What's the best time to pick damsons?

[vinteuil]

... the previous owners of the house I lived in as a child had had the disastrous idea (perhaps they thought it was witty?) of planting, at the bottom end of the garden, bordering a little stream, a line of little trees. The trees they had chosen were, alternately, one damson, one sloe, one damson, one sloe, one damson, one sloe, etc., etc.

Damsons and sloes look pretty similar.

If you're a child and you greedily pick a fruit thinking it's a damson - and it turns out to be a sloe - you don't forget...

[MrGongGong]

What proportion of fruit/sugar/gin. Do you use botanical gin or bog standard supermarket?

Using this one (with a bit less sugar)
http://jamesbonfieldrecipes.wordpres...lackberry-gin/

and Tescos value gin

If its a bit characterless we might throw in a few crushed juniper berries

[Dave2002]

Ah, the value gin!

At the check out several bottles of TVG are unloaded onto the conveyor belt.

Youngish girl: Mummy, you only had a few bottles yesterday.
M: Yes dear, I'm making damson gin.
Checkout lady and YG look at each other "knowingly"!


Later M says to YG "I'll have to go to the other Tescos now if I need any more"!

[amateur51]

Dave wants to pick "damsons", not "damsels", Anna!

Can you be certain tho, ferney?

[amateur51]

Using this one (with a bit less sugar)
http://jamesbonfieldrecipes.wordpres...lackberry-gin/

and Tescos value gin

If its a bit characterless we might throw in a few crushed juniper berries

What a great recipe blog, MrGG - that's been bookmarked, many thanks

[Flosshilde]

I don't know when the best time to pick them is, but my greengrocer has them now. My first thought when I saw them was 'jam' rather than 'gin'

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Can you be certain tho, ferney?

Oh! Am I being sloe on the uptake?







( ... and the worst thing is I don't feel even a morsel of shame! )

[greenilex]

Best of all is picking three purple plums off the tree to have with my muesli this morning.

I had to use a fishing net on the end of two bamboos but it was worth it.

Not a bottle of gin in sight - Armagnac still firmly corked, so there.

[Flosshilde]

In a brown paper bag was it, Greenilex?

[gurnemanz]

Best of all is picking three purple plums off the tree to have with my muesli this morning.

Jealous. Our usually reliable Victoria Plum failed this year. Blackberries (the big juicy cultivated type) go nicely with cereal.