Excellent Damson Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the damsons
Drain off the juice from the damsons, then skin and stone them.
Pour back ⅓ to ½ cup of the juice into the damsons and weigh the mixture.
Make the cheese
Boil the damsons over a clear, brisk fire until they form a dry paste.
Add 12 ounces of pounded sugar for each pound of damsons and stir off the fire until dissolved.
Boil the mixture again, stirring continuously, until it leaves the pan dry and adheres to the spoon.
If it does not stick to your fingers when lightly touched, it is done.
Quickly press the mixture into pans or molds.
Store
Once completely cool, cover with a paper dipped in spirit, tie another layer over it, and store in a dry place.
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
- Damsons
- Provide the fruit pulp and natural pectin that set the mixture into a firm paste.
- Pounded sugar
- Sweetens the cheese and helps it set firm and hold its shape when cooled.
The step that matters
Boiling until the mixture leaves the pan dry. Under-boiling leaves too much water, so the cheese stays soft and may spoil; sugar and pectin only set properly once enough moisture has evaporated through continued cooking.
“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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