Glut of Damsons what to do with them?

thelurch

We unfortunately had to dig out and move a rather small heavily laden damson/plum tree yesterday. Some fruit was ripe but the majority was not.

We had to do it now for various reasons, anyway we picked all the fruit anyway so I have a recycling box full, I have picked out the ripe ones and laid the rest on the side in my shed hopinh they wil ripen.

Has anyone any suggestions for using these up?

Ive thought about jam/wine but do not have jars etc and equipment

I wil probably end up stewing them and freezing

Jayar

How about chutney. I have made plum chutney with underripe plums, so damsons should be ok too.
Hmmm, just read your post again and see you don't have jars. Try your local freecycle, you'd probably get loads of offers.

thelurch

thanks for that, its funny went on freecycle and someone had offered jars tonight!

Hadnt thought of chutney, we dont eat jam but chutney would be good, now I need to find a good recipe

Ted_Hutchinson

I've bottled some again this year this is a previous reply on the topic.

I've given up using Kilner Jars and use large jars that have been used for preserving veg previously. I've got a collection of large jars from lidls that were sold with OLIVES and Peppers in them originally. Providing the lid is in good condition and they've been through the dishwasher and haven't any lingering smell they will be fine. I've an old burco boiler that I use to bring them up to temperature slowly and then it's just a case of popping back every now and then to see how they are doing. The advantage is that they are ready to eat, Just open the jar and consume, and they don't take up further energy being stored, just a bit of shelf space in the garage. I got a bit fed up with having stacks of fruit in the freezer so having it in jars is more convienient.

morganb

By coincidence I'm currently in the process of making Delia's Damson Chutney:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/spiced-damson-chutney,1652,RC.html


It's simmering away as I type.

A tip is to simmer the damsons up in vinegar as D suggests then I let the mixture cool down overnight. The damsons go soft and the stones are easy to remove - lift them out of the pan onto a dinner plate using a slotted spoon then simply use a knife and fork to separate the flesh from the stones.

p.s. We got our jars off of Freecycle too!

cannylass_2

there is a yummy spiced plum chutney by delia (sorry rubbish at trying to post links)- if you google delia, and spiced plum chutney you should find it.i have just made 6lbs of plums into my annual batch today!!! needs a couple of months to mature. ideal for christmas presents.

kethry

i got some damsons from the market to make damson jam with... and had about half a pound left over. not really enough to do very much with - so i looked up on here/the net and found out about making damson gin! You make it the same way as sloe gin. Should be nice for christmas!!

HTH

keth
xx

Lord_Gardener

Offer them to a neighbour/friend as a swap!

bina72

I have a friend who makes damson gin & it is delicious. A lovely warming winter drink!
:beer:

elantan

we have damsons as well and every year a wee old man comes and picks the fruit he needs he leaves us a couple bottles of damson wine and a few jars of jam both a totally delicious one day i will make my own hopefully

Elliesmum

You've all beaten me to it.

Damson Jam - yum and Damson Gin - even yummier, but can't have any this Christmas 'cos I'm pregnant. MIL said she's saving some just for me!

EM xx