Damson Cheese, Plums’ Sweet Reward, Stands Alone
(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)
Everyone is pretty clear about apple butter. It's not a dairy butter, but a thick, jamlike spread. But damson cheese was a new one for me. A pectin-rich paste made from a special type of plum, it goes beyond jelly or jam in thickness and is cut with a knife the way you would a slab of paté. My first bite reminded me of quince paste, or membrillo, a delicacy you sometimes find on fancy cheese platters.
Everyone is pretty clear about apple butter. It's not a dairy butter, but a thick, jamlike spread. But damson cheese was a new one for me. A pectin-rich paste made from a special type of plum, it goes beyond jelly or jam in thickness and is cut with a knife the way you would a slab of paté. My first bite reminded me of quince paste, or membrillo, a delicacy you sometimes find on fancy cheese platters.
