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I was lucky enough to be gifted a bumper haul of damsons this year, so whilst I’ve of course made up batches of my Damson Jam and Damson Gin this year I’ve added enough simple yet utterly delicious recipe to my damson arsenal: say hello to my simple Damson Cordial recipe, jazzed up for the season with just a touch of cinnamon.
Perfect served with a little sparkling water over ice, I love that the natural acidity of damsons paired with the sugar means you don’t need to add any citrus fruit to stop things being overly sweet as you would a regular cordial, just sugar to preserve the juiced damsons (and of course a cinnamon stick) and that to make this damson cordial all you’re doing is boiling everything together and straining it you don’t need to mess around with fiddly damson pits which are the reason making a batch of damson jam takes so long! Just leave it to cool, stash it in the fridge, and I promise that it will be long gone before it even starts to consider going bad!
What are damsons?
Let us be honest, you’ve probably arrived here because you’ve been Googling damson recipes trying to work your way through preserving a similar haul (!) but if you’re a regular reader and you’ve never heard of a damson before, it is a very small, blue-hued plum found both in fruit orchards and in the wild here in the UK. Very, very bitter, you need to cook them down with plenty of sugar the make the most of their stunning pink-purple hue, and unsurpassable candy-like flavour. Honestly, they’re one of my favourite treats among the end of summer, start of autumn plum bounty.
This easy Damson Cordial recipe is infused with a hint of cinnamon for the perfect autumnal sip to enjoy poured over ice and topped up with sparkling water.
Ingredients
Scale
500g (1 lb) damsons
500g (1 lb) white granulated sugar
500ml (2 1/4 cups) cold water
1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
In a large saucepan, combine the damsons, sugar, water and the cinnamon stock. Place over a medium high heat and bring to the boil.
Reduce to a vigorous simmer and leave for 15 minutes, until the skins of the damsons have split, the flesh has broken down, and the liquid has turned a beautiful pink-purple hue.
Remove from the heat and leave to cool, and for the cinnamon stick to infuse.
Using a spoon, skim any scum off the top of the pan before straining the cordial.
I'm a food writer living in the English Countryside. Welcome to my online diary where I share easy, weeknight recipes, foodie travel diaries and some of the best places I've eaten out recently.
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