Simple recipes for homemade cherry jam

Preparing the ingredients

Traditional dessert recipes don't call for many ingredients—just the berries themselves and granulated sugar. To add variety to the flavor, you can add spices, herbs, or even chocolate. Whatever recipe you choose, all the ingredients for the future cherry jam must be carefully prepared.

Cherries should be medium-ripe—there shouldn't be any rotten, overripe, or overly green berries, so they need to be sorted carefully. Needless to say, washing the berries is an obvious step in the process. Also, if you're making jam without pits, remove the pits from each berry.

Don't forget to sterilize the jars and lids to ensure the finished product will keep well.

Video "Cherry Jam Recipe"

This video will show you how to make delicious and healthy cherry jam for the winter.

Step-by-step recipes

We offer jam-making using our most popular and successful recipes. You're sure to love them and they'll be treasured in family cookbooks for years to come.

Five-Minute

This is a quick and easy way to make a sweet treat. It's especially suitable for busy housewives. The highlight of this method is that the jam is made with the pits, making it much more enjoyable to eat. However, any stock of this delicacy should be discarded within a year of canning – remember that cherry pits contain hydrocyanic acid. Although neutralized by sugar and heat, it can be harmful to health if stored for a long time.

For one serving of this delicacy, you'll need 1 kg of berries and 0.6 kg of granulated sugar. After sorting and washing the berries, dry them on a paper or kitchen towel and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Leave them in this state for 6 hours to allow the cherries to release their aromatic juice. Then, stir the berries and place them over low heat.

Remember to stir the mixture constantly during cooking to prevent the sugar from burning. Another important point: skimming off any foam that appears on the surface. Failure to do so will result in the finished product losing its clarity and significantly reducing its shelf life.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, you can set a timer for 5-7 minutes—this will be plenty of time for cooking. Pour the finished jam into sterilized jars and seal.

Seedless

Cherry jam with pre-pitted cherries also doesn't cook for long. In this case, use equal parts cherries and sugar. Place the peeled cherries in a saucepan and simmer over low heat, without adding any sugar. As they heat, they will release juice, so stir gently to avoid bruising them.

Once the mixture comes to a boil, add 1 cup (200 grams) of sugar, stir, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 2 minutes. You'll need to do this several times: for every kilogram of berries, you'll need 5 cups of sugar.

After adding the last amount of granulated sugar, let the jam simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam. That's it, you're ready to pour into jars and seal.

With bones

Take equal amounts of cherries and sugar. Sprinkle the berries with sugar, mix gently, and let sit overnight to release the juices. In the morning, you can begin cooking: place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves completely. Once this happens, increase the heat and bring the jam to a simmer. Once boiling, simmer for just 20 minutes, stirring frequently and skimming off any foam. Pour the finished jam into jars and seal.

From frozen cherries

If you're a fan of freezing berries for future use or don't have space to store large quantities, you can make frozen cherry jam anytime. The recipe is incredibly simple.

Take equal amounts of cherries and sugar; frozen berries don't even need to be defrosted. Sprinkle them with granulated sugar and let them sit for about an hour until the juices appear. Simmer the mixture over low heat. After about 15 minutes, drain off any excess syrup if the jam is too runny. Then simmer for about 20 minutes.

That's it, all that's left is to cool the delicacy and serve with tea.

In a multicooker

Making this sweet treat in a slow cooker couldn't be easier. The process takes minimal time, and the jam itself simmers slowly rather than boils, preserving maximum nutritional value.

For every 1 kg of cherries, you'll need 1.2 kg of sugar. Place the prepared cherries in the multicooker bowl, cover with sugar, and cook on the "Stewing" setting for 2 hours. Once the cooking signal sounds, the jam is ready to be poured into jars.

With chocolate

This is an original recipe for those who love unusual desserts. To make it, you'll need a more comprehensive set of ingredients:

• 1 kg of prepared berries;
• 0.5 kg granulated sugar;
• 2 tbsp lemon juice;
• 2 tbsp. cognac;
• 90 g dark chocolate;
• 40 g of gelling mixture.

Place the berries in a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the juices begin to appear. Once this happens, add the gelling mixture and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, for no more than 4 minutes. Now add all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil again until the chocolate chips are completely dissolved. The jam is ready to pour into jars.

This dessert turns out thick, similar to classic jam. Its taste is beyond praise. Believe me, you'll never want to look at regular chocolates again.

It's best to store the prepared jam in a cool, dark place – this will extend the dessert's shelf life. It all depends on how many jars you've made: a small batch can fit in a standard refrigerator, while a larger supply will require a basement or cool pantry.