Conserve of prunes or Damsons made another way is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a classic method of preserving prunes or damson plums by boiling the fruit in rose water or white wine, straining the pulp and boiling this with sugar until it reaches the setting point. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: Conserve of prunes or Damsons made another way.
52. Conſerue of prunes or Damſons made another way.
Take a pottle of damſons, prick them and put them into a pot; putting thereto a pinte of Roſewater or wine, and couer your pot, let them boile well, then incorporate them by ſtirringe, and when they be tender let them coole, & straine them with the liquor alſo, then take the pulpe and ſet it ouer the fire, and put thereto a ſufficient quantitie of ſugar, and boile them to their height or conſiſtencie, and put it vp in gallypots, or iarre glaſſes.
Modern Redaction
This is termed a conserve, but actually it's what we would call today a jam. The only real difference to a modern jam is that the fruit are boiled in water until just soft then drained and cooked with wine and sugar until they reach the gelling point.
A 'pottle' here is standard Elizabethan unit of volume (half a gallon) that's basically 2.25l or 1.5kg of fruit.
Ingredients:
1.5kg damson plums
600ml rose water or dry white wine
500g caster sugar per 500g fruit pulp
Method:
Wash the fruit well then place in a large pan with the rose water or wine. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until the fruit have softened then increase to a gentle boil and cook for about 15 minutes more, or until the fruit have broken down.
Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly then turn into a fine-meshed sieve. Press the fruit pulp through into a bowl using the back of a spoon. Measure the weight of the pulp then scrape into a saucepan along with 500g sugar per 500g of plum pulp. Return to the heat, bring to a boil and cook rapidly for about 15 minutes. Test for setting by placing a plate in the fridge. Spoon a little of the jam onto the plate, allow to cook then move it with your fingernail. If a crinkly skin forms then the jam is ready. If not continue boiling for 5 minutes more and test again. Skim the surface then ladle into sterilized jars that have been warmed in an oven set to 100°C for 5 minutes. Allow 1cm of head space then secure the lid, allow to cool and store.
