When I heard that local farm, Lynd Fruit Farm, in Pataskala, Ohio was having a sale on pre-pitted tart cherries, my curiosity was peaked! Lynd's is one of my favorite places to go in the fall for apple and pumpkin picking, but I haven't experimented with the other produce they offer before. I had been thinking about canning jams or jellies this year, but hadn't canned them before and was looking for a great source to get fruit. It was the farm's first year offering bulk cherries and I couldn't resist and picked up a couple of 10 lb tubs.
(If you're in the central Ohio area I highly recommend purchasing your cherries in the future through Lynd Fruit Farm if they host this sale again! If you're not in this area, many other orchards and farms offer similar tubs of pre-pitted cherries!)
For me the longest part of canning food is the prep work - there's a lot of chopping, dicing, coring, peeling, and food processor running, not to mention trying to clean up after the inevitable mess you make while doing said chopping - before you can even start cooking the foods and loading them into jars. The pre-pitted cherries for the jam made it so easy to start our cherry canning projects! And so began our adventure in making jam!
I started with a recipe that I had found in a canning book I typically use. The recipe was simple, but called for more sugar than cherries! After making an initial batch and having my husband and family taste test it, (it was good but extremely sweet for our taste), we quickly determined that I needed to tweak it and make it my own. Luckily, my version had just the right amount sweetness to still let the cherry flavor come through!
Crafter of Habit - Sweet Cherry Jam Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 Cups of Pitted & Diced Cherries
- 1/4 Cup of Lemon Juice
- 6 Tablespoons of the "Ball" Brand Classic Pectin
- 3 Cups of Sugar
Makes approximately 6 half pints
Special NOTE:
Before starting I highly recommend starting your water bath canner and sanitizing your jars well in advance so that you are ready to can once the jam is done cooking.
Step 1
Stem, pit, and finely chop 4 cups of pitted sweet cherries. I highly recommend using a food processor for chopping if possible! It's much faster and less messy than trying to dice by hand or with a hand chopper. I recommend the Cuisinart Elemental 8-Cup Food Processor.
Step 2
Combine the chopped cherries, pectin, and lemon juice in a large pan on the stove. Stir continuously and bring to a hard boil. (I recommend using at least a 4qt-6qt pan to cook your ingredients.)
Mix the cherries, pectin, and lemon juice and cook until it's at a hard boil.
Step 3
Once it's at a hard boil, stir in the sugar. Stir continuously while waiting for it to heat again and bring to a hard boil. Once hard boiling, boil and stir for 1 minute.
Be aware! Towards the end of the the final minute at a hard boil, the jam mixture rapidly expanded with foam and nearly overflowed from our pot. Keep stirring and turn the heat down a little if necessary while hard boiling to prevent overflow.
After adding sugar to the mixture, and bringing to a hard boil again, foam rises quickly and high in the pot.
Step 4
After high boiling, turn off the heat and remove pot from heat. Using a large metal spoon, (a serving spoon worked best for us), quickly skim off the top layer of foam. I scooped ours into a bowl. Once the foam is removed, you'll see a liquid jelly looking substance underneath.
The jam after most of the foam has been removed.
Step 5
Using a large spoon and a funnel, ladle the hot jam into hot sterilized jars. Leave 1/4" head space. Wipe the rims and them put on the lids and screw the bands tightly. (The jam will solidify as it cools, so be sure to move quickly and fill the jars right away).
Step 6
Process the filled jars in a water bath canner for 5 minutes. (Time starts when the water returns to boiling). Remove the jars and let cool. I always like to set them on a counter with a towel underneath them, but you can also use a cooling rack. You will hear the jars "pop!" to indicate they are sealed.
If a jar does not seal, refrigerate it and it should be able to be enjoyed for 1 week.
Step 7
Enjoy your jam!
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Cherry is the flavor of the week - we had leftover cherries to makes pies, so stay tuned for our next blog post featuring a delicious recipe for Cherry Pie!
Do you have any favorite jam/jelly or canning recipes? Or is there one you have always wanted to try? We're always looking for ideas of new things to test in our kitchen! Leave a comment below and let us know.