We have a wide variety of Damson/Bullace in the hedgerows of Cookham. For this recipe I pick from the trees that bear larger fleshier fruit ... which I think ar Bullace ... but it doesn't really matter.
Prep Time30mins
Cook Time45mins
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: British
Diet: Vegerarian
Recipe Type: Drinks
Servings: 1Litres
Ingredients
1kgDamsons
300mlWater
1kgCaster Sugar
Instructions
Place the fruit and water in a large saucepan and bring slowly to the boil. Mash the fruit with a potato masher and then simmer for about 45 mins.
Line a large sieve with a fine cotton teatowel over a large bowl. Tip the fruit in and allow to drip overnight. NOTE : I have a very fruit stained tea towel I keep for making cordials and jellies.
In the morning, squeeze the teatowel to get out a wee bit more juice.
Measure the resulting juice and pour into a large pan. For each 1 litre of juice add 700g of sugar. Heat the mixture gently to dissolve the sugar, then remove from the heat.
Pour into warm, sterilized bottles leaving a 1cm gap at the top. Seal the bottles. I use Kilner bottles with the spring top stopper.
Notes
For more details on making cordials from various fruits, see teh excellent River Cottage Handbook No. 2, Preserves by Pam Corbin