Voila, the best jam in the world.įor something portable I suggest damson fruit leather. Test for a set using the plate in the freezer technique (put a drop of the liquid on the cold plate and if it sets the jam is ready) and put it in your sterilised jars. This can take some time, but finally when no more stones are forthcoming, get a rolling boil for around 10 minutes. If it is a big batch you won’t have time to remove all the stones before it has cooked too long so I tend to start the process as soon as I have liquid, and because I value every drop of damson jam I then use a teaspoon to get the stones off the scoop leaving all the flesh behind. Now use an implement like a wire skimmer to trawl through the liquid lifting out masses of stones and discarding them. As the whole purple vat liquefies the stones should start coming to the surface, certainly once it starts to boil. The damsons will break up as they heat or you can help them by using a potato masher to gently squash them against the bottom of the pan. Mix the damsons and the sugar and heat, slowly at first to melt the sugar without burning.
The other method of removing the damson stones from the mix is at the cooking stage. Over two millennia and with further breeding on the continent it has become peculiar to the British Isles, only the slightly larger damascene is found in Europe. It remained a favourite with the stones being found in Anglo-Saxon archaeological sites. Damsons are to this day available in many varieties such as from commercial nurseries ‘wild’ damsons, bullaces and plums are almost always found in association with human habitation.ĭamsons were introduced by the Romans (like nettles and ground elder) and the origins of their name gives a hint to their aged lineage – ‘the plum of damascus’. Research through old plant catalogues suggests there were types available in different areas but all broadly identifiable as bullaces. These hybrids fall between damsons and sloes and are thought to be another man-made cultivar. If you ever find a slightly thorny oversized sloe bush then you likely have a bullace. Damson foliage is almost free from thorns unlike it’s smaller cousin, enabling pain free picking. Sloes have a very characteristic green flesh to their blue bloomed dark purple fruit, as do damsons but they are around 15-30mm in length to the sloes 10-12mm.
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