Tart Red Cherry Jam Less Sugar Food

SOUR CHERRY JAM

Steps:

• Pit fresh 3 lbs sour cherries. If working with pitted fruit, the total weight should be about 2 1/2 lbs pitted, or roughly 5 cups pitted fruit.
• Place the fruit in a heavy-bottomed jam pot along with lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Cook the cherry mixture, stirring continuously to avoid boil-overs, for about 20 minutes until the fruit has completely fallen apart.
• Add sugar. (If adding pectin, now is the time, see notes).
• Continue cooking the jam until it reaches gel stage, about 25 to 30 more minutes.
• Test for gel stage on a plate that's been placed in the freezer, or with an instant-read thermometer (220 degrees F at sea level).
• Turn off heat and ladle jam into prepared jars. De-bubble, wipe rims and adjust headspace to 1/4 inch. Store in the refrigerator for immediate use (within 1 month), or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for a shelf-stable jam.

GRANDMA MONETTE'S CHERRY JAM TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make the filling: Combine the cherry preserves and lemon juice in a bowl, stirring to break up any clumps.
• Make the crust: Butter a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium speed. Add the whole egg, then the vanilla. Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves in a bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in up to 1 tablespoon water until the dough just comes together. Wrap two-thirds of the dough in plastic wrap, then wrap the remaining one-third in plastic wrap. Refrigerate both for 30 minutes.
• Put the larger piece of dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out into an 11-inch round. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and invert the dough into the prepared tart pan; peel off the other sheet of parchment paper and trim the excess dough. Spread the jam evenly on the crust. Roll out the remaining dough to about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into 1/2- to 1-inch-wide strips (10 to 14 strips). Arrange the strips in a lattice pattern on top of the filling. Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush on the lattice and edge of the crust. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Photography by Steve Giralt

CHERRY JAM RECIPE WITHOUT PECTIN AND LOW SUGAR

Steps:

• Wash, remove stems, and pit cherries. A cherry pitter is highly advised
• Roughly chop up cherries. Place chopped cherries in a large stock pot. Add 1/2 cup water to cherries. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You'll see the cherries begin to break down and thicken.
• Stir in sugar and lemon juice, mixing well. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Sugar will scorch quickly if not kept moving. Boil, uncovered, till thick, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into hot sterilized jars.
• Note: It's set when it sticks to the back of a metal spoon. This is called sheeting. Look at the jam dripping off the edge of the spoon. It should look like a "sheet" of jam, not a bunch of individual drops. Cherry jam is not meant to be extremely thick. It's a thinner jam, excellent on pancakes, waffles, toast, etc.
• Wipe rims with a damp towel, put on lids and bands. Submerge in hot water bath and process for 15 minutes *increase processing time for high altitude (see note section). Take off of heat and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to a folded towel. Let sit for at least 12 hours before checking seals on jars. Then store in a cool dark place for up to a year. If any jars didn't set, store in fridge.
• Make 2 pints or 4 eight ounce jelly jars.

OVER-THE-TOP CHERRY JAM

Steps:

• In a food processor, cover and process cherries in batches until finely chopped. Transfer to a Dutch oven; stir in pectin and butter. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir 1 minute. , Remove from heat; skim off foam. Ladle hot mixture into 6 hot sterilized half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

SOUR CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Place a round wire rack in the bottom of a large stockpot. The rack should fit as snugly as possible and should stand 1/2 to 1 inch above the bottom of the pot. Stand the three jars on the rack, and add the lids; it is not necessary to add the screw bands. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the jars by 1 to 2 inches; an additional 1 to 2 inches of space should remain below the rim of the pot so the water doesn't overflow. Bring the water to a simmer (180 degrees), and simmer the lids and jars 10 minutes or until you're ready to fill them. Place 4 small plates in the freezer.
• In a medium stockpot, combine sour cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice; place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in one-third of remaining sugar, and cook, stirring, until it has dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sugar in two more batches, stirring each batch until sugar has dissolved.
• Bring the mixture to a full boil, and cook, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Place a candy thermometer in the mixture, and cook, stirring frequently, until the temperature registers 220 degrees. 30 to 40 minutes. While cooking, skim any foam that floats to the surface.
• With the temperature at 220 degrees. perform a gel test: Remove one of the plates from the freezer, and place a spoonful of the jam on it. Return the plate to the freezer, and wait 1 minute. Remove plate from freezer, and gently nudge the edge of the jam with one finger. If the jam is ready, it will wrinkle slightly when pushed. If it is not ready, it will be too thin to wrinkle. If the jam does not wrinkle on the first attempt, cook two or three minutes more, and repeat the gel test.
• Once the jam has gelled properly, remove stockpot from heat. Using canning tongs, remove a jar from the simmering water, and empty the water back into the stockpot. Place the jar on a clean surface, and insert a canning funnel. Using a ladle, pour the jam through the funnel into the jar; fill to within 1/4 inch of the rim. Remove the funnel; wipe rim with a clean damp towel. Using tongs, lift a lid from the hot water; place lid, sealant side down, on the filled jar. Screw down the band, and tighten firmly, being careful not to force it. With the tongs, stand the filled jar in simmering water. Repeat with the remaining jam and jars, making sure the jars aren't touching sides of pot and are spaced 1 inch apart.
• Raise the heat to high, cover stockpot, and bring the water to a boil. Process jars in the boiling water for 10 minutes. Using the canning tongs, transfer the jars to a wire rack to cool completely. Let jars stand 24 hours. Check cooled jars for slight indentation in the lid that indicates a vacuum seal. Store jam in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.
• Use only two cups sugar, and add one cup of juice from the thawed cherries in step two.

TART CHERRY JAM - COOKED

Steps:

• Follow sure Jell Directions.
• Water Bath Can 15 minutes using regulation jars& new caps.
• Note: put your fingers into the pulp to find any missing seeds before you make jam.
• Follow Sure Jell Instructions for Cooked Jam.
• Please water-bath all Jam for 15 minutes.
• Jam canned this way will be safe& last over 2 years without mold.

SURE.JELL® FOR LESS OR NO SUGAR NEEDED RECIPES - SOUR CHERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Bring boiling-water canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. Drain jars well before filling.
• Stem and pit cherries. Finely chop or grind fruit. Place in large saucepan; add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 min., stirring occasionally. Place three layers of damp cheesecloth or a jelly bag in large bowl. Pour prepared fruit into cheesecloth. Tie cheesecloth closed; hang and let drip into bowl until dripping stops. Press gently. Measure exactly 4-1/2 cups juice into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot. (If necessary, add up to 1/2 cup water to get exact measure.)
• Mix 1/4 cup of the sugar (from the measured amount in bowl) and pectin in small bowl. Add to fruit juice in saucepot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining 2-1/4 cups sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon.
• Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 5 min. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)

SURE.JELL FOR LESS OR NO SUGAR NEEDED RECIPES - CHERRY FREEZER JAM

Steps:

• Rinse clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
• Stem and pit cherries. Chop cherries very finely. Measure exactly 5 cups chopped cherries into large bowl.
• Mix sugar and pectin in large saucepan. Stir in water. Bring to boil on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 min. Remove from heat. Add cherries; stir 1 min. or until well blended.
• Fill all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze extra containers up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.