How To Make Damson And Plum Jam Recipe
Written by Phil Brown, Badger Bushcraft blog Tuesday, 26 November 2013 14:15
Readers of our bushcraft blog seem to be very keen jam makers during the jam making season with some of the wild fruits that Mother Nature offers us here in the United Kingdom. In this article we will show you how to make an exceptionally delicious jam using damsons and plums. This is a real treat for the taste buds!
Readers of our bushcraft blog seem to be very keen jam makers during the jam making season with some of the wild fruits that Mother Nature offers us here in the United Kingdom. In this article we will show you how to make an exceptionally delicious jam using damsons and plums. This is a real treat for the taste buds!
Jam and chutney making is great fun and filling the cupboards and refrigerator with the taste of autumn preserves these delights right through the year for us here at Badger HQ. There is nothing finer than a spoonful of wonderful homemade jam in a bowl of porridge on a cold winter’s morning accompanied with a steaming cup of freshly ground coffee before heading out to defrost the Land Rover and go to the woods.
A firm favourite jam here is made with damsons, you can find our damson jam recipe, but mixing damsons with local Kentish plums makes for a truly wonderful preserve that has oodles of flavour and natural sweetness.
For our damson and plum jam recipe you will need:-
- 1kg Damsons
- 2.2kg Plums
- 1 Pint Of Water
- 1kg Sugar
- A Large Maslin or Jam Pan
Firstly wash the fruit and remove all remaining stalks and leaves. Then add the 1kg of damsons to1 pint water and bring to the boil and break up the damsons with the potato masher as they become soft. Whilst waiting for the water to boil chop into quarters and stone the plums.
Remove as many stones with the potato masher technique we have employed in the Damson Jam Recipe.
Then run the boiled and mashed damsons through a colander to remove any remaining stones.
Next add the 1kg of sugar whilst bringing the liquid back to the boil and stir until dissolved.
Now add the stoned and quartered plums being carful for avoid a splash from the hot liquid.
We boiled the liquor for some 45 minutes before it was ready to set, obviously smaller batches might require less. During the boiling process any errant fruit stones should float to the surface and can be removed when skimming the jam. Our method of testing for a good set is to place several dishes in the fridge to chill and at regular intervals take a half teaspoon of the liquor and pour it onto the edge of the chilled dish.
When the jam is "about right" the liquid will quickly become quite viscous, sticking to the side of the dish and producing a soft skin that will wrinkle when gently touched with another spoon. When the set is to you liking allow to cool somewhat before carefully potting into sterilized jam jars. Our method of sterilizing jars and lids is to wash the jars in hot water and then place them into a preheated oven at 170°C for about 5 minutes.
If you’ve not tried this recipe before do give it a try as it tastes wonderful.
There are other things you can do with wild and domestic fruit including making some jolly fine liqueurs and recipes for these can be found on the Wild Foods section of our Badger Bushcraft Blog.
If you're new to foraging and wildfoods why not join us on one of our exceptionally popular and highly rated Foraging and Wildfoods Days?
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