Damson Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the damsons
Place fresh damsons in an earthen jar and cover tightly with a bladder.
Submerge the jar in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil.
Boil for 3 to 4 hours, adding more boiling water as needed.
Strain the juice through a sieve.
Make the cheese
For each pint of juice, add 16 ounces of pounded loaf sugar.
Boil and stir over a clear fire until it reaches a jelly consistency, about 45 minutes.
Pour into shapes, small saucers, or flat plates to dry.
Store in a box with sheets of white paper between each layer.
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
- Fresh damsons
- Provide the fruit pulp and juice that set into the cheese.
- Pounded loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice thicken to a firm jelly when boiled.
The step that matters
Boil and stir until jelly consistency. Sugar and fruit juice must cook long enough to reach the gel point. Stopping early leaves a soft, runny cheese, while overcooking can scorch the sugar and make it hard and tacky.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.