My damson jelly recipe is easy to make and a great way to show off this lesser known fruit. Perfect on toast, served with cheese or cold meats, or to sweeten stews and gravies. Hunt out some damsons in late autumn and get jellying! Just two ingredients and no pectin needed.
Damson jelly
I love this damson jelly recipe, particularly because it’s not a preserve that is commonly (if ever) found on supermarket shelves. In fact, I’m not sure you would find it in many recipe books. This is a shame, because it is delicious.
See also
- For a comprehensive guide to preserving, read my post on how to make jam.
- My guide to pectin also has lots of useful advice for checking the pectin levels in fruit.
- Damson jam, a deliciously easy sweet preserve
- For a jam that sets with no effort at all, try plum and apple jam
This lovely ruby jelly straddles the sweet–savoury divide nicely. You can treat it as a sweet preserve for toast and scones or serve it alongside dark meats and cheese. Treat it like redcurrant jelly, serving it on the side as a relish or stirring into gravy to make a richer sauce.
What are damsons?
The damson is a type of plum, small and tart with greenish yellow flesh and a dusky blue skin. The wild versions are called bullaces and are smaller and rounder than the orchard forms and even more tart than the cultivars.
Damson trees grow slowly and young trees are slow to yield fruit, though this is changing with modern grafted varieties. Foragers sometimes confuse the fruit with sloes, but unlike the blackthorn, damson trees have no thorns.
When to harvest damsons
Damsons start to ripen in August and can be picked through into October, depending on the local climate. Wait until they start to soften slightly.
If you are foraging or have a limited supply, you can pick them as they ripen and store them in a bag in the freezer until you have enough to cook.
Damson jelly – ingredients
Damsons – fresh, or frozen and defrosted
Sugar – regular white granulated sugar
Lemon (optional) – if your damsons are very ripe, they will have less pectin and your jelly might need a generous squeeze of lemon juice to help it set
How to make damson jelly – recipe step-by-step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – First, put the damsons in a pan and cook in a little water. You really do not need much water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. If your damsons are very ripe or have been frozen, use less water.
Step Two – When the damsons start to soften, mash them to break down the fruit. Continue to cook until the fruit is very soft.
Step Three – Ladle the damsons into the jelly bag held in a sieve. This helps to avoid splashes.
Helen’s Top Tip
Turn the jelly bag inside out, so that the seam is on the outside. This makes it easier to clean.
Step Four – Hang the jelly bag up so that the juice strains into a jug or bowl. I have a hook on a piece of string tied round a shelf above my kitchen table.
Leave it for a few hours, or overnight until the dripping slows right down, or stops.
Never be tempted to squeeze or poke the jelly bag. This will turn the jelly cloudy.
Helen Fuss Free Tip
At this point you can freeze the juice to make jelly at a later date, or put it in the fridge for tomorrow if you are running out of time.
Step Five – Now choose a large, deep saucepan. Set it on your kitchen scales and set them to zero. Weigh the juice, and add an equal weight of sugar.
Make sure the ingredients come less than half way up the saucepan at the start, as the liquid will expand and bubble up as it boils.
Step Six – Heat the mixture gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Step Seven – Place your sterilized jam jars and lids on a baking tray and warm in an oven set to 140°C / 275°F / GM 1.
Once the sugar has dissolved turn up the heat under the jam until it reaches a fast, rolling boil. If necessary, skim off the scum that forms with a slotted spoon.
Step Eight – Start testing for set.
How to test for setting point
There are three methods you can use to test for setting:
First, the wrinkle test. Drop a teaspoonful of the liquid onto one of your chilled plates and leave it for a few seconds. Then push the drop of jelly with your fingernail to see whether the jelly wrinkles. If it does, your damson jelly will set and can be transferred into the hot jars and sealed.
Second, temperature. Watch the temperature of the boiling liquid. Keep boiling until it reaches 105°C – the setting point. You can use a jam thermometer for this; they’re easily available and not expensive.
Third, the flake test. Take a spoonful of jelly from the saucepan, and turn the spoon vertical so that the jelly runs out of the spoon. When it starts to thicken, a flake of jelly will hang from the edge of the spoon, showing that you have reached the setting point.
If your damsons were very ripe, give them a good hard boil a bit beyond 105°C, to 107°–110°C, to ensure you get a good set.
Step Nine – Fill the warmed jars. I find the best way is to use a sterilized glass jug and jam funnel.
I warm and fill my jars in a roasting dish as a precaution, as in the unlikely event of a jar breaking or cracking, it will keep any spills contained.
Step Ten – Screw on the lids, taking care, as the jars will be very hot. Allow the jelly to cool. As it does so, the lids will pop down as the vacuum forms. Label and store in a dark cupboard.
No jelly bag?
I really do recommend that you buy one. You can buy perfectly good straining bags for less than ten pounds/dollars, and they will last for years. I use mine not only for jelly but for sloe or damson gin, labneh, nut milk and anything else in the kitchen that needs straining.
Unless you plan on making industrial quantities of jelly, you only need a small jelly bag of about 30 cm across. Do choose one that has loops to hang it rather than one with elastic round the top that needs a frame. You don’t want to add unnecessary clutter to your kitchen!
I hang my jelly bag overnight on the knob of a kitchen cupboard door above a counter. I’ve also got a clip on a piece of string around a shelf over the kitchen table!
In the interim you can line a sieve with a muslin cloth. Hang the cloth from a bulldog or fold-back style clip once most of the liquid has passed through. You can even use a popsock or stocking to line your sieve!
Jelly set troubleshooting
With small damsons, or those which are slightly underripe, you will get a good firm set very easily.
If, however, your damsons are very ripe and or larger and more plum-like, you may want to test for pectin before adding the sugar. If the pectin seems low:
- Give the jelly really hard boil and carry it past the usual setting point of 105°C to about 107°C and then test on a plate before transferring to jars.
- Alternatively, add the juice of half a lemon to each batch of jelly, along with the sugar.
Sometimes a jelly seems not to set in the jar, despite setting hard on a plate. Leave it for at least 48 hours, and preferably a week for the pectin to do its work. Even though the jelly isn’t quite set, as long as the jars are sealed properly everything will be safely preserved.
If the jelly still isn’t properly set after a week, it’s not your fault. It just happens sometimes.
- You can open all the jars tip into a pan, reboil the jelly and then pour into clean sterilized jars. You will lose about 10–20 % of the volume doing this.
- If it is almost set, just store the jelly with your other preserves. You will probably find that it will firm up with time. When you come to use it, leave it in the fridge with the lid off for 24 hours. Alternatively, use slightly underset jelly in jam tarts, or to stir into rice pudding.
Variations
- Add a little port to the juice.
- Cook a little ginger with the fruit.
- Add some wintery sweet spices.
Storage
Store your jelly in a cool, dark cupboard. As long as the fruit was sound and the jars sterile, it will keep for years.
Hints and tips
- Never poke or squeeze the bag, as this will result in cloudy jelly.
- Don’t add too much water at the start of cooking. If you use more than you need, you will need to cook for longer to get a good set and a good flavour.
- If your damsons are ripe and need cooking but you don’t have time to make the jelly right away, then either just freeze the fruit, or cook and strain the juice. You can then keep this in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze and make the jelly later.
- For best results, tap the jam jar as you fill it, so that any air bubbles come out. It is best to put jelly in straight-sided jars. Put the lids back on the jars while the jelly is still hot, to help seal them tight.
- For safety, I always stand the jars in a tray when filling them in case one cracks. It rarely happens, but it is possible and having a tray to catch any hot jelly is far safer.
- Use any white sugar – granulated or preserving sugar, which has larger crystals. You don’t need jam sugar, as there is plenty of pectin in the fruit.
FAQs
You can use this damson jelly just as you would all your favourite jams. Try it on toast, on scones, on pancakes, crumpets, croissants and muffins.
You can use your damson jelly to enrich gravies and savoury sauces. Use to make a quick plum sauce to serve with duck.
No. As long as you discarded any bad fruit and sterilized the jars correctly, and as long as the jars have sealed, the best place for your jelly is in a cool cupboard. Once opened I do keep preserves in the fridge but a cool kitchen cupboard is also fine, as long as you finish the jar in a few weeks.
More damson and plum recipes
- Damson Gin – a traditional homemade digestif
- Damson Vodka – a twist on the more familiar damson gin
- Spiced plum chutney with apple – perfect with cheese or pork pies
- Roasted plums – an indulgent but still wholesome dessert
- Easy plum compote – refreshingly delicious at any time of day
Damson Jelly
Ingredients
- 700 g damsons
- 200 ml water
- 400 g granulated sugar (approximately – weigh the strained juice and match the weight in sugar)
Instructions
- Freeze and defrost the damsons. Remove the stones with a cherry pitter.
- Add fruit and water to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, and cook until the fruit is soft. Mash with a potato masher to break up the flesh.700 g damsons, 200 ml water
- Spoon the fruit into a jelly bag and suspend it over a bowl to catch the juice. Leave to drain for about 12 hours, until it stops dripping. Don't poke or squeeze the bag.
- Weigh the juice, and then add the same weight of sugar. You can weigh them in the saucepan you intend to use to save mess. This should be large and deep.400 g granulated sugar
- Place clean jam jars in the oven, and heat to 140°C / Gas Mark 1. Place the lids in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Heat the saucepan gently to dissolve the sugar.
- Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to bring the jelly to a rolling boil. Start testing for set, using either wrinkle, flake or temperature method.
- Once setting point has been reached, take the jelly off the heat.
- Fill the jam jars with jelly, and screw on the lids. Allow to cool. Store on a cool, dark shelf.
Notes
Hints and tips
- Never poke or squeeze the bag, as this will result in cloudy jelly.
- Don’t add too much water at the start of cooking. If you use more than you need, you will need to cook for longer to get a good set and a good flavour.
- If your damsons are ripe need cooking but you don’t have time to make the jelly right away, then either just freeze the fruit, or cook and strain the juice. You can then keep this in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze and make the jelly later.
- For best results, tap the jam jar as you fill it, so that any air bubbles come out. It is best to put jelly in straight sided jars. Put the lids back on the jars while the jelly is still hot, to help seal them tight.
- For safety, I always stand the jars in a tray when filling them in case one cracks. It rarely happens, but it is possible and having a tray to catch any hot jelly is far safer.
- Use any white sugar – granulated or preserving sugar, which has larger crystals. You don’t need jam sugar, as there is plenty of pectin in the fruit.
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