Damson

Name: Damson, or Damson plum (Prunus domestica subsp. insititia). A small, tart, dark blue-purple plum variety — a specific cultivated subspecies of the European plum, not a different fruit from “plum” generally.

Description

The Damson is one of the oldest named plum types, and its very name preserves its history: ancient writings connect its early cultivation to the region around Damascus, from which Roman traders are thought to have carried it across Europe. It became especially well established in Britain, where damson trees have grown in hedgerows and orchards for centuries.

Compared with dessert plums, damsons are smaller, firmer, and considerably more tart and astringent, with flesh that clings tightly to the stone. That sharpness makes them poor eating fresh but excellent for cooking, and damsons have long been valued specifically for jams, jellies, pies, and damson gin, where their acidity balances well against added sugar.

Main nutrition value

No USDA entry exists for Damson specifically, so the figures below are taken from the closest analysed relative on FoodData Central, a wild North American Prunus plum, as a stand-in for a smaller, tarter, less domesticated plum type; actual Damson values will differ somewhat. Per 100g:

Wild-type plums like this one are notably high in potassium and fiber compared with common dessert plums, and provide meaningful vitamin C and vitamin K as well. Damsons themselves are generally understood to share this same dense, tart, fiber-rich profile, which is part of why they hold up so well to cooking.

How best to be consumed

Damsons are almost always cooked rather than eaten raw, since their tartness and clinging stone make them unpleasant out of hand. Simmered with sugar they make excellent jam and jelly, and they are also traditionally steeped in gin, much like sloes, to make damson gin.

Overconsumption could cause…

Eating a large quantity of raw damsons can cause digestive upset from their fiber and acid content, and most people find them too astringent to eat many at once regardless. As with all stone fruits, the pit and its kernel contain cyanogenic compounds and should never be chewed or swallowed.

GroupsStone FruitsRose family (Rosaceae)Fresh

Related foodsApricotBlackthorn / SloeCherryCoconutDateGreengage

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FoodData Central — Plums, wild (Northern Plains Indians) (FDC ID 169820), used as the closest available substitute for Damson plum, 100g portion: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169820/nutrients Encyclopaedia Britannica — Plum: https://www.britannica.com/plant/plum