Cherry Jam: Straight from My Orchard

For those of you that don't know much about Kyustendil, it is considered the "Cherry Capital" of Bulgaria.  Back during the communism, they coved the landscape with cherry trees.  Even our streets are lined with cherries.  You can take a walk and have eaten a fair amount of luscious ripe cherries by the time you arrive at your destination.

A few years ago, my husband purchased a cherry orchard in need of some TLC. Our harvest, which we sell to local buyers fetches a good price because of the care and attention give our trees.  It is a shame that I haven't posted more cherry recipes, but I rarely get that far.  We usually just eat devourer them before I get a chance to make something.

I decided to go to the cherries and pick a whole bunch specifically for baking and canning.  Cherry picking is tedious work, but a sweet task that allows you continuous snacking.  For the sake of longevity, you must pick them with their stems, but I missed a few.

On the ladder filling my bucket

The ones on the left are stemless, so they need to be eaten quickly.

My booty

These are going to be sold.

A few days ago on my Facebook Page, I put a call out to find a cherry pitter and my friend Bill offered me his OXO cherry pitter.  I couldn't wait to get started.  I was like a kid at christmas with a new toy.  It was so simple even the girls were doing it, although their enthusiasm wained after about 5 cherries.

The Traditional Cherry Jam, which I found on A Good Appetite was taken from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and I adapted it slightly

5 1/2 cups of whole cherries, pitted and quartered
1/3 cup of lime juice, freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp, ground cloves, I dry roasted whole cloves, then ground them myself
1 oz powdered pectin (apple)
4 1/2 cups of sugar

The cherries

Pectin, cloves, lime juice, cinnamon

Method:

In a stainless steel or enamel sauce pan add cherries, lime juice, cloves an cinnamon.  Stir to combine, then whisk in pectin till completely dissolved.

On high heat, bring to a boil.  Add the sugar.  To help dissolve the sugar quicker you could heat the sugar the oven for 15 minutes before hand. Boil again for about a minute. Skim all of the foam that rises to the surface. When you think it is done, test the gel with a cold spoon.  The drops should be slow and thick.

Add to sterilized jars and process.

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