Sweet Cherry Jam
June 24, 2010 | Print | E-mail | Filed under canning, cherry, jam, tigresscanjam
Just in time for summer, this month’s Tigress Can Jam challenge was berries, and I couldn’t have been more excited about it. I’ve been canning berries like crazy lately, but this sweet cherry jam is my favorite so far. Ironically, I think the cinnamon and cardamom (along with the bit of rum), which I really associate more with autumn than with summer, give the sweet cherries a great depth of flavor. I was really happy with how this jam turned out, and I think you will be, too – so grab some fresh cherries and get canning!
- 4 cups whole sweet cherries
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 2 Tbsp rum
- 1 package (1.75 oz) powdered pectin
- 4 cups granulated sugar
Measure out the 4 cups of cherries into a colander, and rinse them well.
Pit and chop up the cherries. Throw them into a large sauce pan.
When ready to can, prepare your supplies. Bring the temperature of the glass jars up by processing them in hot water for several minutes. Heat a few cups of water in a small saucepan for the lids.
Add the lemon and lime juices, cinnamon, cardamom, and rum to the cherries. Cook over medium-high heat until the cherries begin to break down. (If you want a smoother jam, run the mixture through your food processor or food mill before continuing.) Stir in the pectin until dissolved, and boil over high heat for several minutes. Add in the sugar and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, then remove from the heat.
When the jars are ready, fill them with the jam to 1/4″ headspace and place the lids and bands on top, screwing on the bands just to fingertip-tight. Place the full jars back into the boiling water and boil 10 minutes. Remove from the water and place the jars on a towel, and let the jars cool. The seals should suck down (you’ll hear a popping noise as they do). Makes 4 eight-ounce jars.
June 24th, 2010 at 9:44 am
I love cherry jam because it reminds me of spending summers in Northern Michigan. It is one of my flavorite flavors!
June 24th, 2010 at 9:55 am
ooooh … YUM! I can’t wait to try making this
I’m with Jessica… there’s nothing better than summers in Northern Michigan
June 24th, 2010 at 10:06 am
I think I know what I’m making this weekend!
June 24th, 2010 at 10:07 am
This jam looks SO GOOD! I’ve been obsessed with cherries all week since I got such a great batch at the store. I’d love to make my own cherry jam, but uh, I’m super intimidated by the whole canning thing.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:18 am
Here is my address so you can send me some……lol
Looks awesome
June 24th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
YUMMMMMMM!!!! This looks SOOOooo good, Tracy. I was *just* thinking of making some cherry jam. I’m not kidding! If I do… I’ll definitely give your recipe a whirl. I even have a Christmas cookie recipe that calls for cherry jam… I could give away the jam with a recipe card attached to my friends. I’m so excited to do this!!!
June 24th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
What a great jam for this time of year. It sounds and looks super delish.
June 24th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
I’ve never had cherry jam!! I can’t believe it, this looks amazing,
June 24th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
I usually stick with the tried and true strawberry jam, but this cherry is so tempting! I can’t believe I’ve never had it before!
June 24th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
I have never tried cherry jam, but I know I would love it. The flavors you have used sound wonderful. I keep saying I am going to make jam. I really have to because my morning toast is just so boring right now..lol.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:02 pm
Lovely! I need to go pick some cherries at the local orchard so that I can make this!
June 25th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Oh my what treasures!!!! You have encouraged me to do the same magic with cherries.
June 25th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
What timing! My mom just dropped off a big box of cherries. Cherry jam, here we come!
June 25th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
I’ve never made homemade jam, but I would love to give it a try. I could never bring myself to cook with this much sugar though…is there a way to reduce the amount? Can I sub something else? Please let me know!
Katherine from PA
June 25th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Katherine – I’ve made some batches with less sugar; the jam still tastes great but of course you will get less jars out of the batch. I’m not sure what else you can substitute, as I’ve never tried anything but sugar. If you do any research, let me know!
June 25th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Ooo…I would love to slather this jam all over a piece of buttered toast!
June 28th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Lovely cherry jam! I really need to get into canning!
June 29th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Cinnamon, cardamom, and rum? Sold! This would be perfect spread on a warm biscuit.
July 12th, 2011 at 9:18 pm
made it, loved it! Thanks!
August 20th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
For those of you wanting to use less sugar, get the Sure-Jel pectin in the pink box, specifically for less-sugar jams. That is what I use for my strawberry jam because our strawberries are soooo sweet.
July 7th, 2012 at 3:42 pm
Just made it! Wow, what a wonderful flavor. thanks for sharing this recipe!
August 6th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
I’m going to give this a go! I’m so excited, I love recipes that call for more than just fruit & sugar!
August 27th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
This recipe looks devine!
I will try this today. I’m so excited!
Thank you for sharing…
Smiles,
Laureen