Cultivation

Fresh consumption — bullace, damson, mirabelle

Prunus domestica L. subsp. insititia (L.) C. K. Schneid.

The suitability of bullace, damson, and mirabelle fruits for fresh consumption is determined by the cultivar type and their degree of maturity, ranging from dessert-like sweetness to the necessity for thermal processing.

In the reference 13 varieties crop Damson, where this is mentioned in the description.

Mirabelles possess the most pronounced sugar content, which is why they are frequently consumed fresh as dessert fruits. Damsons, by contrast, are traditionally considered a processing crop due to their high tannin content and specific sweet-and-sour balance; however, there are bred varieties suitable for direct consumption upon reaching full maturity.

Bullace fruits exhibit high acidity before reaching the stage of full biological ripeness, which significantly limits their use in fresh form. Unlike large-fruited plum varieties, the morphological characteristics of this group, including fruit size and the difficulty of stone separation, dictate the dependence of culinary quality on the stage of ripening.

General information about the subject — on the page Fresh market use.

Sources8

Varieties of Damson mentioned in the description

Selection based on the description text, not on official evaluation: these data are absent from registers. For specific variety details, please refer to its profile.