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.
Catherine Hewson
Thankyou, jam is good.
Camilla
So glad you like it Catherine:-)
Helen Gibson
Boil up damsons then put through a clean chip pan basket. Simple. Stones don’t get through
Vicky
If you’re confident that the fruit is ok inside (or don’t care!), I cook my damsons then leave them to cool. Once they’ve cool enough to handle I pop on a pair of rubber gloves (or even go in bare handed) and rummage through for the stones. Once removed, if I want keep the skins, I use a stick blender to blitz the fruit to a purée. Then I carry on as normal for a jam. A stick of cinnamon or star anise is nice added to the fruit as it cooks if you want something a little festive. Just remember to remove with the stones
Emma
I have been making jam with my mum for years now and we always use a slotted spoon in rolling boil to remove the stones. Most of them come up
To the top of the liquid and you can just scoop them out. Never found a stone once in a LOT of jam made! We don’t count them either. Takes too much time!
Camilla
Excellent Emma. My parents’ Damson tree is very old and full of blighted damsons which is why I don’t take any chances. Hence by removing stones I can throw out all the bad ones. If you don’t have that issue then that’s great, I’m just here sharing what I do and everyone can do what they prefer in their kitchens:-)
Cherryll
Can you make damson jam in a bread maker please?
Many thanks
Camilla
Hi Cherryl, making jam in a bread maker is not something I have any experience of but after Googling it seems possible in theory.
Margaret Bray
My damsons were growing in the hedge opposite our cottage. The stones cut out cleanly. Thank you for the recipe as I’m so pleased with my jam.
Camilla
Excellent Margaret, so glad to hear that and lucky you finding them opposite your cottage:-)
Ute Sargent
There are some varieties of damsons which are so-called “freestones”. These release their stones easily and cleanly as you cut them open. Unfortunately the most popular variety “Merryweather” is not one of these. I always count these in the pot and then count the stones out, fishing them out with a slotted spoon. Today’s count was 270….
Camilla
I just know that as my parent’s Damson tree is so very old not all the fruit is “good” so by pitting first I can eliminate the bad damsons.
Moyra Arnott
My damsons look perfect on the outside, but on cutting a couple open they seem to have brown granular flesh round the stone. I think this might be caterpillar ‘poo’ though there’s no sign of any caterpillars. I’m just wondering if it would be ok to use them in a puree or jam, and in a tart. Any advice?
Camilla
This is exactly why I pit damsons before making jam with them. If fruit isn’t good enough to eat raw then it’s not good enough for anything else
Diana
Thank you for your recipe, love that you have timings, they were spot on ,I have just made some Damson Jam, it tastes great
Camilla
Awesome Diana, I like to be as helpful as possible with my recipes. The timings are what worked for me on the day with the fruit that I had so sometimes they differ with readers but they’re a great place to start.
Jen
I made jam yesterday, it is delicious, but what do you do about the skins as I have lots of whole skins adding big lumps into the jam. Would cutting up the damsons before cooking help as the lumps would be smaller? Or is there a better technique? thanks
Camilla
Hi Jen, I’ve never taken issue with the skins in this jam but then there are many different varieties of Damson so perhaps mine are different to yours. Yes halving the damsons would be a good idea if the skins are not to your liking.