Life is just a bowl of cherries So live and laugh at it all…
I’m definitely laughing. Today’s bowl is a jar of cherries – and sugar and pectin and lemon juice – because when you have a cherry tree in your front yard, you need a sense of humor – and a wee bit of creativity.
They are coming in faster than we can use them, so the next round is freezing them. Not in my wildest dreams did I think we would have a crop like this! And thank the gods for the new cherry pitter. I never would have been able to handle these with the little hand-held pitter we have.
Today’s jam is about as basic as you can get – no fancy ingredients to mar the taste of the cherries.
Cherry Jam
- 3 lbs cherries (you need 4 cups chopped)
- 1 1.75 ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 5 cups sugar
Wash and pit cherries. Coarsely chop.
In a heavy pot combine the cherries, pectin, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring to combine. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam.
Ladle hot jam into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace.
Process filled jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.
We tripled the recipe – 15 cups of sugar!!! – but it came out tasting great!
I see a cherry pie coming up soon…