Damson Archives - All That I'm Eating

Damson Gin, Lychee and Champagne Cocktail

December 3, 2013 By All That I'm Eating 11 Comments

As much as it’s lovely to have plenty of ideas for food to cook with a festive feel you can’t very well just make do with mulled wine for the month of December. No indeed. At some point in my life I went from having no spirits in the house to being on the verge of opening a drinks emporium. It seems to have crept up on me (I’m sure it has to everyone) and I have all sorts of odds and ends to do something with. The brandy is being used to make sloe or damson port but the four different gins I have going on need to be used up. It’s getting ridiculous.

Ingredients

You will need (per drink):

37.5ml damson (or sloe) gin
1 lychee from a can plus 3 tsp of the syrup
Champagne to top up

Method

It’s not particularly complicated but who can be bothered with all that exuberant shaking when you’ve just eaten a disgraceful amount of roast potatoes?

Pour the gin into a glass; over ice if you’d like. Plonk the lychee in with the syrup then top it up with Champagne.

You might want to play around with this recipe a little; if your gin is particularly sweet or sharp you may need a little more or less lychee syrup. read more

Damson Gin with Lemon and Lime

August 1, 2013 By All That I'm Eating 14 Comments

It’s nice to have a cupboard full of foraged wares. Currently I am housing sloe port made with sloes that were steeping in gin for two years, a nine month damson gin and I am now using the gin soaked damsons to kick off a batch of damson port. I’ve been busy. As nice as it is to sip the damson gin like a thin fruity syrup it’s also nice to be able to jazz it up sometimes.

After nine months of steeping the damson gin has come out a glorious, deep, rich red colour and it is asking to be made into a long drink. This is my perfect summer evening tipple. If I don’t have lemonade in the house it is just as good with a bit of tonic. It doesn’t look fancy, it’s not got any frills but when it tastes this good and fresh it doesn’t need any. read more

Pear and Damson Lattice Pie

September 20, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 25 Comments

You know when you’ve just always wanted to make something? I’ve always wanted to try a lattice pie; one with lovely red fruit under the interwoven top. I imagined it would be assembled in a cloud of flour with pastry flying all over the place while I tried to weave the lattice. I envisaged having to try and find my inner Mr Tickle. In reality it was a comparatively calm affair with only slight frowning during the construction. Some people, I like to think of them as having iron teeth, will happily eat a damson just as it is. I find them far too sour; comparative to eating a stick of rhubarb, and so cook mine (or mix them with gin) to encourage their flavour with a little sugar. Damsons are rock hard plums with a lovely deep purple skin. I have been lucky to find some growing nearby but they are so high up only some enthusiastic tree shaking would get them down. I think I’d get some funny looks. Luckily my greengrocer has ample damsons and also (of benefit to the finished pie) some unripe pears.

You will need:

Large handful damsons, stones removed 3 unripe pears Sugar 250g plain flour 125g cold butter A few spoons of cold water 1 beaten egg

Put the damsons into a pan with a spoonful of sugar and a little water and heat them gently so they start to soften. While they are cooking, peel and dice the pears and then add them to the damsons. You want to keep them on a heat where the fruit makes gentle pfft pfft noises as it cooks, lid on, for about 20 minutes. You might need to add a little more water if the fruit starts to catch. After 20 minutes give the fruit a little squidge with a masher to puree it a little, keep a few lumps though. Taste it and add more sugar if you think it needs it. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, you don’t want much moisture left in the pan. read more

Damson Gin – how to make it

September 13, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

September is the time of year to get out and investigate the hedgerows. It’s also the time of year to make some Damson Gin. There are all sorts of fruits and berries waiting to be picked by eager hands: sloes, rosehips, blackberries, damsons and apples can all be found with a little searching and bravery. I say bravery because foraging is always fraught with a small amount of danger, for instance, a wasp can easily be inhaled if you become distracted by a particularly juicy apple. read more

Damson and Apple Crumble

September 18, 2011 By All That I'm Eating 13 Comments

Crumble is the food I turn to when the evenings start getting darker and it starts getting cooler. Especially this damson and apple crumble. The way the sweet, slightly tart fruit of choice bubbles and seeps through the crunchy, crumbly, biscuity top is a sure fire way to warm you from inside to out. What I love about crumble is that it’s so versatile; the fruit is whatever fruit you can get your hands on. I think that a person’s crumble is as unique as their fingerprint. Some crumbles are like a great wave of shortbread on top of the fruit, some are all big and little bits scattered willy nilly all over the place, some add extra sugar on the top, some add nuts and some add oats. Whatever your crumble style, it’s your own. Recently I bought some damson jam out of politeness at a local market. I don’t even like jam. When I got home I wondered what on earth I was going to do with it. I got some crusty white bread, some soft unsalted butter and a dollop of the damson jam and it was a revelation. I’m ashamed to say that the loaf and jar were consumed in one sitting. What have I been missing out on all these years? It turns out I do like jam but was left wondering where damsons had been all my life. When I noticed some lovely damsons outside my local greengrocer I just had to have them – I’d run out of jam for one thing. They were crying out to be made into a crumble. As I didn’t have that many of them I added an apple to make it go a bit further and add a little sweetness. This damson and apple crumble was absolutely fantastic. The damsons add such richness and gorgeous colour, the apple is just detectable in the background giving it a lovely homely feel. This crumble had extra caramelised bits on the edges of the dish and peeling them off and chewing them has to be one of the most enjoyable things there is. If you’ve not had damsons before or are unsure how to deal with them then I urge you to give this a try. Crumble is such a tried and tested favourite, how could it go wrong?

Top Tips

Just like the crumbliness of your crumble is rather personal, so is what you choose to serve the crumble with. Cream, custard or ice cream? If you go for cream is it single, double, Gold Top or clotted? If custard, ready made or home made? If ice cream should it be vanilla with or without vanilla seeds or should it be clotted cream ice cream? It’s all very complicated and someone will always be upset no matter which you choose. I always opt for cream because I can stir it all together in the bowl and pretend I’m 8 years old again. read more