Five-Minute Cherry Jam

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   You'll need just two ingredients to make cherry jam: cherries and sugar. Choose the ripest cherries you can find, with no bruises or dents. Sort through them, removing stems and leaves, and wash them well. Pit the cherries — you can do this by hand with a hairpin, or with a cherry pitter.

2. Step 2:

   

   Transfer the pitted cherries to the pot you'll cook the jam in. Use an enameled or glass pot — just not aluminum, so the berry juice doesn't react with the metal. Sprinkle the cherries with sugar and shake the pot gently so the sugar settles among the berries. Don't add all the sugar at once: taste the jam as it cooks and add more if needed. If the cherries are sweet, you may need less sugar.

3. Step 3:

   

   Cover the pot and let it stand for a few hours so the cherries release their juice. Then set the pot over the heat and, stirring, bring it to a boil. Foam will form as it comes to a boil — skim it off. Once it's boiling, cook the jam over low heat for 5 minutes. The cherries will shrink a little as they cook.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash and rinse the jars well, then sterilize them however is easiest for you — in the microwave, in the oven, or over boiling water. For the lids, just pour boiling water over them.

5. Step 5:

   

   Pour the boiling jam into the prepared jars and seal them with the lids.

6. Step 6:

   

   Turn the jars upside down and check that the seals are tight. Careful — the jars are very hot! Leave them upside down, wrap them in a warm blanket, and let them cool completely. Why wrap them in a blanket? So the jam cools as slowly as possible, which lets it keep setting as it goes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Move the cooled jars to a cool place for storage. Enjoy your winter treat!