I think it you crack open the stone there is pectin inside. Maybe it can seep out of the stone!
i picked some too yesterday while picking blackberries. I think you're not meant to until the first frosts but they actually looked like they were going over so I decided to go for it. I made sure there were lots left on for the birds etc though.
I thought they were sloes. Either way, I'm going to soak them in gin again! I did this last year. A lovely lady popped a recipe through my door after seeing me picking them! So nice. I was premature last year though, and decanted too early (6months). I'll try and leave it for a year this time. Delicious though!
Interesting, as the one part of the plant/fruit there is no pectin is the stone. Perhaps you are thinking of pips as in Seville oranges. Or perhaps your informant was just plain wrong!
One tip for sloes, bullaces or damsons in spirits is to put them in the freezer for a day or two then the skins split naturally when they thaw out and you don't have to prick the fruit.
Damson seeds contain cyanogenetic glycocides, a substance that can change into a killer in the body. The body can detoxify small quantities of cyanide, so lots of Damson pits would need to be consumed to die from the poison.
Actually adding some stones to the Jam gives it am almond flavour.
Yes - the almond flavour will be the cyanide! The molecules' active bit is a similar shape.
Damson jam is indeed very yummy - and, like plums and gages, they have plenty of pectin in them so there's no need to risk poisoning yourself. If you can get greengages, the make the most delicious jam ever. And if you can avoid eating them all before they get turned into jam.
As I understand it, we leave the damson stones in the jam mix because it is so much easier than removing them from the raw fruit.
They float to the top as the jam cooks, you skim as many off as you have the patience to look for them in the mixture. No need to crack them and as damsons have such a wonderful rich flavour, I can't say I've noticed any flavour enhancement from the stones.
I just spit out any stones I don't spot spread on my toast.
The apples in the photo look a bit green/unripe. Better flavour perhaps if Pia leaves them to ripen longer.
If the wild fruit are oblong and purple - they are probably sloes which, incidentally, given the wretched weather this "summer" are a month ahead of normal ripening. So pick soon (next few weeks) freeze, as already advised, and look forward to sloe gin at Christmas. (There! I've said the C word already. Sorry )
If the fruits are more rounded, they are bullaces - and can be treated as damsons. Damson gin is almost (hic) as good as sloe gin - pick now and do the necessary, and you'll have the lovely deep purple liqueur by ummmm January!
Or make jam. Trouble is, I have never found enough of the stones float to the top. So I use a cherry stoner to pop out the stones. Tedious - but worth it for the lovely, deep flavour.
You seem to be in a muddle. Sloes are the smallest and most spherical and certainly the most astringent.l. The next size up are bullaces - they are more oval. The largest of them are damsons. Usually.
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I think it you crack open the stone there is pectin inside. Maybe it can seep out of the stone!
i picked some too yesterday while picking blackberries. I think you're not meant to until the first frosts but they actually looked like they were going over so I decided to go for it. I made sure there were lots left on for the birds etc though.
I thought they were sloes. Either way, I'm going to soak them in gin again! I did this last year. A lovely lady popped a recipe through my door after seeing me picking them! So nice. I was premature last year though, and decanted too early (6months). I'll try and leave it for a year this time. Delicious though!
One tip for sloes, bullaces or damsons in spirits is to put them in the freezer for a day or two then the skins split naturally when they thaw out and you don't have to prick the fruit.
Damson seeds contain cyanogenetic glycocides, a substance that can change into a killer in the body. The body can detoxify small quantities of cyanide, so lots of Damson pits would need to be consumed to die from the poison.
Actually adding some stones to the Jam gives it am almond flavour.
Makes eating it something of an adventure though!
Yes - the almond flavour will be the cyanide! The molecules' active bit is a similar shape.
Damson jam is indeed very yummy - and, like plums and gages, they have plenty of pectin in them so there's no need to risk poisoning yourself. If you can get greengages, the make the most delicious jam ever. And if you can avoid eating them all before they get turned into jam.
As I understand it, we leave the damson stones in the jam mix because it is so much easier than removing them from the raw fruit.
They float to the top as the jam cooks, you skim as many off as you have the patience to look for them in the mixture. No need to crack them and as damsons have such a wonderful rich flavour, I can't say I've noticed any flavour enhancement from the stones.
I just spit out any stones I don't spot spread on my toast.
The apples in the photo look a bit green/unripe. Better flavour perhaps if Pia leaves them to ripen longer.
It is traditional to add just a few kernels to peach and apricot jam. They also contain cyanide.
If the wild fruit are oblong and purple - they are probably sloes which, incidentally, given the wretched weather this "summer" are a month ahead of normal ripening. So pick soon (next few weeks) freeze, as already advised, and look forward to sloe gin at Christmas. (There! I've said the C word already. Sorry
)
If the fruits are more rounded, they are bullaces - and can be treated as damsons. Damson gin is almost (hic) as good as sloe gin - pick now and do the necessary, and you'll have the lovely deep purple liqueur by ummmm January!
Or make jam. Trouble is, I have never found enough of the stones float to the top. So I use a cherry stoner to pop out the stones. Tedious - but worth it for the lovely, deep flavour.