Most of us know about quince paste or membrillo, a popular fruit cheese for cheese platters. But fewer people know about damson cheese, a fruit cheese made from plums.
Damsons are particularly good for making plum paste because they have an intense tart and spicy flavour that goes very well with cheeses. This makes damson paste a better choice than sweet quince pastes for cheese boards.
This recipe for Damson paste is from our cheesemaking book, "How to Make Camembert & Brie". In fact we love it so much I think we included it in our Blue Cheese book too.
If you don't have Damson plums, you can use other plums - but try for late summer ripening varieties, like Omega, as these have more flavour than the early plums.
Fast Setting Fruit Paste Recipe
The best bit about this plum paste recipe is that you don't have to stir it forever. It sets quickly and we like to use vintage madeleine tins to make pretty patterned discs of fruit cheese that look great on platters, and make sweet gifts with your homemade cheese.
If you have room for a plum tree, a Damson tree is good to plant for fruit for use in sauces, cordials and fruit pastes. They don't need a lot of pruning or care. Buy one that is grafted onto a rootstock so it doesn't grow sucker from the base.
This little tree is the second one we've planted and is already delivering 5 kg of plums after a couple of years. While you're visiting, look at our cheesemaking supplies to whip up some artisan cheeses for your cheese boards.
This little tree is the second one we've planted and is already delivering 5 kg of plums after a couple of years. While you're visiting, look at our cheesemaking supplies to whip up some artisan cheeses for your cheese boards.
