Damson Jam

martindow

If you've got loads of apples, I would add your plum jam to the apple jam/jelly. It would certainly set then and a tinge of plum colour and flavour should be very nice.

mazza245

My recipe was 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of damson mixture (when the damsons had been simmered until soft with just a touch of water) and it tastes just right but I was too tired to boil it up again last night. The damsons were very ripe but I did boil it up with the stones in and then removed them which should have given more pectin. I can't understand it but never mind, we will just have to use this jam up before the others (raspberry jam and plum conserve). Thanks for all your advice.

Liney_2

Do you think if I made some jan tarts with it it would firm up a bit or will it be too runny still!

Gave loads of jars to the in-laws yesterday so only have 3 left to eat myself. My cleaner wants one jar so down to 2 yay!

morganlefay

I went to pick some damsons yesterday at PYO farm and a woman there said she had tried to make jam from her usual recipe with the Victoria plums (which are extremely tasteless this year, unlike the damsons which are delicious, even when eaten raw) and it wouldn't set no matter what she did. I made jam with my damsons (as well as Damson vodka - YUMMMM) but we always have it runny now because we just have it with yoghurt. Perhaps it's just somehting in this year's climate which has made it not set. Last year I overdid it and it was rock hard in the jars, and was disgusting and no good for putting in yoghurt. I put lumps of it in apple crumbles and used it up that way, but short of freezing an excess of runny jam I'm not sure what I'd do. I do freeze the fruit 'raw' and then make more runny jam later in the year which works a treat. I think the fruit are easier to freeze than jars of made jam as the bags of them squidge into corners of the freezer like peas. I bought a jam thermometer this year which has revolutionised my jam making as now I can gauge the set exactly - would that have helped with the set ? And please can someone tell me what 'lol' means ? I am new to this and thought it meant 'lots of love' but it obviously doesn't. Sorry to be dim.
Merry jam making !

researcher

lol = laughing out loud (I think)!:rotfl:

martindow

Does lemon juice help setting when pectin levels are a bit low? I notice that some recipes include this.

morganlefay lol = laugh out loud (I think)

mazza245

I want to thank you but the button has disappeared. Why does it do that?

super41

My Victoria plum jam has set ok, though at first I thought it was a bit runny. Seems to firm up after a day or two. A bit off topic, but made some of Delia's damson chutney yesterday and its fab, would recommend it.

maz8869

mazza245 wrote: »

I am well used to jam making but I have just bought some damsons for the first time. I have made damson gin (I hope it will be OK, it's new to me!) and made some damson jam with the rest. Although it 'skinned' as usual on the plate, it just won't set in the jars. I have tipped it out of the jars again and boiled it up again and although it 'skinned' as it should, again it hasn't set! Does anyone know if you have to add extra pectin to damsons or something? If it doesn't set properly, presumably it won't keep without going mouldy. Mind you, it tastes so nice, it won't have to last very long! I don't like it not doing as it should. All other jams set beautifully very quickly, why not this one?

Thanks for anyone who can help.

Not sure what happened there.... i made jam for the first time and used damsons and it came out perfect.. did you leave the stones in then take them out afterwards? I did it this way, as i believe it will contain more pectin in the stones than just the skins alone...
I'm going to drain the fruits off my vodka next month and try using the drained fruit to make a damson vodka jam.... waste not want not! :beer:

maz8869

Liney wrote: »

My recipe was for 5lb damsons and 3lb of sugar and 1 pint of water what was yours mazza245?
WHen I checked reasons for not setting mine said it could be too much or too little sugar - which really doesn't help when I followed the recipe. My fruit was very ripe though so maybe that was what affected it?

usual rule of thumb is same quantity of sugar to fruit.... hope the next batch works better for you