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| Posted by: Cecilia |
Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:38 PM |
There are few crops that do really well in the Cumbrian climate and geography, but the damsons grown in the Lyth and Winster Valleys are a notable exception. These are part of the plum family, but smaller and with a distinctive tart flavour. In September the fruit is ready for harvest, and you can buy fresh damsons straight from the farms. Damsons came to Britain with the Romans - you often find damson trees around sites of Roman camps.
Today damsons are popularly used to make damson gin, and each farm makes it for their own use. At Cowmire Hall in Winster Valley, Victoria and Oliver Barratt produce and sell a damson gin with fruit from their own orchard. The damsons are steeped in cane sugar and then added to gin, blended specially for Cowmire Hall. This ruby red liqueur is sold in farm shops and supermarkets throughout Cumbria.
And here is a recipe if you'd like to make your own damson gin, courtesy of Tom Boland and his excellent book A Lake District Miscellany
Damson gin
Ingredients
250 g damsons
125 g white sugar
300 ml or so of good gin
Method
Destalk and wash the damsons. Prick each one a couple of times with the point of a sharp knife or a needle. Half fill sterilized bottles or jars with the damsons, and add the sugar. Fill to the top with gin. Cork the bottles tightly and leave them on their sides for three months, turning every few days so that the sugar dissolves in the liquor. When you're ready to decant the gin, taste to see if it needs any more sugar, then strain it through muslin or filter paper into bottles. The gin continues to improve with age. Damson gin is great before or after dinner, mixed with tonic or lemonade, or as a pick-me-up from a hipflask on the fells.
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