Nanking Cherry Jam Jelly Recipes

NANKING CHERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Clean berries and heat to a low simmer for about 2-3 minutes (at the simmer) until they release their juice; hang over night to glean juice (I had to use my hands to squish the berries)
• Measure juice and add the same amount of sugar to a heavy pan
• Add lemon juice
• Bring to a boil, skimming any foam from the top; add pectin after it has boiled for 2 minutes and all sugar is dissolved
• Boil for one more minute; ladle into hot, clean jars and seal

NANKING CHERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Wash fresh cherries with cool tap water but do not soak; drain. Stem cherries and place in an 8- to 10-quart heavy Dutch oven or kettle. Barely cover cherries with water (about 3 1/2 cups). Bring to a simmer (do not boil as flavor will be less). Simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until soft and the skin on the cherries starts to split, mashing cherries with a potato masher during cooking. Remove from heat.
• Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Ladle cherry mixture into the sieve. Using the back of a large spoon, press cherries through the sieve; discard seeds and cooked skins. Place the sieve or a colander lined with four layers of 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth over a large bowl. Strain cherry juice; do not squeeze cheesecloth if you want a clear jelly. Measure 3 1/2 cups liquid. Discard pulp.
• In a 4-quart heavy Dutch oven or kettle, stir together the 3 1/2 cups strained liquid and the pectin. Heat on high, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full rolling boil (bubbles break the surface so rapidly you can't stir them down). Add sugar; stir to combine. Return to boiling; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; quickly skim off foam by gently scooping off the top with a metal spoon.
• Ladle into hot, sterilized* half-pint standard canning jars, leaving a 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims; adjust lids. Process jelly in a boiling-water bath canner for 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling and keep the water boiling gently during processing).
• Remove jars; cool on wire racks. When jars are completely cool (12 to 24 hours), press the center of each lid to check the seal. If dip in lid holds, the jar is sealed. If lid bounces up and down, the jar isn't sealed. (The contents of unsealed jars can be refrigerated and used within two to three days or reprocessed within 24 hours.)

NANKING CHERRY JELLY

Steps:

• Put as many cherries as you've managed to pick into a large pot, add half a cup to a cup of water (less than a cup if you have under 8 cups of berries; a cup if it's more) and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until the cherries soften and start to release their juices, mashing occasionally with a potato masher.
• Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve set over a bowl - or use a jelly bag if you have one. Leave it if you want a clear jelly, or swirl a spoon around in the sieve to coax out as much juice as you can. (This is what I do.) When you get out as much as you can, toss the sludge with all the pits in it, and put the juice back into the pot.
• Measure out about as much sugar as you have juice and set it aside. Add about 1 Tbsp. lemon juice per 2 cups of juice to the juice, and shake in some packaged pectin - I had about 5 cups of juice and used about half a package. (Most recipes call for a packet for 6 cups of juice; you can totally guesstimate here.) Bring the juice-pectin mixture to a full rolling boil, then stir in the sugar. Bring it back to a full, hard boil for 2 full minutes - this means a rolling boil you can't stir down. Remove from the heat and skim any foam off the surface. Ladle into hot, clean jars, seal and cool.
• Makes as much as you like.

NANKING CHERRY JELLY WITH PECTIN CRYSTALS

Steps:

• To prepare juice, combine cherries and water in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes. Mash mixture occasionally while cooking. Strain through a jelly bag.
• Measure 6 cups juice into a Dutch oven. Stir lemon juice and Certo into juice.
• Place over high heat and bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Continue to stir and cook over high heat until mixture returns to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
• Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims thoroughly. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

NANKING CHERRY JELLY WITH LIQUID PECTIN

Steps:

• To prepare juice, combine cherries and water in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes. Mash mixture occasionally while cooking. Strain through a jelly bag.
• Measure 3 cups juice into a Dutch oven. Add sugar and mix well.
• Place Dutch oven over high heat and bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Immediately stir in Certo. Continue to stir over high heat until mixture returns to a full rolling boil. Boil hard for 40 seconds only, stirring constantly. Do not overcook.
• Remove from heat and skim foam if necessary.
• Pour into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe jar rims thoroughly. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

NANKING CHERRY JAM/JELLY

Steps:

• To make Juice.
• Combine cherries, apple and water in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes. Mash mixture occasionally while cooking.
• Strain through a cheesecloth for 8 hours for jelly, or squeeze through a colander to remove the seeds for jam.
• Bring 4 cups of juice/pulp to full rolling boil and boil for 2 minutes.
• Add 3 1/2 - 4 cups of sugar, mix well.
• Bring back to a full rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes.
• Add 1 pouch of liquid pectin and lemon juice.
• Stir for 5 minutes.
• Pour into hot sterile jars, process for 5 minutes or put into freezer when cool. This may take up to 24 hours to set.

HOT CHERRY PEPPER JELLY

Steps:

• Properly clean and sterilize the jars, lids, and bands. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and place clean jars on the rack to keep warm and sterilized.
• As you prepare the jelly, place the canner filled half full with water on the stove and allow it to come to a slow simmer.
• In the bowl of a food processor, place the pitted cherries, red bell pepper, diced jalapeno peppers, and 1 cup of apple cider vinegar. Chop the mixture, leaving some small pieces, by pulsing until the desired consistency.
• Pour the chopped mixture into a DEEP stock pot and stir in the remaining 1 cup apple cider vinegar and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often.
• Once it reaches a rolling boil, stir constantly for 5 minutes (stirring will keep it from boiling over).
• Remove the pot from the heat and skim off any foam. Cool for 2 minutes, then whisk in the liquid pectin. Ladle the jelly into the sterilized jars, wiping the lips with a clean cloth to remove any drips. Cover with a lid and band and place in the rack of the canner.
• Bring the water the canner back to a boil, making sure the jar lids are submerged in the water. Process in the boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jars to set in the water for 5 minutes before transferring them to a towel on the kitchen counter.
• Cool completely for 12 to 24 hours before disturbing.

CANNING CHERRY JAM

Steps:

• Place lids into the warmed mini slow cooker and prepare jars and canner.
• Sort and wash fully ripe cherries; remove any stems, leaves, and pits.
• Coarsely chop cherries into larger pieces, add to a non-reactive pot.
• Allow the cherries to come to boil, stirring the cherries often. Using a potato musher, press down on the cherries to extract their natural juices.
• Add pectin and stir well.
• On high heat stir the cherries continually, bring the cherry mixture to a hard boil.
• Stir in the sugar or sweetener of choice and return to a full bubbling boil. Allow the black cherry jam to hard boil for 2 minutes, making sure to stir constantly.
• Remove from heat and skim any foam which is present.
• Using a jar funnel and ladle, fill jars leaving a 1/4-inch headspace.
• Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean dishtowel dipped in water.
• Add warmed lids and rings to finger tight.
• Follow the instruction for processing jars in a steam or hot water bath canner using the processing time based on the altitude which you reside. See the chart for the correct processing time in the original post.