Seedless Cherry Jam for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make cherry jam? Get the ingredients ready. You can use fresh or frozen cherries. If you use frozen, thaw them and drain in a colander. But don't throw out the juice — add it before cooking if little liquid comes out after you add the sugar. If you're wary of boiling gelatin, use agar-agar instead.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the cherries well under running water, then drain them in a colander to let the excess run off. Pit the cherries. You can use one of the special pitting gadgets now widely sold, or use a hairpin — the rounded end does the job perfectly.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the pitted cherries with sugar and let them stand for half an hour to release their juice.

4. Step 4:

   

   Then purée the berries with an immersion blender. You don't have to make it perfectly smooth — bits of cherry in the jam are very welcome. Careful: cherry juice splatters a lot.

5. Step 5:

   

   Stir the gelatin into the cherry purée.

6. Step 6:

   

   Stir and let it stand for 10 minutes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Transfer the purée to a heavy-bottomed pot.

8. Step 8:

   

   Set it over low heat.

9. Step 9:

   

   Stirring constantly, bring the jam to a boil. Cook it for about 15–20 minutes, stirring the whole time so it doesn't scorch. The time is approximate — you may need a bit more or less. Go by how the jam looks.

10. Step 10:

    

    Test for doneness by dropping a bit onto a saucer: once cooled, the drop shouldn't spread.

11. Step 11:

    

    Transfer the hot jam to clean, dry jars.

12. Step 12:

    

    Seal the jars with lids or screw on metal ones. Since the jam is high in sugar, it's best stored somewhere cold.