Jam/Chutney/Preserves

Damsons are in season!

In case you don’t know what these beauties are, damsons are a kind of plum, small oval shape, native to the UK. It’s too tart to eat fresh, but it has such a beautiful flavour and colour when it is cooked.

I don’t have damson trees but my local veg shop sells them when they are in season. I don’t think supermarket sell them here but you might find them at farmers’ markets in Autumn.

Since I moved here, damson jam became one of those things I have to cook at least once during Autumn. It’s the taste of Autumn.

I cooked them as fresh jam, about 60g sugar per 100g fruits (with stone in). It is still quite sharp. I think you need to add lot more sugar to keep long term in a am jar, but I just keep it in small containers in fridge for eating now and in freezer for later.

Since a friend of mine who grew up here told me that picking stones out of damson jam is the fun of making the jam and it also taste better if it is cooked whole (not sure if it is true, though), I always cook damsons with stones in.