Damassine is a liqueur produced by distillation of the Damassine prune

Prune

A prune is any of various plum cultivars, mostly Prunus domestica or European Plum, sold as fresh or dried fruit. The dried fruit is also referred to as a dried plum...

 from the Damassinier tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

..

According to local tradition, the Crusaders

Crusaders

The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch that competes in the Super Rugby competition. They are the most successful team in Super Rugby history with seven titles...

 or Bernard de Clairvaux brought seeds for the Damassinier plant back from the Orient (hence its name originating from Damascus

Damascus

Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...

 “fr Damas

Damas

Damas can refer to:Geography* Damas-aux-Bois, a village in northeastern France* Damas-et-Bettegney, a village in northeastern France* Damas River, a seasonal river of Eritrea* Pichi Damas River, a river of Chile* Isla Damas, an island of Costa Rica...

”). The Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 might have already known the fruit, cited in the Duhamel de Monceau encyclopaedia. In the Jura

Canton of Jura

The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland. It is the newest of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...

 area, the first citation dates back to a written reference regarding a “Grandfontaine” plantation in 1791.

Fruit

Damassine is a small red prune of “a thousand scents”. Of round to slightly oval shape, it weighs between 6 and 10 grams and measures approximately 26,5 x 23,5 and 22,5 mm in diameter. The colour of its skin is not uniform. Predominantly from pink to red, it can even be dark red on the sun-exposed side, whilst slightly yellow with reddish dots on its "shadowy" side. However, size and colour may vary from season to season, from tree to tree and even from one branch

Branch

A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree...

 to the other.

Its yellowish, slightly orange, juicy flesh

Flesh

In vertebrate animals, flesh is the colloquial for biological tissue which consists of skeletal muscles and fat as opposed to bones, viscera and integuments. Flesh may be used as food, in which case it is called meat....

 does not adhere to the kernel. Its skin is thin, adhering lightly to the flesh.

The fruit ripens

Ripening

Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, a fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the fruit seem tarter, which can lead to the...

 around the first days of August. When fully ripe it falls from the tree naturally. This is the right time to collect the fruit, as picking it up or shaking it from the tree would result in a loss of flavour and scent.

Eau de vie

The aromas are very complex, composed of different kinds of ingredient

Ingredient

An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture . For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial products contain a secret ingredient that is purported to make them better than competing products...

. The scents of wild prune dominate, with herbal

Herbal

AThe use of a or an depends on whether or not herbal is pronounced with a silent h. herbal is "a collection of descriptions of plants put together for medicinal purposes." Expressed more elaborately — it is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their...

 and almond

Almond

The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...

 touches. The latter can easily be explained by the fruit morphology (proportion of kernel and flesh). The herbal touches must come from the fact that it has to be gathered once falling onto the ground. The secondary scents and aromas are those of the other similar kernel fruits (cherries, Mirabelle), sweetness (honey, dried banana) and spices (coriander

Coriander

Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the...

, cloves with a little touch of cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

).

External links

• History of Damassine
• Terroir Jura
• Jura Information (in French)
• Patrimoine culinaire suisse Official Site of the Culinary Swiss Patrimony with infos on Damassine and another odd 400 produce/recipes