Making jam from scratch is a lot easier than you think. This cherry jam is packed with a sweet, lightly caramelised cherry flavour. Try it out on some toast or a fresh batch of scones!
Simply:
- De-pit all cherries
- Cook cherries in saucepan on low heat until soft
- Mash cherries
- Add sugar and lemon juice and boil on med-high for 10 minutes
Check out my lavender scones recipe here:
BRITISH LAVENDER SCONES RECIPE
You’ll need:
Ingredients
- 400 grams fresh cherries
- 265 grams brown sugar
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
Equipment
- Kitchen scales
- Saucepan
- Something to de-pit cherries, I suggest a chopstick
- Small plate
Step by step video
Tips
- Use “the plate method” to test if the jam is ready: before making the jam, place a small plate in the freezer for 10 minutes. Drop a small amount of mixture onto the plate fresh from the freezer. Slowly smear the mixture on the plate with your finger, if the jam wrinkles then it’s done! If not, let the jam boil for 1 minute increments until the jam wrinkles using the plate method.
- Don’t skip the lemon juice! Jams rely on fruits with high amounts of pectin to set. Cherries have low pectin levels, lemons have high pectin levels. Adding lemon juice to this recipe adds the pectin that the jam requires to set.
- Don’t make large batches. Although you may think that scaling up a recipe is a great skill to have in order to achieve efficiency in the kitchen, especially when large quantities are needed; don’t. When making jams, avoid attempting to make larger batches, doing so can be a long and tedious process, as it will take far too long for the jam to reach it’s setting point.
Can I use white sugar instead of brown sugar?
Yes, brown sugar adds some moisture and soft caramel tones to this recipe as brown sugar contains molasses. But you can easily replace the brown sugar with equal amounts of white sugar.
How to store homemade jam
Homemade jam should be store in the refrigerator. Store in a container with an airtight lid. Jam can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.
The rundown:
- de pit all cherries & slice in half. A simple way is to poke a chopstick through the butt of the cherry toward the stem hole.
- add cherries to saucepan and cook on low heat until soft and easy to mash. Stirring the whole time
- use the back of your spoon to mash cherries- some chunks are fine- depending on desired texture
- add sugar and lemon juice
- boil on med-high for 10 minutes
To test if the jam is ready: drop a small amount of mixture onto the plate from the freezer. Slowly push the mixture up with your finger, if the jam wrinkles then it’s done! if not, put back on the boil for one min increments until done.
Simple fresh cherry jam
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Something to depit cherries i.e chopstick
- Small plate
- Kitchen scales
Ingredients
- 400 grams fresh cherries
- 265 grams brown sugar
- 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Place a small plate in the freezer- this will be used to test if jam is done later on
- De pit all cherries. A simple way is to poke a chopstick through the butt of the cherry toward the stem hole.
- Add cherries to saucepan and cook on low heat until soft and easy to mash. Stirring the whole time
- Mash cherries- some chunks are fine
- add sugar and lemon juice and boil on med-high for 10 minutesto test if jam is ready: drop a small amount of mixture onto the plate from the freezer. Slowly push the mixture up with your finger, if the jam wrinkles then its done! if not, put back on boil for one min increments until done.
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