Cherry jam: a selection of the best recipes - how to make homemade cherry jam

The right choice of fruits is the key to success

Cherries collected independently or purchased in a store are first thoroughly washed in cool water. Then the crop is sorted, removing rotten parts of the fruit and getting rid of completely spoiled berries. The cherries for jam are selected as ripe, juicy and fleshy as possible. In order for the jam to gel faster, add a handful of unripe cherries to the main berry. Due to the high content of pectin in them, the dessert will quickly acquire the desired consistency when cooked.

Before cooking, the berries are freed from drupes. To do this, you can use a regular pin. However, if there are a lot of berries, then this method will take too long.A special device for extracting pits from cherries can come to the rescue.

Cherry jam recipes

Recipe No. 1 – Tender jam with pre-cooking

Place 2.5 kilograms of peeled cherries in a wide-bottomed saucepan and add 2 cups of water. The berries are boiled for 30 minutes and then placed on a sieve. The size of the metal grid is 1.5 - 2 millimeters. Grinded through such a sieve, the jam turns out to be as homogeneous and elastic as possible.

After straining, the berry mass is weighed and a similar amount of granulated sugar is added to it. In order for the jam to acquire its final thick consistency, it is boiled over low heat for 1.5 - 2 hours. The sweet berry mass is stirred periodically and excess foam is removed.

Recipe No. 2 – Cherry puree jam

For this recipe you will need five kilograms of pitted cherries. The berry mass is passed through a meat grinder with the smallest cross-section of the grid, and then punched with a submersible blender to obtain the most homogeneous jam structure. A liter of clean water and 3 kilograms of sugar are added to the berries. Over high heat, bring the mass to a boil, and then reduce the heating power as much as possible. Boil the berry puree with sugar for about 2 hours until the mixture is reduced by half. This process is kept under constant control, mixing the jam and removing foam if necessary.

A minute before the end of cooking, add 1 teaspoon of citric acid or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the bowl of jam.

Recipe No. 3 - Jam with stone flavor

The cherries are sorted and the drupes are removed. The removed, unwashed seeds are placed in a mesh or gauze bag and bandaged tightly.To prepare jam you will need 1 kilogram of pulp with juice. The cherries are transferred to an enamel basin or pan and covered with 1 kilogram of granulated sugar. The bag with the seeds is also placed in a container with the main products. The mass is stirred with a wooden spoon or spatula and left for 3 – 4 hours at room temperature. During this time, a fairly large amount of cherry juice will be released, and some of the sugar will dissolve.

Place the container with the cherries on the fire and boil for 10 minutes. The mass is then cooled naturally and then boiled again for 10 minutes. From the berries that have cooled for the second time, remove the bag with seeds, and punch the pulp with a submersible blender. The resulting cherry puree is put on fire and boiled until thick.

Recipe No. 4 – Cherry jam with apples in a slow cooker

Four apples are pitted and peeled. The fruits are passed through a meat grinder along with 1 kilogram of peeled cherries. The mass is transferred to a multicooker bowl and filled with a glass of water. Prepare the jam using the “Stew” mode for an hour. During this time, the mass is mixed several times and the foam is removed if necessary. After the specified time, 1 kilogram of sugar is added to the fruit. The jam is simmered for another half hour.

A video from the India Ayurveda channel will tell you in detail about preparing delicious and aromatic cherry jam

How to diversify dessert

To make the cherry jam sparkle with new flavors, add vanilla, clove buds, ground cinnamon or rolled cinnamon to the bowl of food when cooking. For spiciness, add pieces of fresh ginger root or ginger powder to the preparation.

A mix of cherries with other berries and fruits will also help diversify the taste.For example, currants, apricots, apples or gooseberries go well with cherries.

Storing cherry jam

The hot workpiece is packaged in clean glass containers before being sent for storage. In order for the product to be stored for as long as possible, jars and lids must be sterilized over steam.