“Traditional” Cherry Preserves

After following recipes for jam and preserves from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, I wanted to try some traditional recipes.  You know, the ones without pectin or boiling jars, the way our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did things.  So, I called the one person who would know such things – my grandma.

Her recipe is very simple; just equal parts of berries to sugar, so 4 cups of cherries should get 4 cups of sugar.  No “processing” jars once they’re filled, no pectin.

But so much sugar is just too much for my liking and being the rebel that I am (ok, stop laughing), I used only about 2 cups of sugar.  But because I’m using less sugar, I figured I should “process” the jars (boil them after they’re filled, for about 15 minutes). The other great thing about this recipe is that it’s great for lazy cooking. You let it cook for a while, let it sit, let it cook, let it cool. Not a lot of hands-on time.

Oh, and since I used less sugar than the traditional recipe calls for and I didn’t use pectin, the results are a little runnier than what you’d have when using more sugar and/or pectin.  But I like it a little on the runny side, makes it great a great topping for ice cream or other deserts.

Ingredients:
4 cups of pitted sour cherries
2 cups of sugar (I used evaporated cane juice) [for a traditional recipe, use 4 cups sugar]

Steps:
1. Add sugar to the cherries and mix very gently, so as not to damage the cherries. Let sit till there’s some juice (I let it sit about 45-60 minutes).
2. Once I saw that there was enough juice for cherries not to stick to the bottom of the pan (be sure not to use a reactive pan), I place the sugared cherries and their juice into the pan.
3. Cook on low-medium heat till it comes to a gentle boil. Let cook for about 30-45 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and let cool.
5. Place back on the heat and cook on low-medium heat till it comes to a gentle boil. Let cook for about 30-45 minutes.
6. If you’re using the “traditional” recipe, with 4 cups of sugar, you’re pretty much done. Just put the preserves into jars and close them.
7. If you’re using my version (2 cups of sugar): fill your clean jars with the preserves and process them in a water bath. (Place filled jars into a pot of boiling water and let sit there for about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pan carefully and wait till there’s a “pop” from the lids informing you they’re properly processed.) Here is more information on water bath canning.