Damsons aims to raise interest in damsons, provide recipes to facilitate their increased use by home cooks, and encourage the uninitiated to sample this wonderful, ancient fruit.



Since the 1700s, damsons have been grown and enjoyed, but they are considered a rare fruit. This book celebrates them, and will appeal to lovers of heritage fruits, historical recipes and cookery. Sarah Conrad Gothie places the damson in historical context, explaining the fruit’s cultural significance. Through archival research, she traces damson cultivation and use in the UK and the US. Damson ‘culture’ includes folklore, interviews with farmers and enthusiasts, and an ethnographic account of Damson Day in the Lyth Valley, celebrated in Spring as the blossom heralds the arrival of warm weather. The recipe section offers a curated selection of recipes both new and historical (adapted for contemporary home cooks).

Dr Sarah Conrad Gothie