Damson Jam

Use under ripe or just ripe damsons - remove the seeds (see video) and then weigh them...

750g-800g of granulated sugar per kilo of prepped damsons

200ml of water per kilo of prepped damsons

Work out the above relative to your fruit weight, once pips removed. And remember, clean and sterile working is key so your jam will last!

Wash, pick over and then de-seed your damsons before weighing to work out the sugar and water amounts you require. Put the fruit and water into a large pan and bring to a simmer. Once the fruit starts to soften and release its liquid (about 8-10 minutes) add the sugar and cook on a low heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. 

Once the sugar has dissolved, taste the mixture. It will reduce a little and concentrate in flavour as it cooks, but you can get a good sense of whether it’s too tart and needs a bit more sugar. If the fruit was a bit riper than you want, or the overall flavour too uniformly sweet, you may want to add a touch of lemon juice to balance the flavour and boost the setting. Just be careful not to overdo it. Taste and adjust as needed with sugar/lemon (smaller increments are better!).

Now bring to a rolling boil and wait for it to thicken and become volcanic and viscous. Use the cold plate test to check for setting and once it’s ready, stir away the scum (if any) and pot into your sterilised jars. I recommend storing in the fridge due to the lower sugar content and definitely once opened. You’ll get 6 months to a year shelf life for the sealed jars, but this sort of low sugar jam is better the fresher it is!

By way of example: from sugar being dissolved to jam ready to pot, this batch took about 20 mins of boiling from when the sugar was dissolved. 20-30 mins is a great window to aim for to maximise the freshness of the fruit flavour in the jam. Less, even better!

Check the video for details on: sterilising your jars, determining yield, checking for the setting point, and tips on how to pot the jam without stress!