Cherry Jam

Well hello people here is my first recipe I have tried, tested and enjoyed.   I decided I wanted to do something which made me feel like a 'homemaker.'   So I made Jam, whats more homely than that?  So this is what I did.

I bought 800g of cherries and washed them and de-stalked them and then pitted them.   OMG, I don't want to put you off but pitting 800g of cherries takes a while so brace yourself.  It tool around 40 minutes of hard slog until I was left with this.....

At this point you can really smell the fresh cherries and you need to start to get everything else ready.  So next you need 200g of granulated sugar and about a third of the cherries and put them in a maslin/jam pan.  I just used a  large pan because it was easy to get to and would create a large amount of heat to the mixture.

So here it is the first amount in the pan.  Now you need to get a potato masher and mush the mixture while it is heating.  You need to continue this for a while until it starts bubbling and then leave to simmer for 5 or 6 minutes, this will allow the juice to form which will help the rest of the mixture develop later on.

Next you need to add everything else, that is the rest of the cherries, another 200g of granulated sugar, 420g of jam sugar (with added pectin) and 130ml of fresh lemon juice to make the jam 'tart'.  I insisted that everything was fresh and more importantly 'authentic' so I squeezed 4 lemons which gave me about 130ml of jam.   Anything between 120ml and 140ml of jam will do depending on what you prefer. 

So your well on your way now you have added all the ingredients.  Next I took the masher again and started to squeeze all the ingredients into the heat of the bottom of the pan.  Once I has done this for a while I left the pan for 35-40minutes to cook, occasionally stirring for optimum feelings of 'homemaker baking.'

I started to panic throughout that it looks really juicy and wouldn't thinken but this was my first attempt at jam and I have to say it did work out perfectly.  In fact it was quite thick when cooled so if you prefer a more looser jam, take 5 mins or so off the cooking time and add the maximum amount of lemon juice 140ml.  As it starts to cook it will simmer and start to froth.

I used this time to sterilise my jars, it made 3 average jars ( not very helpful I know but I don't know what size they were think they were 300ml.)    I just washed them in soapy water, rinsed them and then boiled and poured the kettle to fill each on.  Just leave them for 5minutes them pour them out, this did the job for me.

Once the mixture has cooked you need to leave it for a few mins to cool, I left it about 10minutes.  Then very carefully pour the mixture into the jars.  It may be safer and easier to use a funnel or a lipped pan for this.  Then cover and leave for a further few minutes to get most of the steam out.

You can now put the lids on and pop down the tops, it worked for me but I'm not sure why so give it a go.  Then leave to cool for an hour to reach room temperature and then I popped them in the fridge while I made my labels.

So I made these labels on the computer -  it took ages and I used some printed paper for the tops as I couldn't find any suitable material and there they are my delish cherry jam pots.


I could not get all labels to line up but hey it adds to authenticity doesn't it.  This jam is Delicious if I say so myself and I have had many compliments.  Best on fresh cut bread/toast or croissants mmm.

So good luck people and see you soon.

Steph x