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Dessert

Preserved Damsons

Preserved damsons are fruit preserved in sugar syrup and set into jelly.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Preserved Damsons

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

  1. Cut the damsons open lengthways and remove the stones.

  2. Place the damsons in a pan and cover with water; boil for 10 minutes.

  3. Pour the damsons into a sieve and wash them separately.

  4. For each pound of fruit, sprinkle half of the sugar over the damsons in large dishes.

Make the syrup

  1. Add the remaining sugar to the boiling liquid and let it boil, skimming well.

  2. Simmer the liquid for 10 minutes, then add the damsons and bring to a boil.

  3. Remove from heat and let it sit, covered, for 20 minutes.

  4. Simmer again for 30 minutes and let it sit overnight.

Finish and pot

  1. Boil the damsons again until tender, then strain them.

  2. Boil the jelly by itself for 1 hour.

  3. Place the damsons in jars and pour the hot jelly over them.

  4. Once cooled, cover with brandy paper, melted mutton suet, and tie with bladder.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Finest prune damsons
Provide the fruit that is cooked into the preserve, giving flavour and body.
Best loaf sugar
Sweetens the fruit and, with the boiling liquid, helps set the preserve and preserve it.

The step that matters

Skimming the boiling syrup. Foam rises as sugar and fruit boil and, if left in, can cloud the preserve and spoil its clarity. Skimming removes it so the finished jelly stays clear and clean-tasting.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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