Skip to main content
Dessert

Damson Cheese

A fruit cheese made from damsons and sugar, cooked slowly until thickened.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Damson Cheese

Oven, in the book's wordsA very slow oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the fruit

  1. Remove the stalks from the damsons and place them in a large jar or stewpot.

  2. Cover tightly and cook in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until soft, about 6 to 7 hours.

  3. Rub the cooked fruit through a fine sieve to obtain the pulp.

Make the cheese

  1. Measure the pulp and add 12 to 16 ounces of sugar for each pint, adjusting to taste.

  2. Boil the mixture until most of the syrup evaporates and the pulp thickens, stirring frequently.

  3. Pour into small jars, cover tightly, and store.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Damsons
Provide the fruit pulp that forms the body and tart flavour of the cheese.
Sugar
Sweetens the pulp and, as it concentrates, helps it thicken into a set spread.

The step that matters

Boiling the pulp with sugar. The mixture must be boiled long enough for most of the liquid to evaporate; too little reduction leaves it runny, while the sugar and concentrated fruit help it set as it cools.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

White CakeWhite Cake431 recipesPound CakePound Cake373 recipesOrange Bundt CakeOrange Bundt Cake349 recipesSpice CakeSpice Cake344 recipes