We have a shamefully neglected morello cherry tree in a pot outside our front door, and last winter I was 100% sure it had kicked the bucket. I intended to take it to the dump, but thankfully never got around to it, and lo and behold, it sprung back into life and for the last few weeks has been drooping under the weight of a huge crop of great big juicy morello cherries. There’s probably a moral in that somewhere.
This jam began as a thank-you present for some lovely ladies who have been helping with childcare over the last term, but in order to make enough pots I bulked out our cherries with some raspberries. Both are fairly sour so this is a jam with some ‘zing’ to it, which I love, but if you prefer you jam super-sweet you could use eating cherries and perhaps strawberries in place of the raspberries.
- 500 g morello cherries (stoned weight)
- 500 g raspberries (I used frozen and thawed, as they are so much cheaper in this volume!)
- 1 kg jam sugar (with pectin)
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Remove the stones from the cherries, (either with one of those nifty cherry stoner gadgets or just a knife). Place the cherries and raspberries into a large bowl. Place a saucer or small plate in the freezer, (sounds odd, but you will need it later!).
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I like my jams smooth and seedless, so at this point I blitzed the fruit to a juicy pulp with a hand blender then passed the fruit puree through a sieve into a large saucepan, discarding the raspberry seeds and little bits of cherry skin. (If you don't mind the seeds and skin in your jam feel free to skip this step!).
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Add the jam sugar to the pan and heat very gently for 5-10 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then bring to the boil. If you have a thermometer, use it measure when the jam gets to 102°C. At this point place a small dollop onto your cold saucer/plate and leave it to cool slightly. Give it a nudge with your finger - if the surface wrinkles it is set, so remove the jam from the heat immediately. If you don't have a thermometer, start testing after the jam has been boiling for 5-6 minutes and repeat until it wrinkles.
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Leave to cool in the saucepan for 10 minutes or so, then pour into sterilised jam jars, leaving the lids off until the jam is completely cool.
If you like the look of this recipe please follow me for more…. on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest. Thanks! Kate x
If you too have a glut of cherries, why not try my Cherry Cordial recipe.
Or for jam recipes from other blogging friends, why not try:
- Jac’s Caramelised Nectarine & Apricot Jam from Tinned Tomatoes
- Lucy’s Gooseberry Jam from BakingQueen74
- Rochelle’s Grape Jelly from Its Not Easy Being Greedy
- Bintu’s Strawberry, Rhubarb and Basil Jam from Recipes from a Pantry
- Choclette’s Chocolate Blackberry Jam from Tin & Thyme
- Penelope’s Plum Jam from Penelope’s Pantry
- Felicity’s Blueberry & Ginger Jam from They Called It the Diamond Blog
- Diana’s Healthy 10-minute Strawberry Jam from Little Sunny Kitchen
- Camilla’s Gooseberry & Apple Jam from Fab Food 4 All
I’m entering this jam recipe into the Simple & In Season Challenge over at Ren Behan‘s lovely blog.
….and also in Recipe of the Week over at A Mummy Too.
….and also in Breakfast Club hosted this month by Andrea at Made with Pink and Sarah at Maison Cupcake.
Ciara (My Fussy Eater) says
July 15, 2015 at 11:30 amThis looks delicious! I hate jam thats super sweet so this sounds perfect for me!
thevegspace says
July 15, 2015 at 1:00 pmThanks Ciara – yes this has a lovely kick to it! x
Choclette says
July 15, 2015 at 11:49 amOh how lucky you didn’t throw it out. I don’t think I’ve ever had cherries straight off a tree – even sour ones! I like my jam zingy, so this sounds like a fabulous combination and it’s a gorgeous colour too. Thanks for including a link to my chocolate blackberry jam 🙂
thevegspace says
July 15, 2015 at 1:00 pmThese are very sour straight from the tree, (I tested one and it made my eyes water!). Love the sound of your chocolate blackberry jam, must give it a try sometime when the blackberries are ripe!
Jo of Jo's Kitchen says
July 15, 2015 at 12:11 pmI love morello cherries. I have never thought of making a jam with them though. I must try this
thevegspace says
July 15, 2015 at 1:01 pmThanks Jo – do give it a go!
Sarah says
July 15, 2015 at 12:29 pmI’m really into making jams at the moment. Love the combination you have with this one. Sounds scrumptious. Love your plate too!
thevegspace says
July 15, 2015 at 1:01 pmThanks Sarah! Yes one of my favourite plates – a bit ‘girly’ I’m told so it doesn’t come out often enough!
Camilla says
July 15, 2015 at 4:29 pmYour jam looks and sounds utterly delicious with a sharp kick to it. Cherry jam is the only variety which went wrong for me last year. I thought I’d enter something a bit different to the Parish Show so made a Cherry & Apple Jam but I over boiled it and it went like a rock so I ended up using a jar of Strawberry Jam and won 1st prize with that so it all turned out for the best in the end! Thanks for linking up to my Gooseberry & Apple Jam:-)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
July 15, 2015 at 6:50 pmOoooooh I can just about imagine how well these two flavours go together.
Tracy says
July 15, 2015 at 7:50 pmI never get any cherries on my tree – I think my boyfriend and the birds eat them! I love the idea of cherry and raspberry jam – sounds delicious.
Mother Mands says
July 15, 2015 at 10:13 pmCherry jam is my favourite and I use it loads in baking (especially for bakewell tarts, almond slices, etc), I’ve never had a bash at making my own though, think I’ll have a go now. You are so right about buying frozen raspberries, a lot cheaper!
#SimpleandinSeason
Diana says
July 16, 2015 at 8:43 amThis jam looks very delicious! I love the combination of cherries and raspberries and I don’t like jams that are too sweet, I prefer a bit sour 🙂 Thanks for linking to my strawberry jam recipe!
Corey Cananza says
July 16, 2015 at 6:41 pmI’ve tried all three diets- veganism, vegetarianism, and a meat diet and I’ve always felt the healthiest with a vegan diet. Eating meat always made my energy levels decline and milk and eggs did the same but to a lesser degree. Plenty of protein can be found in so many natural vegan sources so the myth that vegans don’t get enough protein is wrong too. Keep up your good work.
nadia says
July 19, 2015 at 9:34 pmSounds gorgeous! 😀 I’ve never tried cherries in jam, I’m so missing out!
Andrea @ Made With Pink says
July 24, 2015 at 9:38 pmOh wow! This sounds like such a delicious flavour combination. I really want to make this! And now you’ve really made me want a cherry tree! I didn’t know that I could just grow them in a pot. I’m going to have to check out cherry trees when I visit the garden centre this weekend. Thanks so much for linking this up to the Breakfast Club.
thevegspace says
July 25, 2015 at 12:54 pmThanks Andrea! Yes the cherry tree is now doing really well in quite a big pot – apparently constraining their roots in a pot actually helps produce more fruit!