Never mind the excess fruit from the plot, what about the
excess fruit all around us?
The Mudchute farm that surrounds the allotments has tens of plum
trees which have been left unattended and are now quite large. As you walk
along the paths and under the trees you can’t help stepping on the fallen plums
that litter the floor.
I presume what the birds don’t get first the squirrels get
and store them away. This time of year the paths are covered in purple, plums
all waiting to be saved from the soles of shoes.
I often pick fresh fallen fruit checking that they are ripe
and within no time have a bucket full of them. The question is what to do with
them once washed and dried?
Frankly, the stones take up the majority of what is
collected and de-stoning the fruit is not a rewarding or exciting job and yields
are questionable for the effort expended.
So, it was great to discover a solution which preserves the
fruit whilst adding a twist to your favourite tipple and a boozy complement to rich
custard on a winter evening.
Plums and damsons ripen at the same time and can be
preserved in gin, grated quince in brandy and rhubarb with orange in vodka.
You leave the skin on just piercing it with a fork or silver
pin and leaving the stone as it can add a nice almondy flavour to the gin. An
alternative to the piercing is to leave the fruit in a freezer for a few days.
You then get a wide mouthed Kilner type jar that has been thoroughly cleaned
and add the fruit.
Next you add around 80g of caster sugar and vary this
according to the sweetness sought. Then a 700ml of gin is added, the lid sealed,
and the jar given a quick shake to dissolve the sugar. Store in a cool dark
place for 3 to 4 months.
‘What are you doing with that gin?’ asks my wife Annie as
she sees me taking the bottle from the cupboard.
I reply, ‘Just giving this old Larios gin a shot in the arm,
dear’.
Her eyes narrow and she comes across to the worktop where I
am about to drown the sugary plums in gin. ‘I can get cordial if you want to
flavour the gin.’
I respond, ‘But this is making use of these plums.’
‘Better taste good then and you owe the cupboard one bottle
of Larios.’ Annie is obviously not enthusiastic about the use of the gin and I
see Lottie is shaking her head and tutting in the corner too even though she
doesn’t drink alcohol or eat fruit!
I continue and ignore the protests, after all its only Larios
from Spain.
You can shake the jar and taste the sweetness every now and
again. Finally strain through a sieve into a bottle using a funnel and you have
gin infused with plum.
I offer, ‘The fruit can be served as a boozy extra treat dessert
with ice cream or custard.’
‘As I said you owe the cupboard one bottle of gin and given
the waiting time, make it a good one and not the Larios we bring back from Majorca.
You can’t win and I think I’ll leave the plums to the birds
and squirrels next time.
I wonder if it works with cherries and brandy?
