Pitted Sweet Cherry Jam for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make pitted sweet cherry jam for winter? First, gather the ingredients. You can use any variety of sweet cherry for the jam: dark red, red-and-yellow, yellow, or a mix. You can easily replace the citric acid with half a lemon cut into quarters.

2. Step 2:

   

   Pick over the berries, removing any rotten ones. Wash the cherries thoroughly and dry them. Remove the stems and pits. The net weight of the prepared cherries should be 1 kg, so start with a bit extra. You can remove the pits with a special cherry pitter, or by cutting into each berry with a knife to the pit and pulling the pit out with your fingers.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the cherries in the pot you'll cook the jam in. Cover them with the sugar and leave them for 10 minutes to release their juice. Since sweet cherries are very sweet, I use a 2:1 ratio of berries to sugar. You can use 1:1, but it all depends on the sweetness of the cherries. If they're already very sweet, the jam will turn out cloying. If they're more neutral or even tart, you can use as much sugar as berries.

4. Step 4:

   

   Set the pot of berries over low heat. Stirring now and then, bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5–7 minutes (15–20 minutes if you want a thicker jam).

5. Step 5:

   

   I covered the pot with a lid to speed up the boiling. At the end, add the citric acid to the jam and stir.

6. Step 6:

   

   Wash the jars and lids inside and out and sterilize them. You can do this with steam or by heating the jars in the oven. If you sterilize the jars in the oven, don't put them straight into a hot oven, or they'll crack from the temperature shock. Put the jars in a cold oven on a rack so they heat up gradually.

7. Step 7:

   

   Ladle the finished hot jam into the jars. If you want a very thick jam with minimal juice, leave some or all of the juice released during cooking behind in the pot.

8. Step 8:

   

   Seal the jars with lids. You can use screw-on lids like mine, plastic lids, or metal ones — in the last case, you'll need a canning tool to crimp them on. Turn the jars upside down, wrap them up warmly, and leave them at room temperature until completely cooled. Store the jam in a cool, dark place (refrigerator or cellar) all winter. Enjoy!