Cherry Jam - General Description
Cherry jam is called “royal”, this dessert has received such a high rank due to its excellent taste, which no berry can match. Cherry jam is prepared with or without stones, the second option is considered the most qualitative and safe for health, because two years after preservation, toxins are released from the stones, which can be harmful to health.
The most delicious jam is obtained from the southern varieties, as well as Shubinka, Turgenevka and Zakharyevskaya cherries, in order for the dessert to turn out to be fragrant, you must use maroon berries, and the more saturated the color, the tastier the dessert.
Cherry jam - preparation of dishes
In order for the cherry jam to turn out tasty and can be stored for a long period, it is necessary to prepare the dishes in a quality manner. Usually, jam is cooked in stainless steel tanks or enamelware. The fact is that from the moment the berries are processed and filled with sugar before cooking, it takes several hours, if during this period the cherry is allowed to stand not in a stainless steel, but in another container, the jam will become unpleasant.
Glass jars before placing jam in them should be sterilized, this can be done in a microwave oven (pour 1/2 cans of warm water and boil for 3 minutes), an oven (wet cans are put in a hot oven and the door is opened) on the neck of the kettle or in another way.
Cherry jam - preparation of berries
Berries for cherry jam must also be processed. If the jam will be seedless, you need to remove them using a special tool, you can also use a regular pin, hairpin or metal pen. Of course, it is better to use special devices, in this case, the berry will lose a smaller amount of juice. In the event that cherry jam is boiled with stones, each berry should be pierced with a needle, this is done so that syrup can penetrate into them more quickly. An alternative to this process can be minute blanching at a temperature of 90 degrees.
Pitted Cherry Jam
Ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of cherries;
- 1.2 kilograms of sugar.
Remove the bones from the berries using a special device or available tools, put the berries in an enamel or stainless steel dish, sprinkling sugar. Give the berries to put the juice in order for the syrup to appear, 2-3 hours is enough. Put the berries with syrup into a stainless steel brewing basin, add 1 cup of water and boil over low heat, gradually stirring with a spoon until the sugar is completely dissolved. Next, you should make the fire stronger, bring the jam to a boil and remove from the fire. A similar procedure (bringing to a boil from removal from the heat) is required to be repeated several times, while at the same time ensure that the cherry does not burn. Foam formed during boiling should be removed. After the jam has cooled, it must be placed in glass jars, rolled up with covers and placed in a cool room.
Cherry jam with pits
Ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of cherries;
- 1/2 kilogram of sugar:
- 800 grams of water.
The secret to making delicious jam with pits is how well the berries will be prepared for cooking. Whole cherries are slowly soaked with syrup, there is a risk that they will shrink and the jam will not be of high quality, at the same time it is not recommended to cook them for a long time. How to find a compromise?
Fruits need to be pricked with a pin, put in a basin and not poured, and pour syrup prepared from 800 grams of water and 300 grams of sugar. Keep the cherries in the syrup for 3-4 hours, then bring to a boil and cook for 7-10 minutes. Next, separate the cherries from the syrup and cook the liquid for another 5 minutes. Cherry again, put in syrup, add 200 grams of sugar and boil until cooked (bring to a boil and remove from heat several times).
Thick Cherry Jam
Ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of cherries;
- 1.5 kilograms of sugar;
- 1 glass of water.
The secret of thick jam lies in the sort of cherries, for lovers, so that “there is a spoon”, it is better to take Zakharyevskiy or Vladimirskiye cherries for making jam. Another secret of thick jam in the amount of sugar, it should be somewhat larger than when preparing traditional cherry jam of medium thickness.
Berries (to get the bones or not, the hostess decides individually), place in a special dish, add sugar and leave to infuse for 3 hours. Put a bowl of berries on low heat, add 1 cup of water and heat, stirring constantly, so that the cherries do not burn. When the syrup is homogeneous, you can turn on the heat more and bring the jam to a boil. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times.
Cherry jam - useful tips from experienced chefs
Skilful cooks say that it is impossible to cook cherries for a long time, otherwise it shrivels and brown spots appear, which makes the final product of lower quality.
The process of removing the foam during cooking is very important because it consists of coagulated proteins that are subject to rapid souring. Foam is removed to increase the shelf life of cherry jam.
