Plump fruits for sweet treats

With their silky skin and plump flesh, early September damsons add a deep earthy flavour to desserts and preserves

“The luscious Grape, and juicy Pear, And purple Mulberry was there; With Damsons glossy from the Tree” Robert Graves, ‘The General Elliott’

As autumn beckons and the sun casts its mellow light, branches become heavy with luscious damsons. Begging to be plucked, their soft, juicy flesh is encased in dark purple skin with a dusky bloom. A smaller sibling of the garden plum, Prunus domestica subsp. insititia is an escapee from domestic cultivation and can be found growing wild in woodland and on riverbanks. Although some damsons, such as the ‘Merryweather’ variety can, at their ripest, be eaten raw from the tree, most have a mouth-dryingly sour taste. However, once cooked and sweetened, they surrender a complex and intense depth of flavour. The fruit is therefore most often used for cooking and is ideal for making jam. Damson ‘fruit cheese’ is a traditional, thick sliceable preserve which pairs well with an actual hard cheese, such as Cheddar. Considered a very British fruit, the origins of the damson are debatable. Archaically known as the damascene, one theory is that it was first cultivated in the ancient Syrian city Damascus and introduced to Britain by the Romans. Another is that it arose from wild crosses, possibly in Asia Minor, between the sloe and the cherry plum. Most damsons are of the clingstone type, where the flesh adheres to the stone, which is generally deeply furrowed. Since these may prove difficult and time-consuming to separate from the flesh, preserves are often made from whole fruit. Most cooks then remove the stones, but others prefer to leave them in the final product. A limited number of damson stones left in jam is thought to impart a subtle almond flavour. Damsons were also once commonly used to make wine. A 19th century reference claimed “good damson wine is, perhaps, the nearest approach to good port that we have in England”. The term ‘damson’ is often used to describe red wines with rich but acidic plummy flavours. The fruit can also be made into gin, in a similar manner to sloe gin, although requiring less sugar. In addition to providing fruit, damsons were once the favoured hedging tree in Shropshire and Kent and were planted in orchards as windbreaks. There is also anecdotal evidence that damsons were used in the British dye and cloth manufacturing industries in the 18th and 19th centuries. High in vitamin C, dietary fibre and iron, damson plums aid the digestive system, help lower cholesterol and protect against heart disease. More tempting than damsons’ many health benefits, however, is the distinctive autumnal flavour and colour they bring to delicious bakes and treats.