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.
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.
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.
Susan Elaine Carter
Had a little chuckle over the ‘windfalls’ as I used to ‘scrump’ these when I was a kid so my mother could make Damon jam.
I hasten to add that I buy them these days.
Camilla
I’ve never seen a Damson for sale, think they are quite rare these days!
Rachel
Oh dear, my jam does not seem to be setting! I keep boiling it fora further 2 minutes, but have been doing this for a while now – please help x
Camilla
Depending on how ripe or unripe the Damsons were will determine the set – try putting the plate in the fridge for a couple of minutes after each boil – you only need a slight gel consistency for it to be ready – it shouldn’t be too stiff at this stage. Hope you win through.
Rachel
Thank you so much. I have filled my jars anyway, so we will wait and see. It tastes amazing, even if it is on the runny side 🙂 x
Camilla
Do let me know how it turns out. I prefer runny jam to stiff jam any day of the week:-) If it stays runny you can always use it as a compote for desserts like rice pudding, semolina, ice cream etc:-)
Rachel
Still runny, but still delicious – especially on croissants! I think maybe the fruit was over-ripe, as they were blown from our trees in the winds? Never mind, my labels will now be for ‘Damson Compote’ – what a brilliant idea, thank you for all your help and advice x
Camilla
Aah, yes mine were picked from the tree, you probably needed the help of the juice of a lemon and then have boiled it up with the lemon skins too to help up the pectin levels. But glad you’re enjoying it regardless, there’s nothing wrong with Damson Compote:-)
Robin Clay
Just harvested some hedgerow damsons, and shall start on the jam-making shortly.
Alas ! Last year “they” felled the adjacent, more prolific, damson tree as it overhung the public footpath.
Sadly, they do take a long time to bear fruit:-
“He who plants plums
Plants for his sons.
He who plants damsons
Plants for his grandsons.”
Camilla
How lovely, I’ve never heard that rhyme before. It’s amazing the love for damsons out there, even chatted to a stranger in the supermarket just now about them:-)
Pam
I still have damson jam from both last years batch and recently found one from 2 years ago. I have found the jam really intensifies with age and the flavour seems to get even better.
We store our jam and chutney in our brick garage inside cardboard boxes and it really does keep well.
We have just made “Delia’s spiced damson chutney” last week with having a glut of damsons this year and it is AMAZING! She says to keep for at least 3 months but we had a little left over and have eaten it already with cheese. We’ll definitely be making this every year now along with our jam 🙂
Camilla
Thank you, that’s good to know:-)
Jill Bhatia
Can I make the jam, let it cool and then put in plastic containers in the freezer? Will freezing affect the taste or texture of the jam? I do not have a cool place in which to store the sterilized jars.
Camilla
No. Just keep it in a cupboard in your kitchen and it will be fine as long as it is not warm eg next to an Aga cooker.
Rachel
So you leave the skins on?? Do you not need to sieve the jam before bottling??
Camilla
No just as the recipe says, no sieving:-)
Lisa
How long does this jam keep for???
Camilla
I googled and found that home-made jam can last for up to 3 years in a cool, dark place. But I don’t imagine any jam would ever not be eaten before then:-)
Sue
You can buy damsons from farms in the Lyth Valley in Cumbria near Kendal. I recently bought 8lbs for £9.60 and froze them. Today I am attempting to make some jam!
Camilla
Great, do let me know how you get on:-)
Pam
We only discovered damsons 2 years ago in the hedgerows near our static caravan in Shropshire. We had to ask someone what they were then picked a bag full and made our first batch of damson jam. It tasted amazing, like nothing we have tasted before and we were hooked on damsons there and then and managed to get a few more lb to make more jam and damson gin and damson vodka too!
We now look forward to every September when we can pick some damsons and this year has been prolific for them. All our friends and family ask for our damson jam and we give jam, chutney and damson gin out as Xmas presents which everyone loves.. We add a slug of gin to our jam just before bottling and I have to say we only use about half the amount of sugar as we prefer it more tart than sweet.
We all need to start re-planting damson trees in our gardens so this wonderful unknown fruit doesn’t disappear 🙂
Camilla
Yes you’re right. Husband says he used to love shop bought Damson Jam as a kid but I don’t think it’s available anymore. Must have fallen out of fashion over the years which is a shame. There is a huge passion for Damsons it seems so maybe the tide will turn in their favour again and more trees will be planted to meet the demand!
Jackie Harradine
I think Damson jam is one of the best, but the stones are almost impossible to get out. I’ve found a quick and easy way to do this. Bring to the boil the Damsons and some water and then simmer for about an hour until the Damsons are really soft. Get out your vegetable colander and check that the stones are too big to go through the holes. Pour the Damsons into the colander and then swish round, pressing against the side of the colander with a wooden spoon. Metal sieves do the job as well but take forever. Using a colander it’s only a few minutes.
Camilla
Do you not loose the skins from the jam with this method?