Spiced Damson Jam (Preserves)
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Making a jar of Spiced Damson Jam is the perfect recipe bridge between summer and autumn. The last of summer’s stone fruits are infused with the warming spices of cooler days.
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Plums and damsons signal the last of the summer fruits as autumn looms on the horizon and we start to wind down with our local foraging. This is when our kitchens are at their busiest. Fruits and vegetables that haven’t yet made it into cakes, crumbles or suppers are now being canned, jammed and chutneyed.
Damson Jam is one of my favourite ways to preserve this flavourful stone fruit. Spiced with orange and cinnamon notes to usher in the shorter evenings.
Another delicious damson recipe try this Chinese Damson Sauce as a homemade alternative to hoisin sauce.
How to forage for damsons
Damsons are smaller cousins to the plum and there are more trees around to forage from than you would think. Just look for the squashed purple fruit underfoot around late August September and you’ll probably find you’re standing beneath a damson tree.
Damsons are easy to collect, when the fruit is ripe just a shake of a branch releases a plethora of damson raindrops which can be collected by an artfully placed upturned umbrella already positioned underneath the chosen branch.
How to prepare damsons
I wouldn’t recommend eating damsons straight off the tree as they are rather sour. Like many foraged fruits once sugar is added they come to life. They are fiddly to prepare as they have stones which are too tricky to part from the flesh in their raw state so I suggest cooking the damsons down first and then sifting through the pulp to collect the stones.
Full list of ingredients needed
- damsons
- soft light brown sugar
- granulated
- oranges
- tap water
- ground cinnamon
- ground allspice
- ground nutmeg
- ground ginger
- fresh lemon juice
How to make the jam
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Toss the washed damsons with brown sugar and roast for 40 minutes then cool.
- Pick through the damson pulp to remove all the stones, reserving the stones.
- Place the stones in a jug with the water and swirl around to remove all the final damson juice.
- Pour the water through a sieve into a preserving pan, along with the rest of the pulp and discard the stones.
- Add the orange juice and spices.
- Bring to a boil and add the granulated sugar, stirring to dissolve.
- Once the sugar has dissolved add the lemon juice.
- Bring to a rolling boil for about 10 minutes, until the temperature reaches 105°C or passes the saucer wrinkle test.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the orange zest and decant into sterilised jars.
Recommended equipment
Le Creuset Large Casserole Dish – my favourite preserving pan. Everything cooks evenly, it’s incredibly resilient even if you accidentally burn your jam a little to the bottom (remember to stir!!) and we use it for everything.
Jam Funnel – If you make a lot of chutneys and jams then I would definitely buy an inexpensive jam funnel. Useful for decanting pretty much anything around the kitchen too!
How do you know if your jam has reached setting point?
Jam has reached setting point when it’s 105°C/220F. However this is not my preferred test. I find the ‘wrinkle test’ gives a very accurate indication if jam is ready to be put in its pots.
What is the ‘wrinkle test?’
The wrinkle test is when you quickly cool a teaspoon of the jam and push the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles up then it’s reached the right setting point.
- Place a few saucers in the freezer before you start making your jam.
- When you think your jam should be ready, it’s been boiling hard for at least 5 minutes, the sugar has completely dissolved and the jam is feeling a little heavier when you stir it, then you are ready for the test.
- Turn the heat off the jam. Remove a saucer from the freezer and drop a small teaspoon of jam onto the saucer.
- The jam should not be too runny. Place the saucer into the fridge for about 30 seconds.
- Remove the saucer from the fridge, at this point the jam should have set. Push the jam with your finger, if the jam wrinkles up then it’s ready.
- If it doesn’t then turn the heat back on and boil your jam for a further 2 minutes before you test again.
More preserve recipes you'll love
- Green Plum Jam
- Mango Chutney with Stem Ginger
- Plum Beetroot Chutney
- Piccalilli
- Pickled Golden Beetroot
- Courgette Relish
- Raspberry Coconut Jam
- Green Tomato Ketchup
I urge you to give this Spiced Damson Jam a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
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Spiced Damson Jam (preserves)
Ingredients
- 2 kg damsons
- 300 g soft light brown sugar
- 2 oranges
- 600 g water
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1100 g granulated sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Wash the damsons and place them into a large baking dish along with the brown sugar. Place them in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and roast for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.
- Pass the damsons through a sieve into a large preserving pan. Pick through the pulp to remove all the stones, placing the stones in a large jug. Add the remaining stoneless pulp into the preserving pan.
- Fill the jug filled with stones with the 600g water. Swirl around so all possible damson juice is loosened from the stones.
- Pour the water through a sieve into the preserving pan. Finally, discard the stones.
- Zest the oranges, setting aside the zest until the very end. Then juice the oranges. Add the orange juice to the preserving pan, along with all the spices.
- Bring to a boil and add the granulated sugar, stirring to dissolve.
- Once the sugar has dissolved add the lemon juice. Bring to a rolling boil.
- Boil the jam for about 10 minutes until the temperature reaches 104°C or passes the saucer wrinkle test*.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the orange zest and decant into sterilised jars*.
I wonder if the Damson weight of 2 kilos includes the pits?
Hi Diane, no need to wonder any more!! The 2 kilos suggested does include the pits. In the method, I outline the best way to remove the pits which is after cooking the damsons to a pulp as they are easier to sift through and you don't lose much fruit. Hope that helps!!
I have just finished my first batch of this and a. Its sure not to be my last and b. Now the house smells amazing! Such a good way to deal with pesky damsons far better than counting stones! Yummm
So happy you enjoyed this recipe!!
This sounds fantastic !!!
will have a go this weekend and report back ......
😉
Thank you Pete - I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on!