Home-made Cherry Jam

Freshly prepared Cherry Jam with just three ingredients!

This jam is easy, quick and needs no added preservatives or pectin. Spread it on bread, dip croissants in it or use it for making desserts.

Making jams at home is So satisfying, easy and perfect for summers and beyond.

We love making jams at home as we can control what all goes in it and make various combinations as required.

What is often presumed as a complex process is not really so. It is as simple as mixing, cooking and letting it reach the right consistency before bottling.

This is true for jams that are refrigerated and enjoyed for a few days. If the process involves canning, it might be slightly complex as it has a set of principles to follow.

But while the fruits are in season we make various big and small batches of various fruit jams.

It lasts a few days in the refrigerator and tastes AMAZING with bread, parathas or just by itself with a spoon.

What is Cherry Jam

One of the popular jams that are made in summers is Cherry Jam. It only needs a handful of ingredients and is super delicious with so many things.

Slather it over bread, serve it with croissants and yogurt or use it in desserts.

This jam is a great way to use cherry that one would collect in cherry picking. We pick tons of cherries during the cherry season and process it all into this delicious jam.

This Recipe of Cherry Jam

• Is super easy to make and needs only three ingredients; cherry, sugar and lemon juice.
• Can be made with minimum effort on an open flame or using an Instant Pot.
• Does not use any preservatives and is perfect in the refrigerator for a week or freezer for up to 3 months.
• Makes a delicious spread for bread, a yummy addition to yogurt and a great addition in desserts.
• Is super simple to scale up or down depending on the amount of cherries you have and the amount of time you have.

I have been using this recipe for years and it always give a great jam. I like to use it in its chunky form to make this Eggless Black Forest Cake and this Sundae.

Use of Pectin in the recipe

A lot of literature is available on Pectin for jams. I found this article explaining it well.

There are many recipes that advocate the use of it and many against it. Use your judgement whether or not you want to use it. I make this recipe without pectin and it does not fall short in any way.

Pectin is a natural ingredient added to make the jam gelatinous. It is a great way to reduce the sugar added and still get the consistency you desire.

If using pectin, follow the instructions on the package and proceed.

Video Recipe

Ingredients

Cherries: As cherry is the first ingredient in the list, we surely need a LOT of them. Darker bing cherries will give the jam a dark color and lighter ones will result in a pinkish jam like mine.

I like to save my countertop and hands from becoming colored by using this Cherry Pitter. It works wonderfully and is SO helpful with my toddler wanting to have cherries everyday.

Sugar: Regular sugar works well for the recipe and so does brown sugar. As we heat it with the hot cherry mix, we do not need to powder it or use confectioner's sugar.

Lemon Juice: A little bit of lemon juice takes the flavor of cherry jam to a whole new level. It is an optional ingredient but I highly recommend using it to soften the skin of the cherries.

And no, it does not make the jam sour and it works well even though the cherries are not super sweet.

Water: A little bit water helps cook the cherries faster. I eye ball it but I have used about ¼ cup without hampering the taste of the jam.

I often like to use a couple of ingredients in the jam. Vanilla Extract is one such ingredient; it makes the jam smell wonderful with adding some more flavor to the jam.

Adding a little Maraschino Liqueur is an option too.

Step by Step Instructions to make Cherry Jam

1- Wash and pit all the cherries and set aside. I like to use this cherry pitter to make it easy.

2- In a pan add the cherries and water.

3- Bring to a boil, ensuring it does not boil over.

4- The mixture will start to bubble, keep stirring till the foam settles.

5- Keep mashing the cherries with a potato masher as they cook. Cook until the cherries start to become mushy.

6- Add the sugar and lime juice. Mix well.

7- Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes so the sugar cooks but not longer as it will result in the sugar crystalizing. The lemon juice helps break the skin that has already cooked for a while.

8- If you want a smooth jam, run the immersion blender for a minute. To test doneness, freeze a steel plate or bowl for a few minutes. Drop some jam on it. If it sets immediately, the jam is done. Or cook the jam till the instant read thermometer reads 105 C or 221 F.

9- Turn down the flame and let the jam come to room temperature.

10- Transfer to a jar and preserve in the refrigerator.

Tips and Notes

• The easiest way to scale the recipe is to use half the amount of sugar as fruit; i.e. 1 pound cherries need ½ pound sugar to begin with. Use less than that if you would like a mild sweet jam.
• Adding lime juice is optional but helps soften the cherry skin and makes the jam perfect in flavors. I highly recommend using it.
• Do not overcook the jam. The sugar turns clumpy and hardens when cooked too long.
• As we do not add any preservatives, the jam can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for upto 3 months.

This post has been updated from the recipe archives, first published in 2016.