anyone have a great jam recipe?

[stewartjess]

just moved to a little farm and have a couple cherry trees. anyone have a great jam recipe? and is it necessary that i know how to can .... because I don't. I do have some new canning jars though

[benjaminsmom]

I always use recipes from the bernardin website. They have lots of great tips and how tos. Good luck!
http://www.homecanning.ca/

[newbiesmama]

Canning isn't as complicated as it seems. Check out a book at the library or look around on the web for info. It's actually a lot of fun. Plus if you do make a mistake ya just eat it sooner

[yagow2001]

are they sweet or tart cherries? Sweet are the kind you can eat right off the tree and I'd use those for jam. Tart are best for pie filling, I'll talk about that later. I make jam and pies for the farmers market and it really is easy if you have the right recipes and tools.

Don't be afraid to make jam, it is really simple. Just buy a box of powdered pectin and follow the instructions in there, I prefer Ball no-sugar-needed so I don't have to put in quit as much sugar as the regular pectin asks for, but regular is good too. You can follow the freezer jam instructions or the cooked, canned kind. Really all you need for canning jam and fruits is a big stock pot deep enough to cover your jars by 1/2 inch, plus the jars and lids which are an investment. I also recommend spending $10-15 on a Ball Blue Book of canning recipes, I get most of mine from there for pie fillings and instructions for canning.

If you have tart pie cherries, invest in a heavy duty stoner/pitter, made of metal. My cherry pie filling recipe calls for one pound of cherries, 1 c. sugar, 1/4 c. cornstarch and 1/4 t. almond extract (easily make big batches if you have more than 1 pound of cherries, but each pound makes about one pie worth). Combine the ingredients in a pan and let the juices flow for 1/2 hour before cooking over medium heat until thick and bubbly (stirring often). When cool you can freeze it (cool whip tubs are just the right size for one pie) or you can can it in jars (qt. makes one pie) boiled for 25 minutes (pints 15 min.).

[stewartjess]

tart cherries. anyone know where to find a pitter? i don't even know what they look like

[yagow2001]

Originally Posted by stewartjess tart cherries. anyone know where to find a pitter? i don't even know what they look like

I should just find mine and send it to you FFS, I pitted cherries one summer and hope to never do that again I either got it at our local farm store that has a big canning/kitchen section or at Bed Bath & Beyond. It is really heavy metal. It doubles as an olive pitter too. It looks like short, wide tongs with a little cup on the bottom tong that holds the fruit and has a hole in it for the pit to fall thru. then the top tong has an inch long spike that you push down into the fruit to force the pit out the other side. if you get a cheap, light one, it will just bend and not stand up to the pressure. no matter what, it's a good workout for your hands and forearms, start squeezing a stress ball right now

[newbiesmama]

They sell pitters on Amazon or you can try one of these methods:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/404296
I am doing some sour cherries this week myself. It's my first time so I am going to try to use the board and nail method for now. I would hate to buy a pitter and then discover I don't really like sour cherries I think I will also use the above recipe that yagow2001 listed in her post. Only I am going to use mine as a yogurt mix in for my homemade yogurt. Good luck with your experiment I hope it goes well.

[Geckmumto3]

Originally Posted by newbiesmama They sell pitters on Amazon or you can try one of these methods: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/404296 I am doing some sour cherries this week myself. It's my first time so I am going to try to use the board and nail method for now. I would hate to buy a pitter and then discover I don't really like sour cherries I think I will also use the above recipe that yagow2001 listed in her post. Only I am going to use mine as a yogurt mix in for my homemade yogurt. Good luck with your experiment I hope it goes well.

I just posted about pitting cherries. Thanks for this link!