Damson Jam
Today I’m re-posting my Damson Jam which was published in 2013 when I didn’t own or know how to use a professional camera. This recipe has been one of my most popular jams ever since so it was high time I did a re-shoot and gave it the presentation it deserved! I hope you approve.
I have a confession to make, in the 40 years that my parents have lived in their current house I have never taken any notice of their Damson tree. When I was growing up we had a Victoria plum tree and a huge pear tree which dominated the garden but the Damson tree just minded its own business in one of the borders. The Victoria plum tree and the pear tree have long since languished but the Damson tree has soldiered on. So it took my new love of jam making for me to actually look forward to the harvest of Damsons that I’ve half-heartedly accepted bags of in the past. Yes shocking I know!
So as with all my jams I like to have a good old research of my topic and find the best and most efficient way to make my next jam. It became apparent that this wasn’t a simple jam to make like all the other ones I’d made. With Damsons you have the sticky issue of the stone to contend with. Hence there were recipes where you either laboriously cut them out at the beginning or you had to wade through hot jam at the end to remove them. Kirstie Allsopp even suggested counting the plums so that you could be sure to have removed all the stones! Then there were useful tips I found like agitating the plums once cooked with a whisk to help loosen the stones before fishing out. Another tip I found which would have worked if my plums had all been really ripe, was to remove the stone by gripping the opposite ends of the Damson and squeezing thus releasing the stone. Sadly this only worked on a few of my plums and most of them were not ripe enough for this method.
I came up with what I thought was a stroke of genius, I used my Oxo Goodgrips Cherry/Olive pitter as it is so sturdy and proved perfect for the job. I decided I didn’t fancy fishing for stones at the end of the jam making process with rubber gloves and I’m really glad I opted to remove them before. If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have known about the 3 rotten plums that had looked fine from the outside but were totally brown on the inside which would have spoiled the jam. The only problem with pitting the olives before hand is that there is a certain amount of plum still stuck to the stone, which would also happen when using a knife or the squeeze technique. Not wanting to waste any flesh I decided to simmer my stones with a small amount of water and then to pop them in a sieve which seemed to be the best of both worlds and then the liquor could be popped back in to the pan with the simmered Damsons before adding the sugar.
As Damsons are so delightfully full of pectin there was no need to add any other fruit or lemon juice to this recipe, they are the perfect fruit to make jam or jelly with. I had never eaten Damson jam before and it has a unique sharp edge to it which I have enjoyed especially at breakfast time. I made 8 pots of varying sizes but did measure the volume which was about 2.1 ltrs.
I love chatting jam, so if you have any questions or want to tell me how you got on then do fire away in the comment section below!
For more plum jam inspiration you might like:
Greengage Jam and what to do when your jam is too runny!
Why not pin for later!
Damson Jam
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Damsons (stoned after weighing)
- 1.875 kg Granulated Sugar
- 450 ml Water + 20 ml to simmer with damson stones
Instructions
- Cook the damsons in a preserving pan with the water gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- At the same time cook the stones in a separate medium sized pan with 20 mls of water for 20 minutes.
- When the stones have cooked put them in a sieve and squeeze with the back of a wooden spoon for a couple of minutes. (There will be clear liquid and a little puree, no need to squeeze until dry).
- Add this liquor to the cooked Damsons and then add the sugar.
- Heat slowly until all the sugar has dissolved stirring with a wooden spoon.
- Bring to the boil slowly and then time a rolling boil for 13 minutes (make sure you stir with a wooden spoon regularly to stop it catching and burning).
- Take off the heat and test a teaspoon of jam on a cold plate, leave for a couple of minutes and if it crinkles when your finger is pushed through it it’s ready.
- If not boil for 2 more minutes at a time repeating the test.
- Once ready pot up into sterilised jars and put on a clean lid. Makes 2.1 ltrs or 8 jars of varied sizes.
Recipe Notes
Put 2 small plates in the freezer before you start.
Sterilise jars by washing or dishwashing, filling with boiling water, emptying and then placing in oven for 20 minutes at 140°C then leave in oven until jam is ready. Wash the lids, sterilise with boiling water and then leave to drain.
Just tried this recipe for my first ever foray into jam making – we moved into a new house and discovered a damson tree growing wild in the field behind the house and it is dripping with ripe damsons. Followed the instructions and wow, it worked – it even set! So delicious. Thank you.
Yay, so pleased it worked for you and thank you for letting me know:-) Hopefully you will try some of my other wonderful jams now;-)
Thank you for your great article and advise. My story is, I used a potato masher to separate the stones from the flesh whilst in the pan- the wire S shaped type. It does a brilliant job without shredding the skins and leaving them more or less whole. I gently heated the 6lb of fruit with stones to release the pectin. The longer and slower its heated the more pectin is released which in turn means adding less sugar to help it set. I then spooned batches out onto a dinner plate which made it very easy to remove the stones. After I had done the whole lot it all went back into the pot to be heated with the sugar. Not very time consuming at all. I did a couple cold plate tests so I didn’t add too much sugar. I also used organic sugar which is slightly brown just for my own quirky personal taste. I have made over 40 jars so far and each time I have used less sugar with great effect.
Thanks for sharing Jim. Just a word of caution not to skimp on the sugar too much as it will affect the keeping quality of your jam.
I have 18 lbs of damsons to make jam.can I double or treble your recipe.
Hi Avril, the issue with doubling or trebling a jam recipe is that you can end up with a jam that won’t set or that boils over the sides. So you could more than likely get away with upping the fruit to 2 kg which I use in my Mirabelle Plum Jam. The other solutions would be to use more than one pan or freeze the rest of your damsons for later use.
Thanks for your helpful tips! Looking forward to trying your recipe.
I see you don’t use preserving sugar, which I thought was advisable for damsons? Does it really not matter?
I used preserving sugar in my very first jam and seriously didn’t like the stiff set it gave so ever since I have just used lemon juice or relied on the natural pectin levels in fruit. So no you don’t need preserving sugar in this recipe!
Is the weight of damsons given in ingredients with or without stones
Hi Annie, the weight is for the damsons including the stones.
Thank you Camilla. The recipe worked beautifully and the result is delicious!
Yay, so glad you like it:-)
I am fortunate to have an Aga and I put the damsons in the large tray and in the top oven for about 10 mins until they ‘smile’. I let them cool a little and then with either teaspoons or fingers I pop the stones out and keep them for the boil in a muslin cloth. I have made this jam as a ‘cheese’ (liquidized) as a jam for most of my life and it is very popular with family and B&B guests! Occasionally a stone is missed and you can hear it in the liquidizer so I use a perforated spoon to eject it, or it will float in the boil and can be removed..
Hello I followed your recipie last year and produced some lovely jam that disappeared in no time, all the family loved it! We have a damson tree in our garden and we had only moved last summer so one thing I remember is a lot of the plums were already starting to spoil by September when I’d finally had chance to pick them…. when is the best time to pick them generally? Would they be ripe enough now?
Thankyou
Hi, I’m glad you like the recipe. I’m afraid fruit seems to ripen at different rates all over the country so couldn’t say when your Damsons would be ready to pick. Once the Damsons come away from the stalk easily they are ripe and ready for picking and they’ll also start to drop onto the ground. My parents have a Damson tree and they haven’t mentioned ripe Damsons to me yet so I’m sure theirs aren’t ready yet. When they are we tend to put a sheet down on the ground beneath the tree and one of us will go up a ladder and shake the branches to get the highest damsons to drop:-)
Hello everyone
I’m from Zimbabwe. Have been here for 18 years. I have always made jams and marmalade. I love all these ideas on making Damson jam. I have been foraging fo Damsons while dog walking. I’m going to try the idea of freezing for a few days.
Thanks
Great Edna, love free fruit! Do let us know how you get on!