Description
This cherry jam recipe is simple, sweet, and completely alcohol-free. Just juicy cherries, sugar, lemon juice, and a hint of almond extract.
Ingredients
2 pounds (900g) sweet or sour cherries, or a mix
2 1/2 cups (500g) sugar
Juice of 1 medium lemon, plus extra if needed
1–2 drops natural almond extract or cherry extract
2–3 tbsp water (only if using sweet cherries)
Instructions
1. Remove the stems and pit the cherries. Place them in a large non-reactive pot. Add water only if using sweet cherries.
2. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until cherries are softened and juicy.
3. Remove lid and stir in sugar and lemon juice. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until mixture thickens.
4. Use the frozen plate test: drop a spoonful of jam on a frozen plate, return it to the freezer briefly, then check if it wrinkles when pushed. If not, keep cooking and retesting.
5. Once the jam thickens, turn off the heat. Stir in almond or cherry extract. Add a little more lemon juice if it tastes too sweet.
6. Ladle into clean jars and let cool completely. Store in fridge.
Notes
This jam has a soft, spoonable texture. Sour cherries make a looser set than sweet ones, but both are delicious.
For thicker jam, increase sugar to 3 cups and cook a bit longer.
No canning required. Just refrigerate in clean jars.
You can scale the recipe down by half using 1 pound of cherries.
Repurpose cherry pits for homemade syrup if you like!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 tbsp
- Calories: 45
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 0mg
- Fat: 0g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 0g
- Cholesterol: 0mg