Cherry Rhubarb Jam

Sweet cherries have enough pectin in them to make a jam set. The problem with sweet cherry jam is once you add all of that sugar it is overly sweet. This is why I have decided to try it with rhubarb to tart it up a bit! As it cooked it still seemed a bit too sweet so I added some lemon juice. Lemons are not very local for Ontario but it did improve the batch. The next time I will increase the ammount of rhubarb to about 50-50 with the cherries and see how that goes. For now it was tasty jam but a bit on the sweet side. I will probably be excellent between chocolate cake layers.

Cherry Rhubarb Jam with No Added Pectin

9 cups sweet cherries
3 cups rhubarb
8 cups fair trade evaporated cane juice (or granular sugar)
OR 6 cups honey
Juice of 2 lemons

Mash the fruit into a pot with a thick bottom and add the sugar. Heat to boiling over medium heat stirring occasionally. Allow the jam to simmer for about 30 min until it starts to thicken. At this point test for set. If it is not set keep re-testing every 5 minutes until the jam has a loose set. Ladle the jam into sterile jars and put on the lids. Place jars into boiling water bath with the jars submerged by about 1cm in the water. Bring to a boil and set the timer for 5 min. for 250 mL jars, 10 min for 500 mL jars. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and let it cool about 20 min before removing the jars. Enjoy!

Cherries, cherries, cherries

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!