This simple, soft set Cherry Jam is made with just 3 ingredients and no added pectin. It tastes out of this world good, no wonder it’s so popular!
The Evolution of this Simple Cherry Jam Recipe
Ever since I made my first jar of jam a few years ago I became hooked on jam making and have gone on to win a couple of 1st prizes at our local parish show.
Hence, every summer I look forward to gluts of fruit that seem to come my way. Sometimes it’s from family and other times it’s a bargain find in the supermarket!
So the other day I came across trays of cherries for £4 whilst out shopping which I’ve never seen before. They’re usually £2 for a tiny punnet full. I snapped up a tray and knew that they were destined to be Cherry Jam (oh and we had a few for dessert)!
I’ve only ever had one attempt at cherry jam before which ended in disaster! I mixed cherries with apple and due to the high pectin level of the apple, the jam was ready a lot sooner than I’d allowed for so I ended up with concrete jam.
It was meant to be my entry into the local Parish Show as I thought something a bit different would stand more of a chance of winning. So I ended up entering a spare jar of my One Punnet Strawberry Jam which went on to win 1st prize so it all ended well!
Well back to the Cherry Jam, I don’t believe in using jam sugar as I find it’s too easy to end up with a really stiff jam and I do like a soft set so I always use lemon juice (plus the rind sometimes) when extra pectin is needed.
I’m pleased to say my Cherry Jam turned out perfectly, not too stiff and not too runny, just a really good soft set with lots of delicious chunks of cherry.
My family all agreed and hubby was very pleased as Cherry Jam is his absolute favourite.
I think I’ll have to see if there are any more trays of these cheap cherries as I can see this batch won’t last long!
Can you use frozen cherries?
As with any jam recipe you could make this cherry conserve with frozen cherries. Just heat them with the sugar to slowly thaw. Fresh cherries will give the best result but using pitted cherries from the freezer is often more practical.
I do hope you give this quick and easy Cherry Jam a go if you find yourself with a glut of cherries!
Why are there no cup measurements in this recipe?
You cannot accurately convert a weight to a volume, especially for things like fruit that come in differing sizes.
Hence I won’t give out inaccurate information that could lead to failure. The best option is to buy an inexpensive set of digital scales which were around $6 on Amazon when I last looked.
Can you can (water bath) this Cherry Jam?
It’s not something we do to jam in the UK as botulism is not an issue here. You can by all means can (water bath) this jam but you would need to refer to your jar manufacturer’s instructions as it’s an area I know nothing about.
How long will this jam keep for?
This cherry jam is at its best in the first 12 months but will keep safely for many years as the sugar acts as a preservative. Just store it in a cool, dark, dry place.
I keep mine in a cupboard in my garage.
More Summer Jam Recipes
Once you’ve made my Cherry Jam you should also try these summer jam recipes!
- Quick & Easy Raspberry Jam
- Easy Seedless Blackberry Jam
- Watermelon Jam – 2 ways
- Simple Blueberry Jam
- Rhubarb & Strawberry Jam
- Rhubarb & Gin Jam
- One Punnet Strawberry Jam
- Easy Grape Jam
- Peach & Apricot Jam
- Summer Fruits Jam
- Spiced Blackberry Jam
- Morello Cherry & Raspberry Jam
I’m sure you’ll love my Cherry Jam so do leave a comment and rating when you make it. I love reading your comments.
You can also share a snap by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram!
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Cherry Jam
Equipment
- 1 Digital scale
- 1 preserving pan or similar deep sided pan
- 1 cherry pitter
- 1 Lemon squeezer
- 1 jam funnel
- 1 ladle
- 2 jam jars
Ingredients
- 750 g cherries
- 500 g granulated sugar
- juice of 1 lemon mine produced a little over 3 tbsp
Instructions
- Wash and pit all the cherries and cut three quarters of them in half, leaving the other quarter whole.
- Put in a preserving pan (or large deep pan) along with the lemon juice and set over a low heat.
- Use a potato masher to lightly crush the cherries and simmer gently until cooked (about 7 minutes).
- Add the sugar and heat through on very low until all the sugar has dissolved (running a wooden spoon around the pan will help you know as the sugar will scratch if still solid).
- Bring to a rolling boil and time for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and drizzle a few drops of jam onto a chilled saucer.
- Place saucer into fridge for a minute and then run your finger through the jam, it's ready if it forms a crinkle and is tacky.
- If not quite ready boil for another couple of minutes at a time and re-test.
- Once ready ladle into hot jars and place lids on immediately.
- Allow to cool, then store in a cool dark place (will keep for years but best eaten in first year). Store in fridge once open.
- Makes 1.5 standard jars (600 mls).
Notes
Sterilise 1 x 500 ml and 1 x 250 ml jars or 3 x 250 ml jar by washing in hot soapy water or take straight from dishwasher, filling with boiling water, emptying and then placing in oven for 20 minutes at 140°C then leave in oven until jam is ready. Washed lids should be sterilised with boiling water and then left to drain.
Heather
First time with making jam. My grandson picked cherries from his tree and they we’re very sour so decided to make jam with them. I used equal amount of sugar with cherries and cooked for much longer. Turned out brilliant and lovely consistency for speading. Thank you for the simple steps and suggestions from comments.I sieved the jam when putting into the jar so no bits just how my grandson loves it.
Camilla
Fabulous Heather, glad you made the recipe work for you:-)
Sarah
Can you use store bought lemon juice or does it have to be fresh?
Camilla
Hi Sarah, it needs to be fresh (that’s all I’ve ever used).
Jane
Hi, I would like to try this recipe. I have morello cherries which are quite sour, could you give me some pointers on using these. Unfortunately the link for morello cherry and raspberry jam doesn’t work!
Camilla
Hi Jane, I just tried that link and it worked for me. There The Veg Space uses equal jam sugar to fruit. So you could try upping the amount of sugar in this recipe if you cherries are sour, anything up to an equal weight will be fine but I’d probably put in just under that.
Hae
Hi. I tried your recipe. The jam tasted great, but the jam is so runny. Is it supposed to be like this? I already booked of the jam twice the amount of time you instructed.
Camilla
Hi Hae, you are the first person to say this but I would say this isn’t a jam that sets to a stiff consistency, it is a soft set jam but not so soft that it runs off your scone etc. I can only hazard a guess at what went wrong as there are so many variables like eg were your cherries very ripe (ripe fruit = less pectin), was your lemon fresh, did you weigh out all the ingredients correctly, less sugar would affect the set. You could try putting the jam back in a pan adding an extra tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and re-doing the plate test until you get a crinkle. (And of course re-sterilize your jars).
kathy
I use the seed of the lemon in cheesecloth or tea leave ball, it added natural pectin. I find it helps thicken the jam. discard the seeds after boiling.
Cindy
How long do you store the jam and does it have to
Be refrigerated ?
Thx
Camilla
Hi, if you store the jam in a cool dark place (I store mine in a cupboard in my garage) it can last a few years, once you open it though it’s best to store in the fridge where it will last a few months or more depending on any outside contamination like a dirty knife being put into it.
Elizabeth Lukehurst
I like your comments to people questions just looking through, made blueberry jam for first time. What I liked lots in your comments that you do not use a thermometer when making jam. I do not use one so found your instructions very good
Camilla
Thank you so much Elizabeth, I do try to make my instructions crystal clear as that’s what I look for in a recipe, no grey areas:-)
Pam
Good clear instructions. How long does this jam keep once opened? Do I need to process the jars for storage?
Many thanks
Camilla
Hi Pam,thank you, glad you like the recipe, once opened store the jam in the fridge and it should last 2 – 3 months and unopened jars kept in a cool dark place (I keep mine in a cupboard in the garage) will last at least a year if not years. I’m not sure what you mean about process for storage but I think I’ve answered.
Anne Sundqvist
Great recipe worked perfectly – thank you
Camilla
Thank you, so glad you like it:-)
alan
Did exactly what you said measured out the lemon juice even added extra. The jam tastes fine but its runny. The time to cook was way beyond 10 minutes more like 25, it didn’t ever reach the jam thermometer reading of 104 so i cooked and tested many times, it looked ok on the plate from the fridge. I had a similar problem with blueberry jam recently, tastes great doesn’t set properly I think the lemon juice idea is good, better than pectin which makes thick sticky jam….but its not very reliable. I think I would drastically over compensate next time to make sure there is enough pectin in the mixture room the lemons…might be worth noting to folks
Camilla
Hmm Alan, I’m not sure what’s gone on here. I’ve never used a jam thermometer to test my jams but if you say that the ideal temperature wasn’t reached then that sounds like the heart of the problem. It should be a full rolling vigorous boil which you probably know but perhaps your sugar measurement was slightly off as that would affect set and temperature. I made a cake the other day and skipped a line and ended up putting far too much butter in it, it was only when my sister said she’d never had greasy hands from eating this old favourite that I double checked the ingredients and realised I’d put the wrong amount of butter in. The lemon juice doesn’t add pectin but aids in the gelling action. I have had success with this method in all my jams because as you say pectin just makes for a really thick jam which I don’t like. I did once push the boundaries of soft set jam with my Greengage and ended up tipping it all back in the pan and reboiling until a better set was achieved, I didn’t add any more lemon juice though. When you say you added extra, I’m wondering how much extra as I’m not sure if adding too much would be the problem as I always work out the lemon juice to the precise quantity needed. Wish I could be of more help but without standing over you whilst making this it’s a bit of a guessing game.
Jon
I followed your recipe with some home grow cherries. Tastes lovely but probably should have booked it a little bit more as it is not a thick consistency that you expect of jam. Ah well I won’t complain when I am eating it. Thanks
Camilla
Jon, if it hasn’t set just tip it all back into a pan and boil up until it passes the chilled plate test. I made this mistake with my Greengage Jam once and a re-boil solved things! You’ll need to re-sterilise your jars of course!