Uses
The skin of the damson can have a very tart flavour, particularly when unripe (the term "damson" is often used to describe red wines with rich yet acidic plummy flavours). The fruit is therefore most often used for cooking, and is commercially grown for preparation in jam and other fruit preserves. Some varieties of damson, however, such as "Merryweather", are sweet enough to eat directly from the tree, and most are palatable raw if allowed to fully ripen. They can also be pickled, canned, or otherwise preserved. The Luxembourg speciality quetschentaart is a fruit pie made with insititia plums.
Damson gin is made in a similar manner to sloe gin, although less sugar is necessary as the damsons are sweeter than sloes. Insititia varieties similar to damsons are used to make slivovitz, a distilled plum spirit made in Slavic countries. Damson wine was once common in England: a 19th century reference said that "good damson wine is, perhaps, the nearest approach to good port that we have in England. No currant wine can equal it"
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