Saturday 10 July 2010

Making Jam: Cherry Preserves

Last month for the tigress can jam we made jams and jellies and other canned goodies with berries. I got some great ideas from the other can jammers so I'm continuing the berry theme this month.

Just for fun, I'm having my own Jam Fest. To begin the fun, I made Blackberry Jam with some of the blackberries I got from one of my favorite farms. I also made these Cherry Preserves using some of the beautiful cherries I got from the farmer's market. 



Cherry Preserves
Recipe is from The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
by Linda Ziedrich

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds pitted sour cherries, with any juice from pitting
5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons strained lemon juice

Directions:

Layer the pitted cherries with their juice and the sugar in a preserving pan.



Let the pan sit for about 1 hour, until the sugar has drawn some of the cherry juice.



Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally and gently, until the sugar has completely dissolved.


Raise the heat to medium-high and boil the mixture for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove the pan from the heat.


Cover the pan with a cloth and let the pan stand at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.


Set the pan over medium heat and add the lemon juice.  Bring the mixture to a boil and raise the heat to medium-high.


Boil the mixture, stirring often and skimming off any foam, until the syrup thickens a little.


Test it by removing the pan from the heat, dropping a little of the preserves into a chilled dish, and drawing your finger through the syrup.  If the path remains clear, the syrup is thick enough.  I forgot to take a photo of this part.



Ladle the cherries and syrup into pint or half-pint jars.



Add lid and rings, and process the jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. If you live in a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.


These cherry preserves are so dark, they look similar to the blackberry jam.  Only these jars have big chunks of cherries in them.  I can't wait to try some.

Thanks for joining me in my jam fest.  Please check back to find out what else I've been making.


Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy


Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures. You might enjoy them as well:

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