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Post by Weyland on Aug 12, 2011 11:30:55 GMT
My damson tree is fruiting this year, and I think they're nearly ripe. Anyone know how to tell the best time to pick them?
There'll be oodles, and I'll trade some with the farmshop up the road for bread, potatoes, etc., but I'd like to have a go making something of them myself (Jilona used to make delicious jam).
Don't know where to start. Anyone?
Also have a plum tree, but I'll eat a lot of them, preserve some for Xmas, and trade the rest. Should I do something to them before freezing? They're definitely ripe right now.
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Post by tarzanontarmazepam on Aug 12, 2011 12:43:08 GMT
I shouldn't be replying because I can't help you Weyland. Jam is something I only come across on wet Easter Monday afternoons in the darkest corners of my mother's kitchen cupboard, just as the Von Trapp family are bowing out with a final burst of song in The Sound Of Music. Then I spread this dark red mush on some scones, thinking that it might have existed since 1980. Then as the theme tune to Poirot kicks in I start boking...the sickliness of the dough and the jam getting caught in my throat. I aint got a sweet tooth I'm afraid. My mother deep into her seventies still makes her own jam...and bakes a lot. Bless her. (not that I'm a weirdo who spends too much time with his mother you understand)
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Post by jean on Aug 12, 2011 15:56:06 GMT
Damsons make wonderful jam, and it sets very easily because they have lots of pectin. You don't need as much sugar as is often suggested - never put more than the weight of the damsons, and if you're feeling daring and you don't like the jam too sweet, use less.
Boil the fruit first until it's soft without sugar - this stops the skins from toughening. They usually say about half an hour but less is probably enough. When the stones become loose, you can take them out unless you're really lazy. (I make a cut through the side of the fruit to make this easier, but don't try to take the stones out first unless you have a freestone variety.)
Then boil fast with the sugar for up to ten minutes. I never find that testing a bit on a saucer to see if it's set is any use - I just use my skill and judgment.
They should have taken a good colour and started to go a bit soft before you pick them. It's no use tasting, because they're always sour.
They won't be long now though, because everything's so early this year.
A lot of my plums have a nasty mould on them - does anyone know what that might be?
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Post by jean on Aug 12, 2011 16:07:31 GMT
I wouldn't think of freezing plums raw - they won't be good to eat.
You can stew them and freeze them, though, but it's a bit of a waste of they are good to eat. You can do the same with damsons.
(My plums have brown rot - I've just googled it. Sob.)
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Post by tarzanontarmazepam on Aug 12, 2011 16:12:34 GMT
Jean frightens me.
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Post by housesparrow on Aug 12, 2011 19:24:00 GMT
Jean frightens me. Well, I can understand that. We have our first crop of plums since we planted them, and the idea of them getting a nasty disease is pretty scary. However, I feel sure that Jean will disenfect herself before leaving home. The good smell of Jeyes Fluid is nothing to worry about. (I don't know what brown rot is, but I hope it isn't deadly)
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Post by everso on Aug 13, 2011 12:50:23 GMT
Jean's jam recipe seems pretty sound. I've never made damson jam so wouldn't really be able to advise.
As for freezing plums, oooh, they'll go mushy if you freeze them raw. Stew them first, as Jean suggests. Or eat them raw.
Note for Weylands shopping list: remember to buy more Andrex. ;D
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Post by Weyland on Aug 13, 2011 13:10:53 GMT
Jean's jam recipe seems pretty sound. I've never made damson jam so wouldn't really be able to advise. As for freezing plums, oooh, they'll go mushy if you freeze them raw. Stew them first, as Jean suggests. Or eat them raw. Note for Weylands shopping list: remember to buy more Andrex. ;D I discovered the last tip empirically just the other day. That's why I need a way to use the plums without eating them all now. Can't stand waste. (Though I don't buy Andrex — prefer Aloe Vera Quilted from the Aldi. Want to see action pics?) Meanwhile, I've decided the damsons are not ready to harvest this week, but have swapped some plums for fresh bread, bacon, and sausage (all local) from the farm shop. Win win. Warms the heart, it does.
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Post by everso on Aug 14, 2011 8:03:48 GMT
The barter system. Excellent!
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Post by Weyland on Aug 14, 2011 8:55:19 GMT
The barter system. Excellent! It's great. Another thing is that the shop's already failed once, closed for a year or so, and then reopened. If she can get some bargain stuff to sell from the likes of me it's bound to help, which benefits everybody and stops waste. She'll be getting a lot of the plums, most of the damsons, and heaps of two kinds of apples. And I get bacon, potatoes, maybe other veg, and bread. I might go up-market and put some coca, hemp, and poppies in next season.
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