A Damson in Distress...

...or a bagful, to be correct. What can you do with damsons? Hmmm... I was going to make carrot soup today, but the damsons and a bagful of apples begged to be used. I tossed the ideas around in my head, wondering about damson jam, apple and damson jelly, damson cheese, damson chutney or damson vodka. RA sufferers - specially those with stomach problems, shouldn't drink alcohol. Besides, I'll be making blackcurrant vodka soon. Just for that tiny medicinal drop, you understand. It's supposedly good for the blood - even when the stomach protests.

I plumped for a chutney and altered it slightly to suit my ingredients - then hoped for the best.

DAMSON AND APPLE CHUTNEY

1 ½ lb (750g) damsons
2 apples , cored, peeled and chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 ¼ cup white sugar
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
1 ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (although most recipes says white wine vinegar)
¼ cup raisins (I snuck 3 little boxes of Sun Maid Raisins from my grandchildrens' treats!)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spices (I cheated and used the kind that is supposed to be freshly ground and used for seasoning meat for barbeque's. It has all the right ingredients - and no gluten. Leave the spices whole.)

Put everything together in a roomy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring gently - then simmer for an hour until the chutney thickens and starts to get a little sticky. It's done. Bottle into hot, sterilised jars. This makes about 2lb of chutney.
It tastes good, too.

Tip: Count your damsons, then remove the stones just before the chutney is bottled, counting them back out.

I had a saucepan full of apples and a few damsons left, so I stewed them, added a bit of sugar and set it aside. Tomorrow I'll serve this 'compote' with ice cream - and get on with the carrot soup.