A damson competition rounds off ‘Damson Days 2014’. The competition is open to both amateur (home) cooks and professionals.
What Could You Do With These Damsons?
The theme is ‘anything damson‘, which means that you can enter anything from a traditional damson recipe to an avant garde damson recipe. And also, your entry could be your favourite damson jam or jelly or gin. Or vodka. Or your favourite damson chutney or curd or mincemeat. Or damson chocolate truffles; they work well too.
Damson liver parfait with damson brioche? That spectacular dish won the prize in our previous damson competition. What you enter really is down to your imagination.
A Stash of Just-Picked Damsons: Ripe With Possibilities.
What You Need to do to Take Part
Bring your damson competition entry to the Ludlow Local Produce market on Thursday, 9th October 2014 by 10am. Label your entry with:
your name and contact details
the category you are entering (amateur or pro)
the name of your dish
the ingredients in your dish
The competition entries will be judged between 10am and 12 noon. The winners of both categories will be announced, and the prizes awarded, at 12 noon.
You’d be mad not to take part because there’s no point in hiding your damson light under a bushel.
Entry is free.
Here is a summary of the key points:
the competition is open to amateur and pro cooks/chefs
the theme is ‘damson anything’, which literally means what it says
bring your entry to the Ludlow Local Produce Market on Thursday 9th of October by 10am
winners are announced on the day at 12 noon
prizes are awarded shortly after 12 noon
Turn Your Labour of Love into Something Damson Delicious.
Damsons make a fine fruit syrup. It’s the philosopher of fruit syrups: it’s deep.
To make a damson syrup you take some damsons, extract the juice and cook that juice with sugar.
By regulating the temperature at which you cook the damson and sugar mix you can produce a thin or thick syrup. The higher the temperature, the thicker the syrup, and so the more viscous it is, obviously. And the more viscous it is, the more it will cling to, for example, vanilla or nut ice-cream, duck, venison or anything else you would like to glaze with the rich flavour of damson.
Damson Syrup Made With My Very Own Shropshire Prune Variety of Damson.
Here you will find information about Damson Days 2014.
This post is updated regularly, so please check again for updates.
You can read about:
the dates for Damson Days 2014
events at the launch event at the Ludlow Local Produce Market, including the chefs’ demos and the damson competition
the catering and food retail venues that are taking part
When and Where Damson Days 2014 is Taking Place
If you’re a damson afficionado, or even if you’re not, you’ll know that damsons are a true autumn fruit.
It’s apt, therefore, to celebrate these lovely blue-black bombs of flavoursome fruits in the autumn time.
So, in Ludlow, the unofficial capital of Shropshire, we’re holding a two-week celebration of the Shropshire Prune variety of damson.
Damson Days 2014 will take place between September 25th and October 9th, the midst of damson picking season.
The Shropshire Prune, as its name suggests, has a deep historical and socio-economic resonance with Shropshire. In fact, the Shropshire Prune goes back a long, long way — most likely as far back as when the Romans ruled. We’re pretty sure that the Romans brought the damson we know as the Shropshire Prune into (what we now call) the UK.
But don’t worry if you don’t know what variety of damson you’ve got in your garden because other damson varieties are more than welcome to the party too!
Here is a notice of the damson celebration.
Information About the Launch Event
The fortnight of damson celebration kicks off at the Ludlow Local Produce Market on Thursday, 25th of September. Come along to:
get recipe ideas for what to do with your damson glut
taste damsons, if you’ve never tasted them before
watch professional chefs cook with damsons
enter your damson product(s) in a damson competition
find out more about the variety of damson you have growing in your garden
taste a range of delicious sweet, savoury and tipsy damson products from local artisan producers
find out more about the history and cultural significance of the Shropshire Prune variety of damson
learn about why the Shropshire Prune damson is the only damson in the Slow Food Ark of Taste
taste a variety of both sweet and savoury damson dishes in eating venues in and around the Ludlow area
Sweet and Savoury Damson Demonstrations, Including Damson (Sour)Doughs
Two local chefs as well as a local artisan baker will be cooking or providing sensationally delicious damson dishes at the Damson Days launch event on Thursday, 25th of September.
These three damson gurus are:
Robert Swift, artisan baker, from Richard C. Swift Ltd and owner of Bread2Bake. Robert will be showcasing baked goods made with damsons.
Chef Andy Link, Head Chef at The Riverside Inn, Aymestery, Herefordshire. Andy will be making a savoury damson dish.
Chef Nathan Eades, owner of Epi Restaurant in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. Nathan will be making a sweet damson dish.
Here is a little more information about each of these food pros to whet your appetite for damsons.
Artisan Baker Robert Swift
Robert Swift is a #realbread nut. A sixth-generation baker, Robert has a flair for incorporating local, seasonal ingredients into his breads and sweet dough products. As well as running Ludlow-based, masterclasses on bread making, Robert has written a book on bread, Born and Bread. His book comfortably straddles the “bread nerd”vs “stress-free baker” fence. It reveals the secrets of the gluten framework, and shows how to make a range of delicious sweet and savoury bread products in a down-to-earth way.
For Damson Days 2014 Robert is developing baked damson specialties including a sourdough based on fermented damsons.
Robert Swift, Real Bread Maker of Swift’s Bakery in Shropshire.
Chef Andy Link
Chef Andy Link is not just Head Chef at the Riverside Inn at Aymestrey, he’s also a forager, a fruit grower and preserver, a vegetable grower and a bee keeper.
Chef Andy Link doing a demo at the Shobdon Food Festival 2014. Photo courtesy of the Riverside Inn’s Facebook page.
Andy won Herefordshire Young Chef of the Year 2007 and pays meticulous attention to sourcing local ingredients. For example, he uses damsons from the trees in the orchard of the Riverside Inn to make a range of damson and other fruit preserves.
Local, Seasonal Fruit Liqueurs, from The Riverside Inn’s orchard. Photo courtesy The Riverside Inn’s Facebook page.
Chef Nathan Eades
Previously a chef in Ludlow, Nathan Eades has opened his own restaurant, Epi, in Bromsgrove. Nathan Eades’ culinary passion can be summed up in four words: flavour, wild food, technique. Typically, Nathan will take seemingly banal, overlooked or forgotten ingredients like bronze fennel, chickweed, meadowsweet, nettles and, it has to be said, damsons, and use a touch of molecular gastronomy technique to coax out their distinctive and unique flavour. A couple of years ago Nathan, along with his colleague Chef David Jarram, made a dessert of sweet damson sushi and a raviolo of bittersweet chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey tea.
Sweet Damson Sushi and a Raviolo of Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache with Earl Grey. Made by Chefs Nathan Eades and David Jarram for the Ludlow Slow Food Taste Workshops.
Nathan is bringing his forager, Mike Wilkes, along for his sweet damson demo. Sweet damson treats await!
Eating Venues With Damson Dishes on the Menu and Retail Outlets Selling Damson Products During Damson Days 2014
Shropshire Prune Damson Yoghurt Made by Dudley and Paul with Damsons from the Ludlow Food Centre's Own Orchard.
The Entrance to the Ludlow Food Centre
Chang Thai Bar and Restaurant
3 Market Street
Ludlow
Tel: 01584-874212
@changthailud
globeludlow@yahoo.com
http://www.thailudlow.co.uk/
Damson Dessert The 'Coachway' Entrance to Chang Thai Restaurant, Ludlow
Some of the Dishes Served at Chang Thai, Ludlow
The Boot Inn
Kitchen Hill road,
Orleton
SY8 4HN
Tel: 01568-780228
thebootinn@villagegreeninns.com
www.thebootinnorleton.co.uk
Chef Martin Humphries, The Boot Inn, Orleton, Picking Shropshire Prune Damsons From the Boot's own Garden.
The Boot Inn Will Serve a Damson Trio: Damson and Apple Eton Mess, Iced Damson Parfait, Damson, White Chocolate and Roasted Macadamia Nut Crumble
The Olive Branch, Licensed Wholefood Restaurant and Coffee House
2/4 Old St.
Ludlow
SY8 1NP
01584-874314
www.theolivebranchludlow.co.uk
The Olive Branch will Serve Home Made Pork and Herb Terrine Platter with two Seasonal Salads, Local Bread, and The Olive Branch Homemade Damson Chutney Local Produce for Local People! Shropshire Prunes for Sale at the Market in Ludlow and Used in The Olive Branch Damson Chutney
The Olive Branch, Ludlow
Harp Lane Deli
4 Church St
Ludlow
SY8 1AP
01584-877353
www.harplane.com
info@harplane.com
@HarpLaneLudlow
FB HarpLane
Damson Cheese and Other Damson Delights Prepared by Owners Hannah and Henry
Hannah and Henry Mackley, Owners of Harp Lane Deli, Ludlow. Damson Fanatics Both.
Harp Lane Deli, Ludlow
Ludlow Pantry
10 High St.
Ludlow
SY8 1BS
01584-877775
james@ludlowfoodcentre.co.uk
www.ludlowpantry.co.uk
Ludlow Pantry Will Serve Cream Teas with Damson Jam The Array of Local Food and Drink Available at the Ludlow Pantry
The Ludlow Pantry
Baker's of Tower Street
Tower St.
Ludlow
01584-878720
Baker's of Tower Street Will Serve a Homemade Damson Dish Baker's of Tower Street, Ludlow. Photo Courtesy of Baker's of Tower Street Website.
Ludlow Kitchen Will Serve Two Damson Dishes: Stewed Damsons With Granola and Damson Cream Teas Ludlow Kitchen's Damson Cream Tea: Shropshire Prune Damson Jam, Rodda's Clotted Cream, Home Made Scones and Your Choice of Tea
The Ludlow Kitchen
Old Downton Lodge
Downton on the Rock
Ludlow
SY8 2HU
01568-771826
bookings@olddowntonlodge.co.uk
www.olddowntonlodge.com
Old Downton Lodge Will Serve a Damson Dessert of Peanut Parfait, Brioche, Downton Damson Sorbet and Downton Damson Gel Peanut Parfait, Brioche and Downton Damson Sorbet and Damson Gel. Photo courtesy of Head Chef Karl Martin.
The Dining Room at Old Downton Lodge, Near Ludlow
So, put these two weeks in your diary and please check back here for updates on Damson Days 2014.
Shropshire Prune damsons in early July 2014.
Shropshire Prune damsons in early August 2014.The Shropshire Prune ripens through the middle of September into the middle of October: it is a genuine autumn fruit.
6. A Ludlow-based plant expert who specialises in difficult-to-find plant, trees and shrubs, and who has given talks on the damson tree at the Marches Damson Days is PlantFinder Jenny. Jenny worked for the nursery that developed the Merryweather variety of damson. This is her website:
Hello damson lover, and welcome to all things damson.
For a little time I hosted the Shropshire Prune Damson website on a lovely blogging platform called Posterous. Long story short, Posterous was snaffled by Twitter who eventually shut the platform down. This means I’ve had to find a new digital home for the Shropshire Prune.
So I’ve switched to arguably the best blogging platform in the world — WordPress, which is where you are now.
Picking Shropshire Prunes in September: Big Vessel for a Big Crop
I’m in the process of transferring the content from the old site to this new site. So please be patient as it will take some time.
This new home for the Shropshire Prune will contain loads of excellent damson stuff including:
links to damson recipes
links to damson food and drink producers
where to buy damson products
where to buy damsons
help with identifying the variety of damson tree you’ve got
where to buy a damson tree
how to care for a damson tree
information about the Slow Food Ludlow Marches Shropshire Prune Damson project
Shropshire Prunes Ripening, 13th September 2013
Subscribe now to this site and I’ll keep you updated with the latest damson news. I’ll also post about both traditional and avant garde ideas for cooking with damsons.
