Damson Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Bake or boil the damsons in a stone jar until tender and the stones separate easily.
If using the skins, remove the stones with a spoon.
If not using skins, rub the pulp through a coarse sieve to retain the stones.
Measure the fruit and place it in a preserving pan over a brisk fire.
Cook the jam
Boil quickly until all liquid evaporates and the fruit is dry.
Add ½ pound of powdered loaf sugar for every quart of fruit and continue boiling until the mixture candies to the sides of the pan.
Crack the stones.
Skin the kernels.
Boil the kernels in the jam for appearance, if desired.
Pour the mixture into shallow vessels like potting jars or saucers and let it cool before serving.
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 that forms the body and flavour of the jam.
- Powdered loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it boils down, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Boiling until the mixture candies to the sides of the pan. Sugar must be added to fruit that has already been reduced dry, then boiled until the mixture thickens enough to pull away from the pan sides. Stopping early leaves a runny jam, while overcooking can make it stiff and sugary.
“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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