Today is all about cherries! I have another box coming today from a local organic grower so I will be canning and drying for the winter. I try to can 52 jars of everything that I make. This gives us one per week for a year. Here is how I go about it. Canning cherries is very easy. You can pit the cherries or you don't have to. If you are canning for toddlers or the elderly I recommend pitting.
I wash the cherries and pack them raw into clean jars. I don't worry about sterilizing jars that are going to be in the canner for 20 minutes or more. I usually use 500 mL jars. If you have a large family and want to use 1L jars, just increase the time in the boiling water bath by about 10 min.
I then prepare a very light syrup of 5 parts water to 1 part evaporated organic cane syrup OR 3/4 cups local honey. Bring this to the boil. Pour over the cherries in the jar leaving about an generous inch or 3cm of space at the top. Put on the lids and place the jars in the canner. Fill with water so that the lids are covered with about 1 cm of water. Bring to a good rolling boil and set your timer for 20 mins. Turn the pot off when the timer goes and let it cool for about 20 minutes before removing the jars. Check the jars for a seal and store until you are ready to enjoy them. I love these on top of a bit of yoghurt for breakfast!
In addition to canning, I dry cherries to enjoy as a snack or make fruit cake out of. I love Christmas fruit cake when it is made with real dried fruit and not the awful candied stuff!
And a final note on the 'use everything' front. I take all of the pits that I have removed from the cherries and wash and dry them well. The clean dried pits can then be sewn into a 'magic bag' for those sore muscles or to warm your bed on a cold winter night. They also make an excellent low cost homemade gift!
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