You can use a black cooking cherry, such as a Morello cherry, for this jam, or a paler dessert cherry, and the color of your jam will vary accordingly. If you grow your own, make sure to pick them as soon as they ripen, or the birds will eat all of them before you get the chance.
Makes about 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pints cherries
- 1 generous cup warmed sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- cherry jam
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pit the cherries, using a cherry stoner over a basin to catch any juice. Place the stones in a piece of muslin and tie it into a bag with string. Put the fruit and juice into a pan with 2 tablespoons water and simmer gently until the fruit is just cooked.
- Add the warmed sugar and the lemon juice to the fruit and stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and boil rapidly to reach setting point. Remove the muslin bag and leave the jam for 5–10 minutes, then stir to redistribute the cherries. Skim if necessary.
- Pour the jam into hot, sterilized jars and sea
