Damson curd
5
Les Jardins d'ici
The wonders of growing, eating and sharing fruit
Back to London fruit for a while, in order to broaden our record of the varieties of plums that grow there and provide a recipe I haven’t tested myself.
Just to add rhubarb in the list of things that grow in London gardens, and provide insight into the variety of tastes that can be created in jams with this vegetable sometimes considered as fruit.
I look forward to harvesting elderflowers and making this refreshing preparation in June / July wherever I am, as elder trees are abundant in both the UK and France. In any case it will be a celebration of what I have learnt in London.
Away from London and in the absence of a clear way forward for ‘Les jardins d’ici’ I am adding colour to this blog with photos of three plums varieties picked in Wimbledon in 2012.
Freezing fruit enables to process it anytime out of the harvesting season. Here is what I did two years ago with frozen apples given by an Earlsfield resident.
A process used to keep morsels firm in strawberry jam can be applied to other fruit such as apricots and plums. We applied it to Victoria plums in Southfields last September.
It is surprising how sweet and tasty some grapes that grow in South West London can be. We also made jam with an other variety that was not as pleasant to eat fresh.
Apples picked this morning were on today’s menu here in Southfields as well as a kiwi picked three days ago in Wimbledon. We compared it to a kiwi purchased in the trade.
Adding enough thickening agent to a jam is a quick way of making the delicious sweets that we call in France ‘pâtes de fruits’. Probably not a recipe for complete beginners, but still not very difficult.
Here is the story of the pear and raspberry jam I donated to St Barnabas’ church for sale at their Christmas fair today, and its recipe. Not the best in my view though, I prefer the pear and lemon I made for Abundance. Continue reading 
Les Jardins d'ici 