Damson Cheese Recipe: for savoury and sweet dishes. How to freeze damsons/plums.
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Jam Jelly and Preserves | 65 comments
A dish of ripe damsons
At this time of year, we are given a lot of fruit for preserves. Quite often we pop them in the freezer (how to freeze damsons? See tricks and tips below) until we have time to turn it into something delicious. This morning we decided to make damson cheese.
Damson cheese is not cheese as we know it, Jim. It’s sweet, full of flavour and so dense with fruit that it is sliced, just like cheese. It’s tasty and just that bit more unusual than jelly. I do regret the occasion when my mum gave me a jar ten years ago; I didn’t even taste it before it died a furry death in my fridge. Now I know better.
Traditionally, damson cheese is sliced and served with lamb or game. We eat it with cheese and quite often have it as a pud with a dollop of cream. A slice on an individual plate of hors d’oeuvres looks classy.
Damson cheese is well worth adding to your repertoire.
If you are going to make damson cheese, make sure that you have some straight sided glass jars, or earthenware pots to pour it into so that you can easily slide it out for slicing. (Why not plastic? See tips and tricks below).
Recipe for our excellent damson cheese:
Ingredients:
- 2lbs/917gms of damsons
- 1/4pt/150ml of water
- White granulated sugar (1lb to each 1pint of damson puree)
- A squeeze of lemon juice( approximately 1/2 tsp)
Method:
- Wash, pick over and discard bad fruit.
- Put damsons and water in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring gently to simmering point and simmer very gently until all fruit is soft and falling of the stones (this can take at least an hour or more). Keep an eye on it, stirring from time to time.
- When fruit is very soft, remove from the heat and cool before straining and pressing through a medium sieve. Discard the stones.
- Pour fruit into a measuring jug, note the quantity and return to the cleaned pan with the sugar and lemon juice.
- Stir over a gentle heat stir until sugar is dissolved.
- Bring to the boil and continue to boil briskly. Stir constantly, to stop the sugar burning on the base of the saucepan. Don’t skip this bit.
- The damson cheese it ready when the spoon makes a clear track mark on the bottom of the pan. Not a parting of the seas but but a glimpse of the bottom.
- Ladle into warmed, sterilised straight sided jars. (How do I sterilise jars and lids? See tricks and tips below).
- Allow to cool a little, whilst still warm, and cover with sterilised plastic lined screw topped lids or waxed disks and cellophane covers.
- Label when cold and store in a cool, dark, dry area. It should keep for a year.
- Once opened, keep in the fridge and eat within a month or so.
Tips and tricks:
How to freeze damsons (also how to freeze plums, blackberries, greengages, wild damsons and sloes):
- Pick over fruit and discard any bad fruit
- Wash fruit and dry in a large clean tea cloth
- Put fruit into labelled bags and freeze
Why can’t I use plastic (i.e. ice cream cartons, to store damson cheese in my fridge?
- A friend, who is a great chef, made a batch of damson cheese purely for personal consumption. The damson cheese was poured into a large clean, sterilised ice cream carton. Every now and then, a sizeable nugget of damson cheese was savoured. After a few months (once opened damson cheese keeps for ages in the fridge) the plastic tainted the damson cheese and the private cache had to be thrown out. Glass and earthenware are fine for damson cheese. After opening, store in the fridge.
How do I sterilise jars and lids?
- Sterilising the jars and lids:
We collect jars all year round for our jelly, chutney and jam making sessions. I try to soak off labels and store the clean jars and metal plastic coated screw-top lids in an accessible place. The sterilising method that we used is simple. Just before making the ‘cheese’, I quickly wash and rinse the jars and place them upside down in a cold oven. Set the temperature to 160c/140c for fan assisted. When the oven has reached the right temperature I turn off the heat. The jars will stay warm for quite a while. I only use plastic lined lids for preserves as the all-metal lids can go rusty. I boil these for five minutes in water to sterilise them. If I use Le Parfait jars, I do the same with the rubber rings.
Leave a reply
Hi Tracey,
I tried this previously and it worked well. See my previous posts below.
Regards
Duncan
I have kept all my damsons from making damson vodka, damson gin and damson rum. Can any one think of a reason why they could not be used to make cheese? The alcohol wil eveporate but the flavour may add a nice twist. Any thoughts?
And then……..
I did try the damson cheese last year using the damsons form damson gin and damson vodka, with a few sloes from the sloe gin. It was excellent and went down a treat at the end of season shoot dinner where it was served with a fine selection of english cheese “ Perfect!
On the same principle as making both jelly & cheese from quinces, does anyone think it would be possible to make damson cheese with the damsons when I strain them from my damson gin?
I know I could use them in a pie or dry them and put in the Christmas cake, but I’m taken with the idea of a sweet and a savoury preserve from the one fruit, so thought I’d have a bash and see what happens.
Any thoughts or experiences welcome.
Many thanks
(Just occurs to me to put them into ice-cream too, though the gin might affect the freezing time).
Alas, I seem to have left it to boil too long after adding the sugar.
I never saw the bottom of the pan at any point, perhaps I was using a pan too narrow and deep?
Anyway, I got the same burnt smell that others suggest and now have a lovely damson toffee :S
Maybe if there is some approx time to wait after coming to a rolling boil?
Thanks for the recipe! I’m sure I’ll get it right after a few goes.
What a great recipe – worked like a treat. I can’t wait to try it with some lamb – Mmmmm
Thank You!
Perfect – took a while but it looks – and tastes – brilliant. Why did I only buy 3lbs of damsons……
Brilliant recipes and suggestions on your site. I made damson jam and wilds plum jam last weekend using your wild plum recipe. The wild plum is delicious but the damson has got a really bitter astringent taste about it. Do you think re-heating and straining to make damson cheese is feasible?
Hi everyone
I discovered this wonderful site whilst looking for things to do with the glut of damsons that I have.
I live in France and after living and working in a large town I am thoroughly enjoying a life of (part) self sufficiency.
I have bought an extracteur de jus which is a contraption which looks similar to a three tier steamer with a pipe in the middle to let out the juice. I have successfully extracted juice from damsons for jelly but I wondered if it would work just as well for the hot chilli jelly?
I don’t want to waste time, effort and gas if it won’t work!
Regards
Pam
Hi Pam
Yes it will, I use a steam juicer for all my jellies now. Thanks for dropping by!
I wish i had read all of the above comments before i had just made my first ever batch of Damson cheese, as i have just put it all in the jars and im now thinking it was not thick enough when done….as mine was only thick enough to leave a slight line in the top !!! opps….smelt lovely though as i put on allspice instead of lemon juice….. all ready for christmas xx
Hello White
I’m sorry but I missed your comment when it came in. Great news that it turned out well.
Hi Variety
It’s good to know that it works with plums – thank you.
We are very lucky to live in such a good cottage. It’s a real haven.
I found this blog recently, and have to say i love it!
The first recipe i have tried was damson cheese, but unfortunately working long hours in a busy city didn’t leave me much time to find the necessary equipment (damsons being one of them!), so i settled for plums, and it has turned out really well!
I must say the picture of your house looks lovely – one that i dream about owning when I’m a bit older, and i’d love to stay in the area (Cambridge/Newmarket at the moment)