4 lbs damsons
Water (enough to almost cover the fruit in the pan)
4 lbs sugar
Juice of a lemon

Method

Wash the damsons and put them in a large pan with enough water to nearly (but not quite) cover them
Heat until simmering and cook gently until the fruit is more or less a pulp, stirring and pressing with a spoon or masher. (This helps to free the stones from the flesh so that they can be easily taken out later)
Add the sugar and lemon juice to the damsons and stir until thoroughly dissolved
You should see the damson stones start to rise to the top
Allow the jam to simmer very gently while you start to pick out the stones with a fork (don’t hurry this bit – enjoy the calm)
When you’ve got most of the stones out it’s time to put your clean and dry jars to warm in the oven while you get the last few out
The jars do not need to be sterilised but they do need to be hot or the hot jam will crack them
The tops must be clean and dry
Bring the jam to as fast a boil as possible
Stir occasionally to make sure the jam isn’t sticking to the pan bottom
Check regularly by using a jam thermometer, or with the cold plate test, until you’ve got a set (usually about 10 -20 mins)
Stand your warm jars on a wooden board and fill them using a jam funnel
Cover and leave to set
Makes about 8 lbs of jam. It’s seriously fruity!