Cherry Jam, by An Edible Mosaic |
| Faith, the delightful blogger behind An Edible Mosaic, is a twenty-something living in Upstate New York, and loves reading, immersing herself in ancient cultures, enjoying life with her husband, and of course blogging all about her delicious recipe creations! When it comes to food, Faith says it best, and beautifully, "Food is how we celebrate (birthday cake), how we spend time with our families and friends (Sunday suppers), and how we express our culture and traditions (what would Thanksgiving be without turkey, Christmas without cookies or a Yule log, or Ramadan without lentil soup?)." She's here today to share her Cherry Jam recipe with us! Cherry Jam, by An Edible Mosaic (Yield: About 3 c) Ingredients: 1 1/2 lb (about 5 medium or 6 small apples, or 6 c quartered apples) tart or under-ripe apples (I used Granny Smith apples) 1 c pomegranate juice (I used POM Wonderful) 3 c pitted and quartered cherries (heaping 3 c whole cherries) (I used sweet dark cherries but I think it would be even better with sour cherries) 2 c sugar 1 TB lemon juice Heavy-bottomed 3-quart pot with a lid Cheesecloth Sieve Candy thermometer Sterilized lidded jars Preparation: Wash and quarter the apples (leave the skin on and the core intact). In a 3-quart pot with a lid over low heat, cook the quartered apples (including the skins and cores), pomegranate juice, and 1 c water (covered) for 2 hours, stirring every 15-20 minutes. (The apple/pomegranate/water mixture will have the consistency of watery applesauce when it’s done cooking.) Line a sieve with 4 layers of cheesecloth and place the sieve over a bowl to catch the apple pectin liquid that drips out. Pour the applesauce mixture into the cheesecloth and let it drain overnight. Do not squeeze or press the liquid out, since this will cause it to have more of the under-ripe apple flavor. You should get about 1 c of apple pectin liquid; it will be a rosy color because of the pomegranate juice. In a 3-quart pot with a lid over low heat, cook the apple pectin liquid and the cherries (covered) for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn the heat off and stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Attach a candy thermometer to the pot so you can read the temperature of the jam. Turn the heat on low and cook until it reaches 220F, stirring very frequently (this took me about 35-40 minutes, but I think the time will probably vary a little based on heat and humidity). You can manually test whether the jam has cooked long enough to gel through 2 methods: (1) dip a wooden spoon into the jam and hold it sideways over the pot; the last jam to drip off should hang off the spoon in a bulging drop but not fall; or (2) freeze a plate, put a little jam onto the frozen plate, and put it back into the freeze for a few minutes; the jam should gel. Once the temperature reaches 220F, cook another 5 minutes, stirring constantly (the temperature might climb a little, to about 224F), then turn off the heat and transfer to sterilized jars. Leave it sit without jostling it (so it can gel) while it cools to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator or if you make a bigger batch you can preserve it through the canning process. |