Homemade cherry freezer jam has so much more of that fresh fruit flavor that I love so much. It is incredible to use on homemade bread, in sandwiches, on toast, or on any number of other jam-worthy items. Not only is it easy to make but it is absolutely delicious. Additionally, freezer jam has less sugar in it, making it just a little healthier.
Emmaline and I are blessed to live in an area of the Pacific Northwest where there are so many orchards. Seriously, there are so many around us making it easy to get amazing fruit. This year we picked cherries at Mike Schoenwald’s Orchard in Malaga, Washington. Shout out to MIKE and FRAN!!! We brought our boys with us and picked so many cherries it took us multiple days to can them all. They were so delicious that we went through a whole box of them at my house before I could get them all canned up.
Emmaline’s place was much the same with her husband and kids sitting down with not just a little bowl full, but a stainless steel canning bowl full.
A nifty Cherry Pitter is a useful tool when it comes to the long-term storage of cherries. Emmaline and I both use the Norpro Cherry Pitter with the edged tray that you can place a large handful of cherries in. This makes it easy to prepare a lot of cherries all at once. The kids really enjoy helping us with this part.
There are a lot of cherry-pitter options on Amazon.
Ingredients to Make Cherry Freezer Jam:
1 2/3 cups crushed cherries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons Ball instant pectin
Steps to Make Homemade Cherry Freezer Jam:
Remove all the stems off the cherries and wash and pit them. I like to use this nifty cherry pitter.
Mash 1 2/3 cups of crushed cherries. (A blender can be used, but be sure you have no pits that were missed in your cherries first.)
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, stir together 2/3 cups of sugar and 2 tablespoons of Ball instant pectin.
Add the sugar/pectin blend to the crushed berries and stir until mixed well and evenly disbursed.
Let it stand for 30 minutes in clean freezer containers with lids. Then, freeze for up to 1 year.
