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Dilys Morgan's Jam

A jam recipe from Dilys Morgan of Alltgoch Farm, Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion.

Damson Jam

Ingredients

• 4 lb 12 oz damsons (2.16kg).
• 1 pint water
• 6 lb sugar

Step 1

Put the fruit in a suitable pan and add the water.

Step 2

Put the pan over a low heat and keep it low. If the fruit is frozen then it will take between 45 and 60 minutes to defrost and cook.

Step 3

Before adding the sugar, warm it in the oven. It will melt quicker if warm when added to the fruit and water.

Step 4

Once the jam has boiled, the next step is to see how close it is to setting. An easy way of doing this is to hold up the wooden stirring spoon to see if the jam sticks to it (See photo below). If it does then it should be ready to set.

Step 5

On the surface of the jam, a layer of scum will have formed. You can scrape this off if you want but you'll loose a lot of the fruit as well. Dilys' solution is to quickly stir in a little knob of butter. This will get rid of the scum.

Step 6

Let the mixture cool for half an hour or more.

Step 7

When the jam has cooled enough give it just one more stir with the spoon. It is now ready to go into the jars! Enjoy!