Crazy good! Homemade Cherry Jam

Cherry pie is thought to be utterly All-American; as the Fourth approaches, we don’t have cherry pie to serve our guests, but we do have Cherry Jam! I’m not sure I ever remember Hubby extolling any food I’ve put in front of him quite like he did this homemade Cherry Jam that I recently served him over biscuits. I got out my jars and jar lids, sterilized them, and saved some of the jam for a future date. This upcoming weekend we’ll open some of my put-by jam and enjoy it all over again.

Making jam has never been so simple as with this recipe, from “Celebrating a Healthy Harvest”. Two cups of cherries, pitted and chopped, went into a quart pan with powdered pectin, lemon juice, almond flavoring, and spices. After this boils fully, add sugar and let that cook for 3 minutes. One wonders from whence the liquid to make the jam will emerge, since the only liquid you’ve added has been 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Not to worry. As the pectin and the cherries combine over the heat, the juice from the cherries multiplies as they cook down. When you skim the foam off the top of the mixture and pour it into hot, sterilized canning jars, you’ll be surprised at how much it makes—about 3 cups.

You’ll think you’re eating cherry pie filling when you spoon into your first jar of jam and dish out servings onto biscuits, toast, or waffles. When Hubby asked what kinds of foods I was planning for the July 4th weekend and I told him we’d be dipping into more Cherry Jam, from his reaction you’d have thought he’d been given the entire fireworks store!

One note: although I almost always use sugar substitute in recipes I try, I played it straight this time and left in the regular sugar. Although one definitely can make jams and jellies with sugar substitute, this time I didn’t want to chance it and stuck with the recipe’s exact ingredients—no subs. This means I’ll have to do more Hubby Patrol and make sure he doesn’t eat quite as much of it, but he can celebrate his freedom in other ways than over-indulging.

Cherry Jam

2 cups pitted cherries, chopped

1 ounce (half of a 2-ounce package) powdered pectin

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon almond flavoring

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups sugar

Place cherries, pectin, lemon, almond flavoring, and spices into a 6-quart pan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add sugar; bring mixture to a full rolling boil and cook for 2 minutes. Skim foam off mixture and set aside. Pour cherry mixture into hot, sterilized jars. Leave 1/4-inch head space. Seal. Cool completely before you refrigerate. Makes 2 1/2 to 3 cups of jam.