Cherry jam has a pleasant rich taste. It is suitable for creating homemade desserts and a cozy family tea party. You can make jam in different ways. Try several options in which the berries are cooked directly with the seeds. This jam has a delicate almond flavor, and the berries in it retain their shape.
Classic cherry jam
You will need:
- 1 kg of pitted cherries;
- 1, 2 kg of sugar;
- 1, 5 glasses of water.
Sort out ripe cherries, discarding damaged specimens and removing the stalks. Then rinse the berries and pat dry on a towel. Use a wooden toothpick to pierce each cherry in several places. Instead of pricking, you can blanch the berries in boiling water for 1 minute, this will speed up the cooking process. Place the prepared cherries in a saucepan or bowl.
Boil the syrup with water and half of the sugar. Pour the hot syrup over the berries and leave the mixture to infuse for 3-4 hours. After that, put the container with cherries on fire, bring to a boil, add the remaining sugar, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Stir the jam from time to time and remove the boiling foam. Remove the pot from the stove and leave to infuse for 6 hours.
Put the jam on the stove again, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for another 10 minutes. Sterilize jars and lids. Spoon the cherries into the jars, filling the containers half full. Leave the syrup to simmer for another 15 minutes, and then pour over the berries. Cover the jars with cheesecloth and let the jam cool. Then seal it with lids and store it.
Quick cherry jam with chocolate
This original jam with a slight bitter taste can be served with tea. If desired, cognac can be replaced with rum or completely abandoned alcohol. If you like sweeter jams, eliminate lemon juice from the recipe.
You will need:
- 600 g pitted cherries;
- 100 g of dark bitter chocolate without additives;
- 1, 5 glasses of sugar;
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of freshly squeezed lemon juice;
- 50 ml of water;
- 100 ml of cognac or brandy.
Sort out the cherries, rinse thoroughly, cover with boiling water and, after 1-2 minutes, discard in a colander. Let the water drain, put the berries in a saucepan, add sugar, some water and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat. Boil it for 10 minutes, pour in cognac or brandy and continue cooking for another quarter of an hour. Add chopped or grated chocolate to the saucepan. Stir the jam until the chocolate is completely dissolved.
Wash and dry the jars. Pour hot jam into them, cover the jars with gauze and cool. Then cover them with lids and put them in the refrigerator. The jam cannot be stored for a long time, so do not cook it in large quantities.
