Washington State has many varieties of fruit and they all grow prolifically. Cherries are one of the fruits that grow so well here. Emmaline doesn’t have chickens so if she is going to make the effort of juicing she does not want to waste any part of the fruit. Her favorite method of use of the leftover pulp is to make fruit butter. One of her favorite flavors of fruit butter is spiced cherry butter. Making fruit butter is such a great way not to waste any part of the fruit when juicing. Fruit butter tends to be smoother with more spices and less sugar than jam.
Canned Cherry Butter
Preparation
Start by preparing your boiling water bath with enough water to cover 3 pint-sized jars with 1-2 inches of water. Place the water bath canner on the stove on medium heat. Next, preheat your jars in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, submerge your lids in a small pan of water, bring it to a boil, and then leave it at a simmer. Now that your equipment is ready, it is time to start making spiced cherry butter.
Making the Cherry Butter
Pit Cherries
Wash, de-stem, and pit the cherries and cook them down to pulp or use the pulp leftover from juicing cherries.
supplies
Blend 6 cups of cherry pulp so it is nice and smooth.
Blend cherry pulp
In a large pot, mix the cherries with 3 cups of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
Add sugar and cinnamon
Cook until thick.
Add lemon juice
Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
Add vanilla
Mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
Ladle into jars
Pour or ladle the butter into clean, hot, pint-sized jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Place the lids and rings on and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath at sea level or adjust for your elevation.
Canned Cherry Butter
Remove the jars from the water bath. Allow them to sit on the counter for 24 hours then check if they sealed properly. The center will be indented down if they are. If not, place any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use them right away.
Place the sealed jars in a cool, dry area and use them within the next 3 years. After that, the nutritional value begins to decrease.
If you have any questions about how to use a boiling water canner take a look at our canning basics videos.
This video was part of another three-part video. Make sure you take a minute to watch 3 THINGS TO MAKE WITH !) POUNDS OF CHERRIES.
