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| Cherry Jam |
Cherry season is almost over, which means it's time to make jam once again using the ripened cherries we bought at the farmers market last weekend.
Cherries are my favourite fruit. I have such great memories of eating them with my parents in their backyard while growing up and an even better memory of making jam with my mom. ~We had a beautiful cherry tree in my parents' backyard that my father planted years ago and maintained with pride over the years.
One of my last memories of my father was at his home, watching him pick cherries with my girls. Although he was ill at that time, it brought him so much joy to watch the girls climb high up into the tree. "The higher they got, the more cherries to make cherry jam was my daughter's motto." Oh, the beautiful memory!
Back to making jam...
The only thing I don't like about this process is pitting the cherries. Back in the day, my mom and I used to do this with a knife, but over time, I discovered a cherry pitter (best invention ever).
Using this little metal gadget has saved me so much time and has done less damage to the colour of my hands and nails. If you don't have a cherry pitter, I highly recommend you invest in one, especially if you're going to make jam...
INGREDIENTS:
15 lbs Cherries (prior to removing pits)
5 cups Sugar
METHOD:
1. Clean and pit cherries.
2. Add 5 cups of sugar to cherries in a huge pot.
3. Simmer on low heat for 3 hours, stirring often to avoid burning and sticking to the bottom.
Yum! I love homemade jam!
ReplyDeleteooh yum, never made homemade jam, i'll have to give it a try. my favorite is raspberries or apricot. so yummy!
ReplyDeleteDear Ellen, It is so beautiful that you share the memories with your daughters of picking cherries with your Dad.
ReplyDeleteI have recently pitted cherries with my daughter to make ice-cream and we had very cherry stained hands. I tried rubbing a slice of lemon on our hands and it helped remove the stains.
The jam sounds delicious.
Blessings dearest. Catherine xo
Awesome! I agree, pitting cherries is not so fun. We had several cherry trees at our old house - good thing they got frosted this yr and didn't produce, otherwise I might have protested the move! :) Now they need to make a bean snapper.
ReplyDeleteI used a cherry pitter to put all my little plums - worked great. The jam... not so good. I don't like using all the sugar needed... You didn't use any pectin, I noticed. So, I'm guessing, it thickened by cooking down. I'll try cooking lots longer with the next batch. Lovely story, btw. :-)
ReplyDeleteCherries are my favorite too and I love to make cherry jam!!! We used to have 2 cherry trees; a storm uprooted one and the other soon became diseased. I miss them and go up into Wisconsin for fresh cherries now at an orchard. My mother-in-law had a heavy metal cherry pitter that pitted about 15-20 cherries at a time. She passed on and the pitter disappeared. I'd love to find another one. Thanks for the recipe, Ellen---I'll have to try jam your way.
ReplyDeleteThat is one smooth and jelly'ish jam! Great Jam..
ReplyDeleteIt is perfect for a lovely breakfast!
ReplyDeletehttp://juegodesabores.blogspot.com.es/
I bet homemade cherry jam is fantastic. That is one kind I haven't tried to make. I usually end up pitting the cherries and sticking them in booze to age gracefully.
ReplyDeleteMy favourite jam ever!
ReplyDeleteI totally adore cherries... so this jam would be perfect. I have to wait until Summer rolls around here in Australia.
ReplyDeleteIt must be soo good! I have a pitter too:) Nifty little gadget!
ReplyDeleteI bought an OXO cherry pitter last year and there's no going back! Cherry jam YUM!
ReplyDeleteWOW, It looks so delicious… I am craving Jam right now :p
ReplyDeleteXXX
http://abudhabifood.blogspot.com
Oh cherry jam! That must be so good! I went cherry picking, but never thought of making jam out of cherries! I got to try it next year. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
ReplyDeletethis is one of my favorite.. ever!!! delicioso!!!
ReplyDeleteThis jam looks perfect my friend - love it :D
ReplyDeleteCheers
Choc Chip Uru
what beautiful presentation !
ReplyDeleteFresh cherries are so hard to get here. Even if some supermarkets sell them once in a blue moon, they are so expensive! Your cherry jam look so delicious. I love home-made jam!
ReplyDeleteBtw, looks like Foodbuzz is closing down soon so I hope to stay in touch with you via other platforms on our blog post updates! I just joined this Daily Buzz as recommended but don't know how it works just yet. Let's stay in touch.
Such lovely jam…I would love to have some on my morning toast!! I just made some red raspberry jam from the berries in my garden! I love jam season…it really makes summer feel like summer! Have a great day!!
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful memories of your father!
DeleteI have been on a major cherry kick lately and while I'll never tire of eating them by themselves, I've been trying to think of what to cook with them. This would be perfect! Great recipe!!
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