Cherries make a fabulous sweet jam but adding the spices in this spiced cherry jam recipe brings it to a whole new level. The spices create such an intriguing flavor that it is a joy to eat on meat, bread, pancakes, waffles, or ice cream. I love finding different ways to preserve our yearly crops and I hope you enjoy this one as much as we do because jam doesn’t need to be boring.
ingredients
Preparation
Start by preparing your boiling water bath canner with enough water to cover 6 half-pint jars with 1-2 inches of water. Place the pot on the stove on medium heat.
Making the Spiced Cherry Jam
Wash, de-stem, and pit the cherries. I use the Norpro Delux Cherry Pitter.
Pitted cherries
Blend 2 pounds of pitted cherries. (The blender is easier but if you are not 100% sure you got all of the pits out you will want to mash the cherries so you can remove any remaining pits.)
Blended Cherries
Mix the cherries with 6 tablespoons of pectin, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of clove, 1 teaspoon almond extract and 1/4 cup of lemon juice in a deep pot.
Add all ingredients except sugar
If you want to reduce foaming add 1/2 teaspoon of butter.
Add Butter
Bring to a full rolling boil on medium-high heat. Stir constantly.
Add 4 1/2 cups of sugar and bring back to a full boil for 2 minutes.
Add sugar
Pour or ladle the jam into clean, hot, half-pint-sized jars leaving ¼ inch headspace. Place the lids and rings on and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner at sea level or adjust for your elevation.
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.
Spiced Cherry Jam
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.
