24/08/2026
What do you do when you end up with a small batch left of wild damsons that are rapidly going soft?
You enlist the kids, raid the baking cupboard, and make chutney! 👩🍳✨
We left the fallen fruit on the ground for the local wildlife to feast on (the blackbirds, badgers, and butterflies can have those ones!), picked a handful of reachable ones from the branches, and spent a solid 35 minutes getting the saucepan on to turn a handful of squishy, random fruit into the most incredible, glossy, dark chutney for a block of cheddar. 🧀
If you’ve got a damson or wild plum tree in your garden or nearby, why not harvest a few from the higher branches and leave the windfalls for the birds and creatures below?
And if you don't have a tree, shout out on your local group or ask around—someone in the area usually has a tree groaning with fruit that they're happy to share!
If you want to give it a go, here's how I made mine.
350g wild plums or damsons
100ml malt vinegar (apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar!)
100g dark brown sugar
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g raisins or sultanas
1 tsp ground ginger & ½ tsp ground cinnamon
30g chopped walnuts (optional, but lovely for crunch!)
How to make it:
Toss the chopped onion, raisins, vinegar, sugar, spices, and salt into a pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
Throw in the whole plums. Let them gently bubble on low heat for about 25–30 minutes. As the skins break down, the stones will float to the top—just scoop them out with a spoon!
Stir in the chopped walnuts for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Once it’s thick, dark, and glossy, spoon it into a warm, clean jar.
It’s proper delicious, costs next to nothing, and uses up what’s right on our doorstep.
If you like a strong vinegar taste, use it straight away, if not, give it time to settle in a cupboard 👌
Makes a top knotch addition to a cheeseboard
