Start off cutting each damson in half and removing the stones (there's no need to wash the fruit beforehand).  Place a side plate in your freezer for later.
2. Pop the stoned damsons in a large preserving pan and cover with 400ml water.  Bring the fruit up to a simmer and cook gently until the skins have softened and the flesh is tender (about 25 minutes, but keep checking).  While this is happening, sterilise your jars and lids.*
3. Once the fruit is tender, add the sugar to the pan and stir until the crystals have all dissolved.  Bring the mixture up to a full rolling boil until you reach the setting point,** usually about 12-15 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  If you notice the fruit is bobbing on the surface then give it another couple of minutes as it's probably not cooked enough for the fruit to have absorbed the sugar.
4.  Stir in the sloe gin (bask in the lovely aroma mmmm) and pour into your sterilised jars while still hot and cover immediately.  This deep purple preserve will keep well for a year in a cool dark place - refrigerate after opening.

I hope you enjoy the recipe - if you make it please leave a comment and let me know how it turns out!

* To sterilise jars, I wash the jars in very hot soapy water and rinse clean and leave to drain.  Then place the jars upright in a large roasting tin lined with a teatowel and dry the jars in a low oven at 120C for about 20 minutes. Keep them warm until ready to use.  Sterilise the lids by boiling in a pan of water for 10 minutes.

** To test for a set, the foamy bubbles will have given way to deeper glossier bubbles and it starts to look more jammy.  Take your side plate out of the freezer and place a teaspoonful on the plate and leave for a minute (take the jam off the heat while you're testing so it doesn't over set).  Push the jam with your little finger - if it crinkles then the jam is done, if not give it another couple of minutes at a rolling boil and test again.

Brighton Bakery launches a new line of preserves

Now that we've done a few market stalls at various events we realise just how much work goes into making all our cakes and sweet treats with a huge bakeathon the day before.  After the last stall at Nigel's Eco Market, Melissa and I decided it would be a good idea to diversify the products we offer that have a longer shelf life than our cakes.  And we came up with the cracking idea of making a small range of delicious preserves. 

As is typical with us, we concocted our cunning plan rather late in the season, missing out on much of the summer bounty and so there are many fruits that are just not available locally or would simply cost to much to turn into lovely jam.  Sorry Melissa - no strawberry jam this year.

But one very cost effective seasonal fruity offering we were just in time for was my annual raid of the fruit trees in my dad's back garden!  He kindly donated several carrier bags full of damsons and three kinds of apples, plus some plums and raspberries and he even helped us forage some sloes and blackberries from the woods behind his house.  Fan-fruity-tastic - thanks Dad.

Over the last 2 weeks Melissa and I have been busy peeling, chopping, simming, stirring, rolling boiling and potting nearly 40 jars worth (so far) of lovely preserves, including Damson & Sloe Gin Jam, Tangy Russet Apple & Honey Jam, Plum Jam, Apple Date & Walnut Chutney and Plum & Russet Mincemeat which will make some delicious mince pies this Christmas.

Apple Date & Walnut Chutney

If you're feeling frugal or fancy a spot of jamming on a rainy day I can heartily recommend our preserving bible, the fantastic River Cottage Preserves handbook, where we found the recipes for the Plum Jam and the Plum and Russet Mincemeat.  I have made both of these a few times and they are great recipes to start off with as they are quite straightforward.  But we've gone a step further and developed a couple of recipes of our own which will make an appearance at our next stall.  If you can't wait until then to buy a jar then you can get out your pinny and make your own by following one of the recipes I'll be posting shortly.

Happy jamming xx