Damson Jam is beautifully tart and has a wonderful unique flavour. Perfect for using up your windfalls!
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!
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 have 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 beforehand.
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 Damsons beforehand 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 in a small amount of water.
Then I popped them in a sieve which seemed to be the best of both worlds. The liquor was then put back into 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.
This recipe made 8 jars of varying sizes, I did however measure the volume, which was about 2.1 litres.
For more plum jam recipe inspiration you might like:
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!
I’m sure you’ll love my Damson Jam recipe so do leave a comment and rating below when you make it. Plus if you’re on social media tag @FabFood4All as I love seeing my recipes come to life.
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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.
Notes
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.
gareth batley
Bit surprised as none of the pictures i see here look like the damsons i know. They look more like plums to me. I know damson’s are a plum, but they are small, too small to stone and sour to eat, but make the best jam.. Really plantiful in hedge rows at this time. Collecting mine tomorrow for firth jam of season.
Camilla
Hi Gareth, which cultivar are you familiar with? There are many different varieties and I can’t tell you which one my parents have in their garden as it was there when they moved in. The plums are small enough to fit inside a cherry pitter which should tell you that they are very small and I tried to eat one off the tree the other day and had to spit it out as so sour. They are most definitely damsons from a tree that is over 50 years old and past it’s prime.
Cheryl Wermuth
Were your damsons I face sloes? You mention plentiful in hedgerows which make me wonder.
Camilla
My damsons are from my parents’ garden and most definitely Damsons. Sloes are an all over deep purple and grow on a Blackthorn Bush which has long thorns.
Di
First time maling jam … and it is a hit. Was given the damsons after I said I loved damson jam. I cooked it about a week ago .. one of the hotest days of the year. Making a second batch today!
Camilla
Excellent, so glad you started your jam making journey with one of my jams. Hopefully you’ll try some more or my jams now you’ve got the bug:-)
Nicola
We were given a load of Damsons and my grandma used to make damson jam. I’ve never made jam before but thankfully had a piper (a must) and ordered a strainer. The instructions were brilliant. It tastes just as I remember. Thank you.
Camilla
So glad your first attempt at making jam was with one of my recipes:-) Well done, I do hope this is the start of your jam making journey!
Amber Mcnamara
Hi Camilla,
I’m quite skint at the moment so I’ve been trying to think of homemade gifts for xmas when I found this damson tree (shropshire prune damson I think) round the corner from my house on public land.I look forward to using your recipe.
But I wondered when to pick them. Some are already falling on the ground, they are soft like ripe plums but bugs have gotten most of them. There are lot of damsons higher on the tree but if I pick them too early they’ll be sour? Or can I pick them and let them ripen in a fruit bowl? Or does it not matter if they’re tart as it’ll be countered by sugar? Many thanks, Amber
Camilla
Hi Amber, I’ve only ever used the plums that I can shake off the tree or pick if within reach. I remember standing on a ladder with a hoe to shake the branches and had a blanket on the ground to catch most of the plums, only the ripe ones will drop. So no don’t use any bug ridden ones already on the ground. I’ve never picked unripe plums but I imagine like the ones you get in the shops they would ripen but hopefully you would get enough ripe ones by shaking the branches.
ernest linstead
I HAVE LIVED HERE FOR 16 YEARS AND THE DAMSON TREE AT THE TOP OF MY ROAD HAS NEVER BEEN VERY FRUITFUL BUT THIS YEAR I HAVE HAD SO MANY I HAVE HAD TO LEAVE SOME ON THE TREE.THEY TASTE WONDERFUL!
Camilla
Excellent Ernest:-) Did you make my jam?
Barry
I used frozen damsons and left covered overnight. Best to freeze on flat surface. I used wrinkle test and colander to remove fruit and stones. Some leave these in I know. Looking to add ginger or chilli next time. Like you left these alone in garden for 35 years. Lock down has strange effects eh?
Camilla
Great Barry! Oh this recipe is several years old, my parents currently have Damsons all over their lawn but 2020 has not been a good year all round so I won’t be going over to salvage any this year as fighting too many fires right now!
Sandy
Hi I am thinking of buying a Damson tree
do you have a preference as to which one is best. I prefer a quite tart jam
Thank you
Sandy
Camilla
Hi Sandy, I’m afraid I’ve never bought a Damson tree, I used the fruit from my parents very old tree and it was there when they bought their house.
Wendy
Can I use frozen damsons as I have lots of them in freezer. & if so what weight to sugar ratio.
Camilla
Hi Wendy, I haven’t to date used frozen fruit to make jam but have researched enough to know that it’s doable and just slightly inferior to using fresh fruit. If it was me I’d use the damsons from frozen and stick to the same weight ratio as for fresh.
W pends Grant
Reading your recipe as I have a box of damsels that need to become jam. My mother always made damsel jam this time of year. I am pleased to see you use the pips as Mum said they had value in the whole process. She would cook the whole plums intact. As they cooked the pip would separate and she would scoop them out. She never got them all and we kids loved getting a pip. It was very special and the kid with the most, won!
Camilla
What a lovely food memory. Did you play “Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor” with the stones, that’s what we used to do with any stoned fruits:-)
Joanne
Hi.. I’ve just picked a load of damsons this morning and can’t wait to make your recipe, when I plum plum jam last week I used a knob of butter to avoid frothing, can you do same with this recipe? X
Camilla
You shouldn’t need any butter as I don’t remember a froth on this jam but if you get some and can’t skim it off then you could add a knob of butter (as with any jam). But on the whole I don’t find the need.