Bing Cherry Jam

Hello Everyone,

Bing cherries are my favorite fruit to eat! My best memory from when I was a kid was, when we would go cherry picking downriver. We would bring tons of 5 gallon buckets and sturdy boxes. We would then find the farms that would let us pick all we could. I would never climb the trees, I am afraid of heights!! YIKES!! My mom and brother would climb up the trees and myself and my dad would pick from the lower branches. I think we would eat a gallon of them apiece to! Our lips and fingers were stained with cherry juice! They tasted the best when they were freshly picked right of the tree where the sun was hitting them, the tasted like little sugar bombs in your mouth!! I bought some black cherry jam at World Market the other day and it was really good, but tasted nothing like the canned jams we would make. My mom canned the cherries with the pits, because they held up better in the jars. I love them canned with just the juice! I would eat a whole quart by myself! Yummy!! Good times we had cherry picking. Here is a great bing cherry jam recipe I made just before the fair, and I won 1st place for them! I did enter them in the state fair and I don’t know how they did over there.. Can’t wait to see!! 🙂

Bing Cherry Jam:

3 cups finely chopped sweet bing cherries

1/4 cup bottled lemon juice

4-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 package powdered pectin, 2 oz. box

1/2 tsp unsalted butter

In a large saucepan add the cherries, lemon juice and pectin and stir until you get to a full rolling boil, (a boil that can not be stirred down). Add entire amount of sugar. Stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full roiling boil again. Remove from heat and stir in butter and skim off foam. (the foam from jams and jellies taste’s great in fresh-baked bread or biscuits!) Ladle hot jam into hot pint or half-pint sterilized jars. Make about 5 cups of jam. Place on 2 piece lids and tighten to fingertip tight. Cover jars with at least 2 inches of warm water. Boil in a boiling water canner. Please read through the USDA guidelines for canning, as boiling water times vary from different elevations. I have included the link for you to read…

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/questions/FAQ_canning.html

I hope I have inspired you to try making your own jam! I love canning!!

Until next time..

Amanda 🙂