Whole Cherry Preserves Recipes

BLACK BING CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Combine the cherries and sugar in a large, heavy, shallow, non-reactive saucepan.
• Set aside to plump, several hours or as long as overnight.
• Add the water to the cherries and bring to a boil.
• Cook for 5 minutes; then add the lemon juice and boil rather fast until the juice has thickened like jelly and a candy thermometer reads 221*F.
• Remove pan from heat and allow the preserves to sit overnight, covered; refrigerate them, if you'd rather.
• The next day, reheat the preserves to the boiling point and spoon them into hot, sterilized canning jars and seal.
• Store in the refrigerator, or (better) in the freezer.

BEST CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Sterilize your jars and keep them hot while you're cooking the preserves.
• Place cherries in a large, heavy duty dutch oven.
• Combine pectin with 1/4 cup sugar; stir into cherries, Add butter.
• Bring to a full boil, stirring, over high heat.
• Add 3 more cups sugar and return to a boil , stirring constantly, boil 1 minutes.
• Remove from heat; skim off foam.
• Immediately spoon preserves into 3 one pint sterilized jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.
• Wipe the sealing surface of the jars with a clean paper towel, dampened with hot water, to remove any preserves or sugar crystals.
• Place lids and screw on bands fingertip tight.
• Process in a boiling water bath for at least ten minutes, depending upon your altitude.
• When the jars have been processed in boiling water for the recommended time, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid; wait 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner using a jar lifter and keeping jars upright. Carefully place them directly onto a towel or cake cooling rack to protect your countertop, leaving at least one inch of space between the jars during cooling. Avoid placing the jars on a cold surface or in a cold draft.
• After jars have cooled undisturbed for 24 hours, remove ring bands from sealed jars. Put any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use first.

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 four jars on the rack, and add the lids; it's not necessary to add the screw bands. Fill pot with enough water to cover 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 water to a simmer (180 degrees) let lids and jars simmer 10 minutes or until you're ready to fill them. Place four small plates in the freezer.
• In a medium stockpot, combine the cherries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice; place over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in one-third of the remaining sugar, and cook, stirring, until it has dissolved, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the 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 mixture, and cook, stirring frequently, until 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 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 2 or 3 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 the rim with a clean damp towel. Using the 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 filled jar in simmering water. Repeat with the remaining jam and jars, making sure jars aren't touching sides of pot and are spaced 1 inch apart.
• Raise the heat to high, cover stockpot, and bring water to a boil. Process jars in boiling water for 10 minutes. Using tongs, transfer jars to a wire rack to cool completely. Store jam in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.

HOMEMADE CHERRY PRESERVES RECIPE

Steps:

• Add all of the ingredients to a large, nonstick pot over medium heat. Once up to a gentle simmer, keep it there, reducing the heat as necessary. Cook the preserves, stirring regularly, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the volume has reduced by about half, about 45 minutes. Spoon into a mason jar or other container, let cool, and refrigerate up to 3 weeks.

SOUR-CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• In a nonreactive bowl, combine all ingredients. Let stand, stirring often, until fruit has begun to macerate, 1 hour. Place a parchment round directly over surface and refrigerate, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Remove from refrigerator and let stand, stirring occasionally, 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a medium-mesh sieve, reserving solids. Place juices in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim any impurities from surface, reduce heat to medium, and cook, skimming occasionally, until reduced by half and very syrupy, 16 to 18 minutes. Stir in reserved cherry solids. Return to a simmer and cook, gently stirring occasionally, until fruit is plump and just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes more. Let cool slightly, then transfer to jars. Let cool completely, then cover and refrigerate up to 1 month or try canning with our helpful instructions.

WHOLE CHERRY PRESERVES RECIPE

Steps:

• Note: Cherries are naturally low in pectin; in order for them to gel when cooked with only sugar or honey, they must be simmered long and slow over very low heat. But it's an exquisite recipe, worthy of your time and money. During cooking, the cherries become profoundly sweet and chewy, and every spoonful tastes like fruit and sun reduced to a single flavor. Discard any blemished cherries. Remove and discard the stems from the cherries. Remove the pits. With some varieties, this can be done by simply squeezing the fruit until the pit pops out, leaving the cherry whole. However, other varieties have more tenacious pits and require the use of a cherry pitter. Another method is to slit the cherry open with a knife and pick out the pit. Set the pitted cherries aside. Put the sugar and water in a large, heavy-bottomed, non-reactive pot. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves, 5 or 10 minutes. Add the star anise and simmer over low heat, stirring from time to time, for 15 minutes. Remove the star anise and stir in the pitted cherries and the honey. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Then again reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 1 3/4 hours, increasing the heat to medium-low after about 1 1/2 hours. Be careful the preserves do not scorch. Meanwhile, wash 8 half-pint or 4 pint jars. Keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. After the first 45 minutes of cooking the preserves, begin to test for the gel point with your thermometer. Take off the heat when the thermometer reads 220 degrees at sea level to 1,000 feet (218 degrees at 1,000 feet; 216 degrees at 2,000 feet; 214 degrees at 3,000 feet; 212 degrees at 4,000 feet; 211 degrees at 5,000 feet; 209 degrees at 6,000 feet; 207 degrees at 7,000 feet; 205 degrees at 8,000 feet). Ladle the hot preserves into 1 hot jar at a time, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process pints or half pints in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes (15 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 20 minutes above 6,000 feet). This recipe yields about 4 pints.

SOUR CHERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Toss together cherries, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Wrap cherry pits in a paper towel and crack them with a rolling pin or pestle just enough to extract inner white kernels. Discard outer shells and tie white kernels in a cheesecloth bag. Stir bag into cherry mixture and chill, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• Sterilize jars and lids .
• Pour cherries with liquid and cheesecloth bag into a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (sugar will not be completely dissolved). Bring to a rolling boil over moderate heat, then boil, uncovered, stirring frequently, 5 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer cherries with a slotted spoon to a sieve set over a bowl to catch juice. Drain cherries 5 minutes, then add juice from bowl to juice in pot.
• Drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel 1 minute, then invert. Divide cherries among jars using a slotted spoon.
• Return juice in pot to a rolling boil, skimming off any foam. Continue boiling until juice registers 220 to 224°F on thermometer, 7 to 10 minutes. Discard cheesecloth bag.
• Gradually add pectin, whisking constantly. Return juice to a rolling boil, then boil, skimming off any foam, 1 minute. Ladle juice into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top, then run a thin knife between fruit and jar to eliminate air bubbles.
• Seal, process, and store filled jars , boiling preserves in jars 10 minutes.
• Let preserves stand in jars at least 1 day for flavors to develop.