Damson advice

gailey_2

I found lots of orange plums in local hedgerow must have seen them before not realising they edible.

i googled to check and looks like yellow plums
cut open smells like plum.
Asked dad he said if they they yellow they damsons.
theres a few that are pink.
if they falling and squishy im guessing they must be ripe for picking

Im not hugly keen on plums so thinking plum jam or tart.
Do plums freeze ok.
Or do i need to preserve now.

any good damson recipies think conserve /jam be best.

coldstreamalways

Hmmm, damsons aren't ready just now, they will look like olives on the tree, when they are ready they are purple, are you sure that's what they are?

In anycase, here is a recipe for damson and elderberry crumble, you should be able to find some elderberries too!!

Penelope_Penguin

gailey wrote: »

Asked dad he said if they they yellow they damsons.
theres a few that are pink.
if they falling and squishy im guessing they must be ripe for picking

Damsons are purple, and aren't usually ready yet They might be some sort of plum. Can you post a picture?

meritaten

from wikipedia


Damson flowers

URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Damson&action=edit&section=2"][COLOR=#0645ad]edit[/COLOR][/URL Characteristics

The damson is identified by its oval shape (though slightly pointed at one end), smooth-textured yellow-green flesh, and skin from dark blue to indigo. It is similar to the "bullace", also classified as Prunus domestica[1], which is a smaller, round plum with purple (or yellow) skin. Other types of Prunus domestica are also similar, and can have purple (or yellow or red) skin[3].
The tree blossoms with small, white flowers in early April in the Northern hemisphere and fruit is harvested in late August or early September.
The skin of the damson can be heavily acidic, rendering the fruit unpalatable to some for eating out of hand. Because of this acidic, tart flavour, damsons are commercially grown for preparation in jellies and jams. A range of varieties of damson are available, with some such as 'Merryweather' and 'President Plum' being more appropriate for eating when ripe straight from the tree while varieties such as 'Farleigh' benefit from cooking.


Its a bit early for damsons - they normally fruit through August september. I would google again hun - you cannot be too careful.

RAS

Hi

Damsons are blue black, as far as I know but this shows a redder fruit http://www.free-from.com/blog/drowning-in-damsons/ They are motherpuckeringly tart. Have you tasted any? The thing is most plums and damsons aripen August to October, so I am surprsied you have found anything ripe yet.

have a look here http://www.rvroger.co.uk/index.php?linksource=section&listgroupfile=fruitandnuttrees&season=MAIN&parentpagefile=opengroundfruit and see what they are?

gailey_2

ahh thanks guys it tastes and smells like a plum.

the hedgerow has some green ones not ripe, mostly yellow and few pink and redish ones all together down one strech of road.most have fallen off tree and feel very ripe as soft and squishy.

guess it is late july so not far off, dad says damsons but when googled looks like yellow plums, they have stone on middle.
dont want to poisen family

no flowers on it..

not sure how to post pics on here as not very techie.
found wild cherries latly and amazed i found these plums as live in a city and these plums in hedge on very busy main road.

RAS

Hi

What may be happening is that some fruit is falling from the trees early, either because of drought stress or because of "June drop" or high winds. They will get soft as they deyhdrate.

Have you tried one? is it ripe. The flesh should be bright yellow and smell sweet.

meritaten

okayyyyyyyyy done a little more research for you as something seemed to ring a bell about them being yellow or going pinkish.

I think that what you have is a 'yellowgage' close relation to the greengage - which are a member of the plum family! they ripen in July and guess what? they look like yellow plums but a bit smaller and they ripen to a pinkish colour! they ARE edible, but if they are like the greengage more suited to jams and chutneys. that WAS just a quickie search hun, if you google yellowgage or search other engines you may find more info!

gailey_2

Thanks meritaten some reassurance theres tonnes dont want them to go to waste if they are edible.

They bright yellow and look more like cherry tomatoes in size.
they smell sweet and are bright yellow.
Theres quite alot inside hedge mostly green still with few pinky ones but the most visible ones are yellow and started to drop.

Whoever thourght fruit could be so confusing in old days people knew what to pick but most these days dont eat any fruit unless its from shop or blatently obvious.
I was really exited about finding teh wild cherries now plums fab find too keeps me busy until brambles are ready.

Planning on doing lots of jam as xmas pressies even better with free ingrediants.
didnet realise you could put plums in chutney.
Im not sure how to dry them and turne them into prunes.

got the foraging bug this year and keep finding tonnes to get.

off to google some more.

craftlady

We have lots of these too. We think that they are cherry plums. Quite sweet - definately edible. Google and see what you think.

katholicos

Damson jam is totally delicious :drool: