A jam recommended to me by Sue as a good way to use a glut of greengages, apples and pears

Occasionally known as ‘High’ Dumpsie Dearie (or Dumpsy Deary) the origin of the name is obscure. ‘Dumpsy’ has been listed as a Somerset localism for ‘half-light’ and the Aberdeen Journal (Thursday 16 September 1926) has, under “Notes for Women, by Penelope”; “The post-war man of to-day scowls reminiscently when offered plum-and-apple, jam at the tea table, but he is rather attracted when asked if he will have a spoonful of ‘High-Dumpsie-Dearie.'”. The earliest literary reference with a ‘dearie’ attached we can find is in the novel of 1949 ‘The Winnowing Years‘ by Nancy Brysson Morrison; “black-currant tea for a sore throat, and dumpsy-dearie when the children were good.” Since then it has been a mainstay of fete jam-tents, especially in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

The ‘Yorkshire Evening Post‘ -(Friday 16 November 1951) reported that; “Among examples of “work” which will on view the 1951 exhibition of the London education service, to be held at the County Hall from November 25 to December 8 will be pot of “dumpsle dearie” jam made woman of at one of the L.C.C. women’s Institutes. It got its name in this way. When asked for the recipe the old lady explained, “I just dumps in, dearie, whatever fruit’s to hand.” “