Perfect Sour Cherry Jam Recipe

By
Lucy Baker
Lucy Baker
Lucy Baker is a food writer, publisher, and author of two cookbooks: The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets and Edible DIY: Simple, Giftable Recipes to Savor and Share. In addition to her columns on Serious Eats, she has written for The Journal News, Westchester Magazine, and her blog, Turnip the Oven.
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Updated Sep. 17, 2020
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Simmering the cherries before adding the other ingredients helps to create a juicier, more spreadable jam. If the fruit separates in the jars, wait until they have sealed and cooled (about one hour) and then shake or roll them very gently to redistribute the fruit.

Recipe Facts

Active: 60 mins
Total: 90 mins
Serves: 32 servings
Makes: 4 cups

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Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin

  • 3 pints sour cherries

  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 3 teaspoons calcium water (included in the Pomona's packet)

  • 1/4 teaspoon unsalted butter

Directions

  1. Combine the sugar and pectin in a medium bowl.

  2. Pit the cherries and transfer them to the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse the cherries 8 to 10 times, until they are coarsely chopped but not pureed. Measure 4 cups of the cherry puree and transfer to a large, heavy bottomed pot. (Discard any remaining cherries or reserve for another use.) Add the lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cherry pieces have softened and are beginning to break down, about 10 minutes.

  3. Stir the calcium water and the butter into the pot with the cherries and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the sugar-pectin mixture and return the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for one minute.

  4. Remove the pot from the heat and skim any foam from the surface of the jam with a cold metal spoon. Ladle the jam into hot sterilized jars and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
68 Calories
0g Fat
17g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 32
Amount per serving
Calories 68
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 1mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 17g 6%
Dietary Fiber 0g 1%
Total Sugars 16g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 3mg 13%
Calcium 4mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 43mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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