I had grand plans for sour cherries this year. I knew that the sweet cherry crop had been bad, so when Mood’s Farm Market opened their u-pick sour cherry picking, I went the second day of the season. My thinking was that if I got there early, I’d get enough cherries to keep my in jam and pie-filling for the year. However, when I walked into the farmstand and asked to pick sour cherries, the 15 year old behind the counter just shook her and said, “you’re not going to find much.”
I told her I’d just do my best, and she shrugged her shoulders at me and wrote out the picking permit. As soon as I pulled up to the orchard, I could see she hadn’t been joking. In just over 24 hours, the sour cherry orchard had been picked nearly clean. Grabbing my bucket and step ladder, I began to wander, hoping I’d find a few pockets of cherries left.
I spent a bit over an hour out in the orchard, gazing at trees with an upturned head. I went up and down that step ladder at least 100 times, each time repositioning it to grab a bit more fruit. It was hard work, and yet it was also wonderful. All the stretching and bending, it felt like the most productive and delicious yoga I’d ever done.
I went home that night with scant four pounds of cherries, which rapidly became three pints of jam. However a lucky thing happened as I was making the jam. I happened to broadcast my disappointment with the slim haul on Twitter. Some friends saw it and invited me to pick some cherries from the trees in their community garden, which happened to be dripping with fruit. With Angie’s help, I found myself with ten more pounds. Jams and pie filling galore!
It might sound like I went to an awful lot of trouble for some sour cherries, but if you’ve tasted jams or baked goods made with little gems, you’ll know that the effort was well worth it. The flavor is bright, tangy (not sour exactly, just perfectly piquant) and, when combined with a bit of sugar, quite heavenly. I’ve been eating the jam stirred into plan yogurt (you might have picked up on the fact that yogurt is one of my favorite vehicles for jam) and I have six pitted pounds in the freezer, waiting to become pie filling at some later date – I plan on using this recipe as my starting place.
Now, time is beginning to run out on sour cherries, but you can still get them if you look carefully. Here in Philly, Beechwood Orchards still has them (at least they did today at the Rittenhouse Market) and from what I hear, more northernly climates are just getting them in. Sometimes you can even get them frozen, which, if you’ve got a sour cherry tooth like I do, isn’t such a bad way to go.
I do believe that it’s time to offer up another giveaway. This time, I only have a four ounce jar on offer (I’m telling you, this stuff is precious to me), but it should be enough to firmly plant the flavor in your taste brain and make you jones for more. Leave a comment by Friday, July 10 at 5 p.m. if you want a chance to win. One entry per person, winner will be selected via the random number generator.
And on to the recipe…
4 pounds of pitted and mashed sour cherries, which should yield about six cups of jammable fruit
3 cups sugar
1 packet liquid pectin (that’s half a box)
Put three pint jars or six half pints (or some combintion thereof) in your canning pot and bring to a boil.
Combine fruit and sugar in a heavy, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and let bubble for a good twenty minutes, occasionally skimming the foam from the surface of the fruit as it develops. Add the pectin and boil for another five minutes. You want to cook it until it looks like boiling sugar – thick and viscous.
Kill the heat, fill your jars, wipe rims, apply the lids and rings and process in the hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let cool on the countertop. When the jars are cool (I typically wait until overnight), remove the rings and test the seal by picking the jar up by the lid. If it stays put, your jars are good to store indefinitely.
I love the flavor of sour cherries, so I didn’t add a drop of extra flavor to this jam. However, you are welcome to spice things up with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla or orange (or anything else).
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Comments ( 70 )
[...] in a store of chocolate, coffee, eggs, a flourless Gâteau à l’Orange et au Gingembre, and sour cherry jam. We take off towards the Black Forest, with Francy happily batting ferociously at the ball fringe, [...]
ShopBritexNotions & Britex Fabrics added these pithy words on Mar 29 10 at 3:09 pm[...] (who loved on my Sour Cherry Jam) and Cari (who’s just getting started canning) are our winners this time around. Ladies, [...]
Ball Blue Book Winners! | Food in Jars added these pithy words on Jun 09 10 at 11:01 pm[...] Sour Cherry Jam from Food in Jars [...]
Recipe Idea: Chocolate Cake with Tart Cherries — Pinch My Salt added these pithy words on Jul 05 10 at 12:48 pm[...] cherries? I made jam, er, uhm, preserves of course! It took a long time and two recipes (one and two) to turn 10 pounds (16 cups!) of cherries into 11 1/2 jars (132 ozs!) of Sour Cherry Jam (I mean [...]
Dare « A Chicken In Every Granny Cart added these pithy words on Jul 13 10 at 8:46 am[...] fashioned” way). For a great post on the process of making sour cherry jam, check out this Food In Jars blog post. [...]
Can she bake a cherry pie…? « Miles Away Farm Blog added these pithy words on Jul 25 10 at 11:40 pmYogurt is just about my favorite vehicle for jam as well—especially anything with some chunk to it. One of my favorites is the Meyer lemon-vanilla bean marmalade I make. Love getting little bites of the peel.
But I’ve never, ever had sour cherry jam…:-)
Oh god, Meyer lemon-vanilla bean marmalade sounds like the best thing ever! -Marisa
1. Tea added these pithy words on
Jul 07 09 at
11:52 pm
I bet this tastes amazing! Would love to have some right about now…
Evan, it’s pretty darn amazing. -Marisa
2. Evan added these pithy words on
Jul 07 09 at
11:55 pm
this looks amazing. do you think rainier cherries would work just as well?
Lauren, you can make jam with Rainier cherries, but it won’t be quite the same as this. In my experience, it’s hard to get sweet cherries to set well into jam. However, it always ends up tasting good, so it’s still worth making. -Marisa
3. lauren added these pithy words on
Jul 07 09 at
11:56 pm
Oh yes, please put me in the running for the jam giveaway!
I assume you have some kind of device to pit the cherries, right?? I did some by hand today and was thinking that this was one of those rare times that a really specific gadget wouldn’t seem so crazy…
I do, indeed, have a cherry pitter. It’s a hand-held, one cherry at a time device, but it works just fine. I actually find the time spent pitting cherries quite meditative and relaxing. -Marisa
4. seadragon added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
12:14 am
Will you send the jar to Oregon??
I have cherries in the freezer waiting to become crisp at a later date. YUM!
Sara, if you win, I would be delighted to send the jar to Oregon! -Marisa
5. Sara added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
12:54 am
Yum – sounds delicious!
seadragon – a cherry pitter or two (it’s nice to have company when you’re pitting a lot of cherries) make baking or canning with cherries MUCH more enjoyable. My two cents: it’s a worthwhile purchase.
Marisa, I totally agree. While cherry pitters don’t get used too often, they are definitely worth the money you spend on them. -Marisa
6. Another Marisa added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
1:02 am
I wish that I could find sour cherries here;all I could find were sweet cherries, but I made pies anyway. A cherry pitter is a must. I may have to try making some jam since this sounds so delicious.
Wes, make jam! You might try scouring the frozen fruit section of some grocery stores, once in a while, you’ll come across frozen sour cherries. Once defrosted, they make good jam. -Marisa
7. wes added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
1:04 am
Wow, I’ve never had sour cherry jam. Now I am going to have to keep a lookout for a jar, it sounds fabulous. I also have only had sweet cherries. Mmmmm.
8. Debbie added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
1:44 am
This sounds incredible. I recently had a strawberry – sour cherry jam that was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted… Thanks for the recipe.
9. Tony Cross added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
1:45 am
Hurrah for sour cherries. I’m south of you and missed the season this year, though.
10. Margaret Perry added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
7:10 am
Behold the immense power of Twitter, magically transforming 4# in enought to satiate Marisa’s sour cherry yearnings!
Count me in for jar giveaway !
11. Guamaniac added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
7:23 am
I love sour cherries sweetened and cooked til they are jammy…..and delicious! Great job, M!
12. Pat added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
7:59 am
13. Me, Me, Me! I feel as excited as Tigger at the thought of sour cherry jam!
14. Heather added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
8:37 am
mmm…sour cherries. i’m fairly sure we won’t find those fresh here in texas, especially in this heat!
will have to settle for bings. i suppose i’ll need to cut the sugar. thanks!
15. cosmic cowgirl added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
8:44 am
That looks divine. I love sour cherries but have never had them in jam. Mmmm, jam.
16. Heather P added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
9:05 am
sounds yummy….I add a plop of jam to my oatmeal, but my boys like pb&j oatmeal!….I’m in TX as well and we never see fresh sour cherries…but we have great peaches!!!
17. michelle added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
9:30 am
If I don’t win can I interest you in a trade for a sweet cheery jam? or a cherry blueberry jam?
18. Doris the Goat added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
9:41 am
I have been enjoying your site since I found you last month – I am finally making time to can again. I’ve done a series of no-sugar jams for my diabetic MIL this spring as the fruit has presented itself here in Oklahoma (more peaches from market this Saturday!!!), and I’ve made some awesome pickles. The sour cherries intrigue me, and so a comment, so that I might win them!
Hugs, Aubrey
19. Aubrey added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
9:50 am
I pitted twenty pounds of sour cherries last weekend using the end of a large paperclip. It worked wonderfully quick! I have a hand-held pitter gadget for sweet cherries, which have a firmer texture, but soft pie cherries like those pictured are “ripe” for the paperclip technique. Yay cherries!
20. Kris added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
10:10 am
I just signed up for your tomato class at Philly Kitchen Share. Very excited for that! This jam also looks lovely, and I bet it tastes great on ice cream.
21. e added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
10:20 am
My daily bowl of hot cereal is my jam vehicle of choice (though a slice of toast with jam on the weekends is not something I turn down). I don’t know that I’ve ever seen sour cherries down here in southern California. Perhaps I’m not looking in the right places?
22. TeacherA added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
10:23 am
If you have any cherries left you should make cold sour cherry soup. I lived in Hungary one summer and I probably had it twice a week. Here’s a recipe: http://www.fsz.bme.hu/hungary/cuisine/foods/meggy_soup.html
23. Steven added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
10:25 am
And here’s the wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hideg_meggyleves
24. Steven added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
10:26 am
cherry jam always reminds me of my great aunt’s–it was such a treat to get hers. it helped me to fall in love with cherries!
25. Ann P. added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
11:26 am
I’ll trade you pineapple-lemon for a jar!!!!
26. meadowlark added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
11:47 am
I scheduled months ahead to go out last weekend for sour cherry picking only to (cleverly) call up the Friday before and be informed that the season had lasted three days and there was absolutely nowhere left with sour cherries.
So my friend with the passion for sour cherries (I don’t know I’ve ever tried one) dropped out, and the other two of us went and grabbed a full measure of black sweet cherries.
But, still, I am curious, and I would love to give the jam a try. I’d even share it with my passionate friend – he’s cute.
27. Livia added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
1:36 pm
My grocery store seems to never have liquid pectin in stock, leaving me with either regular powdered or sugar-free powdered varieties. Can I substitute these, and if so, how should I substitute them?
Also, a neighbor who is a bit of a packrat gave me all of her old canning stuff, including some jelly jars with mason lids from what looks like the early 80s. Do mason jar lids go bad with time, even if they’ve never been used? The jars themselves are pristine, 12 oz jelly jars, which look perfect for drinking from or storing jelly.
Thanks for your help.
28. Tim M added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
2:24 pm
Ohh, yum. I have no idea if I can pick my own sour cherries out here. But I’m gonna have to look into it now.
29. Jacquelyn added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
3:09 pm
That jam sounds yummy. I have my grandmothers old cherry oitter, a weird thing that screws on to the top of a ball jar.
30. Lauren added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
3:53 pm
31. Jessie added these pithy words on I love cherries in any format. I have been wanting to make jam and do some pickling but am not sure how to go about doing small batches…plus I am concerned about the whole killing myself and any others with badly processed items. When I get the nerve to start pickling I want to try a quick pickled cherries recipe I saw on Victory Garden. Oh, and please sign me up for the jam giveaway. Thanks!
32. Yvonne added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
7:05 pm
Those are some luscious-looking cherries! I love the sour-sweet combination.
33. yoko added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
9:21 pm
Yum!!! We’re enjoying your Strawberry Vanilla Jam recipe here. I love your site!
34. Kimberly added these pithy words on
Jul 08 09 at
11:47 pm
I hear you—these things are PRECIOUS. I bet the jam is delicious.
35. maggie (p&c) added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
7:58 am
I love experimenting with new flavors of jam (such as the ginger peach jam I made a little while ago), but sadly, I’ve not had such a batch of cherries that I wanted to part with eating them fresh. You’re lucky to have had somewhere to pick them that hadn’t been thoroughly picked over!
36. Andrea added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
8:59 am
Ooh, I’d love some sour cherry jam! They’re hard to find around Oregon, but I’ve been looking.
37. Sara added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
11:19 am
Ohhh I have the best memory of housesitting for a neighbor when i was about 9 years old. I snuck into their back yard, climbed inside the bird protection net and up the tree, and ate almost all of the cherries from the inside. I LOVE THESE!
38. Rosemary added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
12:01 pm
Oooh! I’ve never had a sour cherry, but have read about them. I would love a jar to try!
39. Bethany added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
12:36 pm
That sounds so good. Never tried a sour cherry, but I think it’s about time!
40. Meg added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
12:42 pm
41. Jane added these pithy words on 
42. RCL added these pithy words on Yogurt is also my favorite use for jam. I discovered it one day when I had some peach jam that didn’t set. I wasn’t sure what to do with it, so I stirred it into my yogurt. Yum!
43. pam added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
5:10 pm
My neighbors have a sour cherry tree . . . hm, wonder if I should broker a trade agreement – fruit for jam? It looks lovely and would be an amazing taste of summer in the bleak days of winter.
44. Melissa added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
7:16 pm
45. All those additions sound yummy! Cherry jam is one of my all time favourites!
Thanks for the recipe!
46. Jenn FL added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
8:43 pm
hi marisa,
this looks lovely. now you’ve got me wanting to try to get my hands on some sour cherries. i’m 3 hours north of you so i still have time. – i hope!
47. tigress added these pithy words on
Jul 09 09 at
10:03 pm
I’m in love with sour cherries this year too. I made a sour cherry, blueberry and sour cream cake with them last weekend and the cherries were definitely the star! I just love this site of yours Marisa. Great stuff. Wish I had realized you were doing it earlier, but I’m glad I know now.
48. ann added these pithy words on
Jul 10 09 at
7:36 am
Hi Marisa,
I’m glad to hear so many other people enjoy cherry jam! Thanks to your post, I’ve decided to go cherry picking here in CT and try some of the homemade goodness for myself!
49. Meagan added these pithy words on
Jul 10 09 at
8:40 am
50. casey added these pithy words on I would love this!
51. Tara added these pithy words on
Jul 10 09 at
2:11 pm
i’m obsessed with toast these days, and that yummy jam would make the perfect accoutrement…
52. laci added these pithy words on
Jul 12 09 at
9:12 pm
I used some of the Sour Cherry Jam in a cake at the Community Garden’s picnic…and everyone loved it!
That jam is absolutely delicious!!!
53. Angie added these pithy words on
Jul 13 09 at
9:37 pm
Have you tried using powdered pectin at all? I have to try this because I am completely addicted to tart cherries this year. I happen to have powdered pectin on hand…
54. rcakewalk added these pithy words on
Jul 24 09 at
10:53 pm
I did go ahead and get the liquid pectin, and made your recipe… Delicious!!!
Thanks! I’ll be thinking of you this winter…
55. rcakewalk added these pithy words on
Jul 26 09 at
11:02 pm
M,
I have about 2lbs of cherries left, and I need to use them up before they go south…
I made your jam, and started some cherry cordial, do you have any ideas for the rest? Have you tried drying them ever? (but I don’t have a dehydrator…). Any ideas are much appreciated!
R
56. rcakewalk added these pithy words on
Jul 27 09 at
5:32 pm
Hmm. Honestly, when I get to that point with cherries, I just pit and freeze them, and assume that I’ll figure out some other use for them later in the year.
I don’t have a dehydrator, so I’ve never tried drying cherries. If you’re curious about that though, I’d suggest taking a peek at http://www.dorisandjillycook.com, Doris often dries fruit so she’s got some helpful advice.
57. Marisa added these pithy words on
Jul 28 09 at
11:30 am
We are making a batch right now! Door County, Wisconsin is having the best cherry season every. I’ve got 2 pounds steeping in vodka, 4 pounds being made into jam. 5 or 6 pounds in the freezer and about 2 cups for breakfast in the morning.
58. Sue added these pithy words on
Aug 16 09 at
12:30 am
I made a batch of your cherry jam last night (our cherry season is late). I used half a packet of powdered pectin and it worked just fine. Your recipe was easy to follow and yielded excellent results. Thank you!
59. Sue C added these pithy words on
Aug 28 09 at
10:46 am
So I’m looking at the picture with your hands, and I’m wondering whether I have to worry about the skins at all. Or will it all just end up smooth and tasty?
Would lime be too strong a flavor to add? I ended up not using as many as I’d planned in the rhubarb chutney.
61. Livia added these pithy words on
Jun 09 10 at
4:15 pm
I live in Michigan and my 10yr old son has a favroite tree that he loves to climb on or just hang out..yesterday he walks in the house with a handfull of these little dark red beauties..we ate one and sure enough its a sour cherry! we all love to have some jam on r toast…the good kind of corse
63. Terrilynn added these pithy words on
Jun 11 10 at
11:11 am
Marisa, I find that cherry pitters decimate the fruit by pushing the pit through the entire fruit. I go the low-tech route with a closed safety pin. I boil the safety pin to make sure it’s sterile and once it’s cooled, it’s ready for use. The swirled end of the safety pin is inserted into the cherry at the site of the stem and I can extract the pit by pushing it back out towards the point where the stem was.
The integrity of the fruit’s shape is maintained, less juice is lost, and it’s quicker than any pitter I’ve ever come across.
65. Krystyna added these pithy words on
Jul 11 10 at
11:52 am
Working on this jam as we speak! Im so excited to have found a recipe that calls for less sugar than most. I love sour cherry jam. Bought a couple little bags at a farmers market and then a dear neighbor brought over four baggies full. I have enough for a recipe and a half! Cant wait to taste it!
67. Kathy added these pithy words on
Jul 18 10 at
10:45 am
How mashed is “mashed”? I can only see a little of the consistency in the photo so I’m guessing at it and going by how chunky I want the final result to be. Hope that works okay (in terms of creating cooking surface by breaking down the cherries).
@BarbChamberlain
68. Barb Chamberlain added these pithy words on
Jul 24 10 at
10:15 pm
Quick question for you (hope you can answer it). My mom just picked up 20lbs of frozen sour cherries, but since our regular place wasn’t open she had to buy from somewhere else, and they already have sugar added to them. Apparently the bucket says net 10lbs, 1lb sugar (so 9lbs of cherries and 1 lb of sugar).
How do you think I should go about compensating for this in my recipes? Obviously acidity and sugar for preservation shouldn’t be an issue, so I’m not worried about spoilage, but I worry that I will over-sweeten. Any suggestions?
70. Evil Tinkerbell added these pithy words on
Aug 19 10 at
6:04 pm
