Cherry Jams

Cherries are in season right now & on sale at all the stores in town. I know they aren't local but being a good Michigander Matt loves his cherries. I thought I'd only have enough cherries for one batch of jam but it ended up I had 8 cups of pitted cherries which was enough for two. I did one traditional batch. The cinnamon & cloves in it are optional but they are flavors we like so I added them. The flavor of the cloves really comes through here so if you don't like cloves skip it.


Traditional Cherry Jam
(from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

4 c sweet cherries, pitted & chopped (about 2 lbs)
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground cloves
1 package (1.75 oz) powdered pectin
5 c sugar

Prepare the jars & lids for canning. Jars should be boiled in water for 20 minutes & lids for 5 minutes.

In a large enamel or stainless steel saucepan combine the cherries, lemon juice, cinnamon & cloves. Whisk in the pectin until completely dissolved. Turn heat to high & bring to a boil. Stir in the sugar all at once. Return to a boil. Boil hard while stirring for 1 more minute. Remove from heat & skim of foam.

Ladle into eight hot sterilized half-pint jars leaving about 1/4-inch headroom. Clean off the tops of the jars & cover with a lid. Close with a neckband & finger-tighten. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Turn off heat & let sit for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water to a heat-proof surface & let cool for 12 - 24 hours (do not dry jars). Check to make sure the top of the jar has been drawn downwards, creating a seal. If it hasn't either reprocess that jar or store it in the fridge to be eaten within 3 weeks. Remove the neckbands & store jam in a cool dark place.

Makes 6 - 8 cups (the recipe said it would make 8 we only got 6)


I decided to make something a little different for the second batch & remembered seeing Black Forest Preserves on Today's Menu. Chocolate with cherries I figure it had to be good. I added a cup more cherries than the recipe called for because I had them & because the basic cherry jam recipe with liquid pectin called for 4 cups so I figured it would work. I used Hershey's Special Dark (my favorite) for the cocoa which gives an intense chocolate flavor & a really dark color to the jam. Now I probably wouldn't put this jam on my toast in the morning but I can imagine it on a croissant or french toast, spread between layers of a cake or as the filling for turnovers. It'll probably even be good warmed up a little over ice cream.

Black Forest Preserves
(adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving)

6 1/2 c sugar
1/3 c unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
3 - 4 c sweet cherries, pitted & chopped (the recipe calls for black cherries, i used red)
1/2 c lemon juice
2 pouches (6 oz) liquid pectin
1/2 t almond extract (or 1/4 c amaretto)

Prepare the jars & lids for canning. Jars should be boiled in water for 20 minutes & lids for 5 minutes.

Mix the sugar & cocoa together & set it aside.

In a large enamel or stainless steel pot combine the cherries and lemon juice. Stir in the sugar & cocoa. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat while stirring. The boil should not stop when stirred. Stir in the pectin. Boil hard for 1 minute while stirring. Remove from heat. Stir in the almond extract. Skim off foam.

Ladle into eight hot sterilized half-pint jars leaving about 1/4-inch headroom. Clean off the tops of the jars & cover with a lid. Close with a neckband & finger-tighten. Process in boiling water for 10 minutes. Turn off heat & let sit for 5 minutes. Remove jars from the water to a heat-proof surface & let cool for 12 - 24 hours (do not dry jars). Check to make sure the top of the jar has been drawn downwards, creating a seal. If it hasn't either reprocess that jar or store it in the fridge to be eaten within 3 weeks. Remove the neckbands & store jam in a cool dark place.

Makes 8 cups

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