The little plum-like fruit that’s gone a long way
Back in the 1980s, when Consy Goonatilleke planted a seed of a damson fruit she ate, in a small corner of her home garden, little did she know that three decades after, she would be doing something out of the ordinary from that- making damson fruit wine and wine vinegar.
Flourishing in her garden, other than the damson tree, are numerous other trees- nelli, cherry and lemon, all of which come in handy for her cookery. The damson tree, covered with budding oval shaped, plum like fruits of a slight pink and green texture, which Consy says, turn into a dark purple shade when ripe, produces about 20 to 30 kilos of damson fruit a year to keep her occupied with the making of her fruit wine and wine vinegar products.
Consy plucks fruits from the colourful Damson tree that grows in her garden
Since the tree started producing the crop for the first time, Consy had tried out a damson fruit wine recipe; experimenting with it, making changes before she finally discovered the art of making that delicious damson wine she sells today.
“I still have with me a sample of the damson fruit wine I made in the 90s, recalls a happy Consy as she confesses that, at her first attempt, the wine was muddy although it tasted good.
According to her, the slightest mistake you make, for example over fermentation, can lead to a totally different end result. The wine making process takes about one year.
Having tried out her wine recipe, her next move was to develop the wine vinegar, which she uses as a preservative for jams and rich cake ingredients. Vinegar, when added to meat and seafood salads also gives a wonderful taste, she explains.
Talking about the special features of her damson fruit products, Consy assures that her products are chemical free.
Garden produce: Damson wine and wine vinegar. Pix by Nilan Maligaspe
Making damson wine and wine vinegar was not something that she planned on doing commercially. As a person who made use of her talents- painting, pottery and her very own creative ‘leafy sculptures’ Consy, a retired arts teacher says she is blessed with the inborn talent to do something out of the ordinary in everything she does, especially in cooking.
“It is God’s gift to me,” she says adding that she has now started making damson wine and wine vinegar for commercial purposes. The annual damson harvest she gets from the tree is enough to produce about 40-50 bottles of wine per year.
Consy’s wine products come in 750 ml bottles while wine vinegar is available in 200ml, 500ml packs. With her wine and vinegar products, will come a free cake ingredient recipe, a generous Consy promise.
Inquiries regarding her products can be obtained through 2509542 or astrodatalab@sltnet.lk