Before
I continue with more easy, make ahead al fresco picnic ideas I'm
interrupting myself – I've been overtaken by events … the damson
harvest.
To
recap damsons are tiny sour plums too bitter to eat like you would a
plum - but they do make great jam and other stuff too.
You
have to be quick – those that fall - “windfalls” are easy prey
for the wasps and bruise. The last good harvest was way back in
August 2017 the yield has been so poor since there weren't enough to
make a batch of jam or anything much else for that matter.
This
year the tree is heaving and with the hot weather and intermittent
storms I don't want to risk losing them.
Here's
the tree :
Now
is the time I'm grateful for my back catalogue stash of damson
recipes!
The
damsons are early this year. As a test run I picked a kilo of fruit
the first week in August, left the damsons spread out on kitchen roll
to ripen a little more and then begin cooking. If I had a tip at
this early stage it would be to choose a recipe/dish that takes a
kilo of damsons. You'll get fed up very quickly with looking at
heaps of damsons. Bag them in kilos and fridge.
I
began with my favourite damson recipe – roasting them. I halved
the following recipe which took no time at all.
Roasting
damsons
2kg
plums – halved and stoned – prepped as suggested
150
caster sugar
Pre
heat your oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6.
Toss
the plum halves in the sugar and place in a large roasting tray –
the one I used measures 42x30cms and 2.5cms deep.
Roast
for 25/30 minutes until the fruit is soft.
Cover
and leave to cool before using.
Cooking is personal - there are heaps of damson recipes out there
but for me roasting suits my purpose since a crumble or a pie base is
very popular in my house. They freeze well too so no waste!
Next up a couple of photos and the jam.
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