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Damson recipes bring out the deep, spicy flavor hiding in a small, tart plum that ripens at the end of summer. Cooked with sugar, damsons are just as good baked into a cake or stirred into a savory chutney as they are in jam or homemade wine.
Damsons are small, dark blue plums with a dusty bloom on their skins. Cooked, they turn deep purple, with an almost winey flavor.
I pit them with a little handheld cherry pitter. It’s quick, even though the flesh clings to the stones.
If you love old-fashioned orchard fruit, try my greengage recipes and sour cherry recipes too. And there are dozens more plum preserves in my plum canning recipes.
What Are Damson Plums?
Damsons (Prunus insititia) are a small European plum, closely related to bullaces and mirabelles. They’re oval and up to about an inch long, with blue-black skin and yellow-green flesh that usually clings to the stone.
Their name comes from Damascus, and damsons have grown in English hedgerows and orchards for centuries. Damson jam, damson cheese, and damson gin are all traditional in Britain.
Damsons are naturally high in pectin, so traditional damson jam is made without any added pectin.
They’re hard to find in American grocery stores, so look for them at farmers markets and small orchards in late summer and early fall. If you’d like to grow your own, Grow Organic sells a Blue Damson plum tree.
How Do Damsons Taste?
Raw damsons are tart and astringent, especially the skin, so most of them go into the pot rather than being eaten fresh.
Cooking changes them completely. With sugar and heat, they turn sweet-tart and spicy, and some cooks taste a hint of almond from the stones.
Preparing Damsons
Most damsons are clingstone plums, so the flesh doesn’t pull away from the pit. Pit them raw with a cherry pitter or a paring knife, or cook them whole and fish out the stones afterward.
For jam, I leave the skins on. They soften as the jam cooks and give it good body.
They freeze well too, and frozen ones work in jam, sauces, and baking. Spread them on a tray to freeze, then bag them, the same way as in my guide to freezing fruit.
Notes from My Kitchen
Damsons are famous for home winemaking, jam, and infused gin. I’d been seeing recipes for years, but I couldn’t find a damson anywhere.
I finally found them at a local permaculture orchard and made all three. They’re delicious, and they make a deliciously complex homemade wine.
Damson Recipes
These damson recipes include jams and preserves, drinks, cakes and pies, savory sauces and dinners, cool desserts, and ways to store the harvest. Most call for damsons by name, and the rest are plum recipes where tart damsons are a good fit.
If you’ve got a big basket, start with my damson jam or a bottle of damson gin. Both keep for months.
Damson Jam, Jelly, and Preserves
Damson jam is the classic, and it’s about as simple as preserving gets. My old-fashioned plum jam works with damsons too.
The jellies are strained and smooth, and one has a kick of habanero. Cardamom is another spice that goes well with damsons.
For something spreadable or sliceable, try damson preserves, a damson butter with bay and ginger, or spiced damson cheese, a firm fruit paste that’s sliced and served with cheese, much like my quince paste.
Damson Drinks
Damson wine comes out rich and deep red, and the port version uses oak chips. Before you start a batch, read my guide to choosing a wine yeast for fruit wines.
For the kids, there’s a canned damson juice.
Damsons are also wonderful steeped in spirits. Damson gin is a British tradition, much like sloe gin, and the plum brandy and Polish nalewka are steeped the same way.
Damson Cakes, Pies, and Other Baking
Damsons hold their shape in baking better than juicier plums, and their tartness balances a sweet batter or custard.
There’s a German damson plum cake, a simpler damson cake, and a semolina cheesecake made with damsons.
For pastry, there’s a classic damson pie, a custard tart, a galette with thyme and star anise, and little hand pies made with plum preserves.
- Damson Plum Pie
- Damson Plum Custard Tart
- Damson Plum Galette with Thyme and Star Anise
- Plum Preserves Hand Pies
The plum crisp and clafoutis are simple bakes, and the damson doughnuts make a fun weekend project.
Savory Damson Recipes
Tart damsons are good with rich meat like duck, beef, and venison, the same way cranberries are with turkey.
There’s a slow-cooked beef dish, a boozy venison casserole, and a quick plum sauce that goes well with my duck confit. If you have venison in the freezer, there are dozens more ideas in my venison recipes.
Damsons also make good condiments: a spiced chutney, pickled damsons for a cheese board, and two kinds of damson ketchup.
Damson Desserts
Damson fool is an old English dessert of cooked, pureed damsons stirred into custard or whipped cream.
Ice cream and sorbet are just as easy, and the tart fruit keeps them from tasting too sweet.
Hedgerow pudding is a summer-pudding-style dessert of blackberries, raspberries, and damsons packed into a bread-lined bowl. Stewed damsons are simpler still, and they’re lovely spooned over yogurt, oatmeal, or my sweet cream ice cream.
Preserving Damsons
A big harvest doesn’t have to be eaten all at once, since damsons can, freeze, and dry well.
Dried damsons make a chewy snack, and the fruit leather blends them with crab apples. There are dozens more fruits to dry in my dehydrator recipes.
Damson Recipes FAQs
Readers ask whether damsons can be eaten raw, how they differ from sloes, whether damson jam needs pectin, and whether other plums can stand in for them.
Yes, and a fully ripe damson can taste fine fresh. Most are sour enough that they’re better cooked with a little sugar.
No. Sloes are the fruit of blackthorn, a wild shrub, and they’re smaller, rounder, and much more astringent. Damsons are a cultivated plum, but damson gin is made the same way as sloe gin, usually with less sugar.
No. Damsons are naturally high in pectin, so traditional damson jam is made with just fruit, sugar, and a little water.
In most baking and cooking, yes. Other plums are sweeter and milder, so the dish won’t be as tart. For canning, use a tested recipe made for the fruit you have.
More Orchard Fruit Roundups
Greengages, sour cherries, and quince are other old-fashioned orchard fruits for jam, pies, and baking.
Did you find this list of damson recipes helpful? Tell me in the 📝 comments below what you make with your damson harvest, and if there’s a recipe you’re looking for that you don’t see, leave me a note and I’ll see what I can find for you. I’m here to help!
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