Easy Cherry Jam
We are smack dab in the middle of Cherry season and I am jumping up and down with joy. I cannot get enough of those meaty, juicy, little red orbs of deliciousness. As I was wrist deep in red stains from pitting the cherries for this recipe, the thought occurred to me that if cherries were in season year-round, I would have a red nose. Yep, I would be walking around looking like I was related to Rudolph. You know how babies develop an orange nose when first introduced to carrots? To test for allergic reaction when transitioning a baby to solid food, you feed them one food at a time for a number of days. When testing carrots, little ones often ‘grow’ an orange nose. It’s the beta-carotene in the carrots that turns their little noses orange. Similarly, it’s the particular flavonoids found in cherries that make them red. Anyway…my point to all this is to say, if I could eat cherries year-round, I would most certainly have a red nose. I just can’t get enough of them.
All that said, it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that my favorite jam is cherry. I have a jar of this jam in my refrigerator at all times, with a back-up jar in my pantry. When I walked into my Whole Foods market yesterday and came face to face with a huge display of organic cherries for sale, well the creative cherry juices got flowing and on the spot I decided I was going to take home enough for eating and some extra for making jam.
The recipe I developed for my jam is as simple as can be, but with an intensity of flavor that will wow you. Short on time, I didn’t want to go the whole canning route. Rather, I chose to make a small batch of ‘refrigerator jam’ that was finished in under an hour. In lieu of a formally written recipe, I’m going to keep this real simple and just walk you through the process by which I created a 12 ounce jar of crimson cherry goodness.
Easy Cherry Jam
In a medium heavy-bottom saucepan, combine 2 cups of pitted, quartered cherries with 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. (The jam will thicken further as it cools.) Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract. Remove from the heat and let cool. Spoon the cooled jam into a clean jar and store in the refrigerator. Although the jam will last up to several weeks in the refrigerator, trust me when I tell you, it won’t be around that long. 🙂
My favorite way to enjoy this homemade jam is spooned atop a piece of goat cheese slathered toast. It doesn’t get any better than that!
Enjoy!
Cherry Jam recipe developed by Mary Weinberg | siftingfocus.com
Such a luscious post, the beautiful photos capture the fabulous jam perfectly! I only wish cherry season lasted a little bit longer!
Que delicia!,
Y fácil de preparar, voy a hacerla , gracias por tus recetas
Gracias por tus recetas , esta es una delicia la voy a preparar es muy fácil se ve espectacular muy rica
Sorry if this is a stupid question, but why do you put the lemon juice at the end? I always thought this was what thickened the jam, and always put it in at the start. Will definitely make this (I only ever make refrigerator jam too )
Since this recipe makes such a small batch, and the fact that it cooks long enough to thicken without the use of a thickener, the lemon juice is added at the end just to add a burst of bright flavor.