Sour Cherry Jam with Pits
Description
A homemade winter preserve. This bright, aromatic jam keeps whole cherry plum berries with their pits, which makes the fruit visually appealing and the cooking process simpler and faster. Its sweet-and-sour taste and clear syrup will bring the warmth of summer flavor in winter, and the berries will keep their shape and tenderness even after prolonged heat processing. The preserve is ready for winter storage.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking, laying them out on the table.
- 2
Step 2
Sort through the cherry plums, discard spoiled and bruised fruit and debris, remove the stems, and wash them. Then pierce each fruit in several places; you can do this with a fork or an ordinary toothpick.
- 3
Step 3
Pour water over the plums and place on the heat; heat the liquid for 3–5 minutes to 75–80°C. Then drain the water from the plums into a separate small saucepan and pour cold water over the fruit.
- 4
Step 4
Now we need to prepare a syrup from the water in which we heated the plums, using 300 ml of water per 600 grams of sugar—in other words, we will need about 600 ml of water. Pour the sugar into the water and place the pot with this mixture over low heat. Gradually heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved, then bring it to a boil.
- 5
Step 5
Place the plums in a deep pot or basin, pour hot syrup over them, and let stand for 4–5 hours.
- 6
Step 6
When the time has elapsed, place the pot with the cherry plums and syrup over heat and bring the mixture to a boil. As soon as bubbles appear on the surface, turn off the heat and let the jam steep for another 4–5 hours. When the time has elapsed, repeat the procedure: bring to a boil again, remove from the heat and let steep, then do the same once more—for a total of 3 times. The third time, after the jam comes to a boil, cook it for 10–15 minutes.
- 7
Step 7
So, the jam is ready and we will pack it into pre-sterilized jars.
- 8
Step 8
Seal these jars tightly with pre-sterilized lids. Turn the jars upside down, wrap them in a thick towel, and leave overnight to cool slowly.
- 9
Step 9
In the morning, we will move the jars of finished cherry plum jam to the pantry for long-term storage.