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.
gary price
Have a had a bumper crop of damson this year and normally make around d 3 ltrs of damson gin
Have just followed your recipe with my surplus and made jam for the first time
It’s delicious thank you
Gary
Camilla
Brilliant, so glad it worked well for you especially as it was your first time:-) Hope you’ll check out my other fab jam recipes:-)
Lesley
Just got some Damson Gin nurturing.
Jane Stubbs
Just made this jam. Your recipe was really easy to follow for someone who has never made jam before. It worked well and the jam is yummy. Thanks
Camilla
So glad it worked well for you, hopefully you’ll carry on now you’ve got the bug:-)
Anita Carruthers
Hi, I’ve been given a big bag of damsons and was looking on the internet to get a recipe for jam and have come across yours, which has some really good comments. Do you need to use a preserving pan or will a stainless steel saucepan do?
Camilla
Hi, I don’t have a preserving pan but do use a very high sided deep stainless steel pan which is of a similar size. This is the most popular post on my blog right now but it has stiff competition from my Blackberry & Apple Jam:-) I believe in making things as fuss free as possible without compromising on the quality of the end product. Good luck and do let me know how you get on:-)
Nicole
Thank you for the recipe. The jam is just delicious !, I have a kendwood mixer with a sieve attachment and used that to get rid of the stones after cooking the fruits, so much easier!…
Camilla
Thank you;-) I have a Kenwood but have not seen the sieve attachment ever! Would be good if like grapes Damsons could be stoneless LOL!
Irene Wright
reminds me of when we were kids and there wasn’t much money around in our house. Every kind of spare fruit was made into jam and plums, gooseberries, rhubarb comes to mind. thanks for the memories.
Jo
By the way I was meant to tap 5 stars for this recipe! But my iPhone wouldn’t let me.
Many thanks
Jo
Camilla
Thank you, it does seem to have struck a chord with many people:-)
Jo
Just made this yummy jam with local Sussex damsons that a neighbour was giving away from their garden :)Thank you for the recipe!
This is the first time I have made jam and used some old jam pots I had- i did sterilise them, but the lids are already ‘popped’ and worried they haven’t sealed properly.
They are currently cooling on the side. Not sure what to do now…apart from eat it 🙂
How long will the jam last? Do I refrigerate it?
Many thanks
Jo
Camilla
Hi Jo
I’m not sure what you mean about the lids having popped. The vacuum forms in the jar as the jam cools. I have never looked at my lids and would have no way
of knowing if they’d “popped” unless they were special ones with a manufacturer’s “popping dimple” on them. Here’s a link to an article in The Daily Mail which you may find useful about keeping jam etc http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2718301/Do-really-need-ketchup-fridge-And-jam-mayonnaise-pickle-The-answers-surprise-you.html . I tend to keep my opened jams in the fridge but sometimes I’ve found that it makes the jam a bit too stiff so as long as you use a clean spoon to serve each time then I keep certain flavours out on the counter. Unopened jam should be kept in a dark cool cupboard and should keep for over a year but mine never lasts that long and I tend to give lots away:-) Not sure I’ve answered your question but hopefully the jars will be sealed once fully cold!
jenny
Just made abatch on a wet bank holiday afternoon! Excellent recipe, Now pancakes and damson jam for tea!
Camilla
Excellent, so glad you like it:-)
jenny
Excellent recipe. Just made a batch to pass a wet bank holiday afternoon . Pancakes and damson jam for for tea