Probably everyone remembers from childhood the sweet and sour taste that jam made from cherries has. The dessert of the most delicate consistency can be eaten as an independent delicacy, complement baked goods, and also be used as a filling for pies. And for a truly rich taste, it’s better to cook it yourself, especially since it’s not difficult. The main thing is to choose the appropriate recipe and follow all the nuances.
Features of preparing cherry jam
In order for the jam to be tasty and stored for a long time, you must follow the cooking rules:
- Responsibly approach the choice of fruits.
- Depending on the consistency you want, add currants, apricots or apples.
- If the housewife does not want sweet jam, sugar is excluded from the recipe.
- If sugar is added, do it correctly: its share should be at least 60%. Otherwise, the dessert may become moldy.
- To obtain a brighter aroma, add a bag of cherry pits to the bowl during cooking (it can be made from gauze).
- For a smoother mass, use a meat grinder; for jam with pieces, use a blender.
- For winter preparation, you can add ginger, which is known for its warming properties.
- The container for cooking jam should be wide, but shallow, preferably with thick walls.
- Sterilize the jars in which the jam will be sealed.
- If you plan to store cherry jam for a long time, seal the jars with any metal lids. Nylon ones are only suitable if you plan to eat the delicacy in the near future.
How to choose the right fruits
In order for the jam to turn out well, you need to choose the right fruits. The taste of the delicacy will depend on them. Berries from your own garden, juicy and fleshy, are best suited. You can choose slightly overripe ones - they will make a more homogeneous mass. The main condition is no rotten or moldy fruits, as they will significantly reduce the shelf life of the jam.
To lose a minimum of juice at the harvesting stage, it is better to pick the cherry with the stalk. Many people recommend not washing berries from your own garden, but it is still better to rinse them to remove any dust that may have settled on them. In addition to overripe cherries, you need to collect a small amount of young, slightly green fruits. Thanks to the presence of pectin in them, the jam will be thicker.
How to make cherry jam at home
This jam is very simple to prepare and any housewife can do it. The main thing is to find a suitable recipe and do everything as described in it.
A simple recipe for the winter
To make cherry jam for the winter, you only need a few ingredients:
- cherry;
- sugar;
- a pinch of citric acid;
- water (1 liter per 5 kilograms of berries).
Preparation:
- Wash the berries, dry them, sort them, remove debris.
- Boil water. Add cherries to it and cook for about 7-10 minutes until softened.
- Place the berries in a colander to drain.
- Rub the fruits through a fine sieve.
- Pour sugar into the resulting mass, mix and put on fire.
- Wait for the future jam to boil and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 3 hours. If necessary, you can add a little water.
- At the end of cooking, add citric acid and stir.
Seedless
If you do not plan to store the jam, it is not necessary to add citric acid. The seeds can also be removed from the berries before cooking.
Ingredients:
- cherry;
- sugar to taste (at least 60%);
- water (about 1 liter per 5 kilograms of berries).
Preparation:
- Sort through all the fruits, wash, dry, remove the stalks (it is better to do this over a saucepan so as not to lose the juice).
- Remove the seeds. You can use a special device or your hands. Do the same over a saucepan.
- Scroll the cherries through a meat grinder or grind in a blender. You can use both to obtain a more homogeneous mass.
- Add water and sugar and stir.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 150 minutes.
Sugarless
When preparing jam without sugar, you must use another preservative: cloves or cinnamon. The finished delicacy will need to be kept in a preheated oven until a film forms, otherwise the jam will quickly become moldy.
Ingredients:
- cherry;
- cinnamon (1.5 teaspoons);
- cloves (1-3 inflorescences);
- water (about a liter per 8 kilograms of berries).
Preparation:
- The initial stage is no different from the previous two: prepare and chop the berries.
- You need 2 pans of different sizes. You need to pour water into the larger one, and put half of the cherry mass into the smaller one.
- Add water and cook in a water bath for about 60 minutes.
- Add half of the remaining berries and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Add the remaining berry mixture, cinnamon and cloves. Cook until thickened.
- Pour the jam into jars.
- Place the jars in an oven preheated to 80-100 degrees. Keep there until a film forms.
- Allow the jam to cool in the open oven.
- Roll up the cans.
With gelatin
To make a dense and light dessert, you can make cherry jam with gelatin. If you freeze this delicacy, you can get marmalade.
Ingredients:
- cherry 1.5 kilograms;
- sugar 1 kilogram;
- water 0.6 liters (of which 100 milliliters to dilute the gelatin);
- gelatin 1 tablespoon.
Preparation:
- Prepare the cherries, remove the pits and grind in a blender or meat grinder.
- Add sugar to boiling water and cook for a quarter of an hour over low heat.
- Pour gelatin with water according to instructions.
- After swelling, carefully add to cooled sweet water. Add the berry mixture.
- Cook over low heat for 1-1.5 hours until thickened.
With black currant
Delicious jam is made from cherries and black currants.If you grind the berries not with a blender or meat grinder, but by hand, you will get jam. The proportions of all ingredients are 1:1.
Ingredients:
- cherry;
- currant;
- sugar.
Preparation:
- Prepare cherries as in previous recipes. Remove the seeds.
- Wash the currants, sort them, remove all debris. If desired, you can cut off the “tails”.
- Grind the berries (each type in its own pan).
- Add half the sugar to the cherry puree, half to the currant puree. To stir thoroughly.
- Bring the sweet currant mass to a boil and simmer over low heat for a quarter of an hour, stirring constantly.
- Bring the cherry puree with sugar to a boil and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, also stirring.
- Combine the berries, stir thoroughly and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
With apples
In this recipe, the jam turns out to be very thick and has a piquant sourness.
Ingredients:
- cherry;
- apples (about half the mass of cherries);
- sugar (at least 60%);
- water (about a liter per 2 kilograms of berries and fruits).
Preparation:
- Grind the prepared pitted cherries.
- Wash the apples, peel them and cut into small slices.
- Pour water, put on fire, bring to a boil. Next, you need to reduce the heat to medium and cook the apples until they become soft.
- Rub the apples through a sieve. They should be as hot as possible.
- Mix apple puree with chopped cherries and sugar.
- Put on fire and wait until the mixture boils.
- Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened.
In a slow cooker
With the advent of this device, many housewives begin to cook most dishes in it. And for good reason - a multicooker makes the process easier.
Ingredients:
- cherry;
- sugar (at least 60%);
- water.
Preparation:
- Prepare cherries, remove pits and chop.
- Place the resulting mass in a multicooker bowl, add a little water and cook on the “stew” program for about an hour.
- Add sugar, mix thoroughly and cook for another 30 minutes.
Storing cherry jam
If you are preparing a delicacy for future use in winter, it must be properly preserved. The jam should be stored in pre-sterilized glass jars (over steam or in hot water). In case of long-term storage, metal lids should be used. The jam is poured hot and cools in the jars. To increase shelf life, you can keep it in the oven until a thin film forms on the surface.
After rolling up the jars, it is advisable to put them in a cool, dry place where sunlight does not reach. Storage at room temperature is not prohibited.
There is nothing complicated about making cherry jam. A little effort and a delicious dessert will be on the table.
