This easy homemade cherry jam has no pectin in it and is made using the French style of jam making which makes your jam super delilcious and packed with flavour.
Isn’t it wonderful when something you love to eat reaches its peak and the prices drop dramatically in the shops, it is time to gather in the bounty and use it in any ways you can. Just now this is happening with cherries.
Oh how I adore cherries, that rich ruby red juice running down your chin as you bite into the firm flesh and release all that sweet and tart goodness. Such a treat to the senses must be savoured for future sampling.
A few weeks ago I shared with you my Pickled Cherries recipe and last year I made Cherry Curd, I’ve even made Cherry Brandy. Well this time it is an old fashioned preserve that takes my fancy and I am transforming my fresh ripe cherries into French Style Cherry Jam.
The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
What’s the difference between a conserve and jam?
The difference between a conserve and a jam is that the former has more whole fruit in it’s make up. Conserves are often made using dried fruits and have nuts in there as well.
Jam tends to be pieces of fruit all mushed together, whereas with a conserve you get whole fruits to bite into, in this case cherries.
You can call this a cherry jam recipe or a cherry conserve really, it’s entirely up to you. Whatever you decide to call it, this will become a firm favourite cherry preserve!
French style jam making
This French style cherry jam means that you let the cherries soak in the sugar overnight. Or at least for 6 hours if you are despirate to make your cherry jam.
By mascerating the cherries and sugar you break down the fruit and allow the juice to escape and you also dissolve the sugar.
This means that when you come to boil up your cherry jam you don’t have to start slowly on a low heat to dissolve the sugar as it has already dissolved in the cherry juice.
Going straight to the boil means less cooking time and thus more flavour is captured in this amazingly flavour packed cherry jam recipe.
I use this French style of jam making in a lot of my recipes, especially my 3 ingredient strawberry jam recipe.
Ingredients for cherry jam
Cherries are the star of the show in this cherry jam recipe so make sure you buy nice fresh juicy cherries and chuck out any wizzened or bashed and bruised cherries before you start. They will not do your jam any favours at all.
Can you use frozen cherries?
Yes, you can use frozen cherries to make this cherry conserve/jam recipe. Just defrost them thoroughly before you use them.
- 500g/1lb 2oz fresh cherries
- 2 lemons
- 500g/1lb 2oz granulated sugar
No pectin
I have not used pectin in this cherry jam recipe. The lemon juice will help to set the jam so there is no need to add anything else. The lemon also helps to bring out the marvelous flavour of those cherries in this jam recipe.
How to make cherry conserve/jam
- Pop the stones out of the cherries before you start your jam making session. While French purists would insist that the stones remain in place for the full-on flavour experience, I always like to think about my teeth and the cost of dentistry should I be unfortunate enough to munch into a stone stoked cherry and do some horribly expensive damage.
- Save the cherry stones and crack them with a meat tenderising hammer or a rolling pin. Put the cracked stones into a little piece of muslin and tie it up securely with string and pop this into the pan with the cherries.
- Add the sugar to the pan and set it aside in the kitchen with a lid on for 6 hours or better still leave it overnight.
- Add the lemon juice and bring your cherry jam to the boil and keep it bubbling till you reach the setting point, see my jam making page for full explanation on the setting point of jams etc.
- Skim off any foam from the surface.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully ladling into sterilised jars.
New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.
Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;
How to make great jam and marmalade
How to make chutney and relish
How to sterilise jars and bottles
How much cherry jam does this recipe make?
This is a small batch cherry jam recipe. I just used 500g of cherries and got 2 small jars (approximately 150g each) of tongue tingling goodness that will satisfy my cherry cravings for a wee while to come.
How long will this keep?
This cherry jam will keep for up to a year unopened. Store in a cool dark place. Once opened store your cherry jam in the fridge and use up in a month.
How to serve this homemade cherry jam/conserve
Serve your Cherry jam slathered onto toast or crumpets, or with a smear of fresh goat’s cheese on a toasted slice of crusty French bread. It also makes a great filling for sponge cakes and is fab in tarts too.
Cherry jam makes a great glaze for roasting duck or turkey. Just thin with a little water first, great for roast pork too.
Add this cherry conserve to your Asian dishes for some rich fruity flavour.
Got plenty of cherries to play with? Then here are some other cherry recipes you might like.
Spanish Style Spiced Cherry Cheese
Easy traditional French cherry clafoutis
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Easy Homemade Cherry jam (without pectin)
Ingredients
- 500 g cherries
- 2 lemons
- 500 g granulated sugar
Instructions
- Pop the stones out of the cherries before you start your jam making session. While French purists would insist that the stones remain in place for the full-on flavour experience, I always like to think about my teeth and the cost of dentistry should I be unfortunate enough to munch into a stone stoked cherry and do some horribly expensive damage.
- Save the cherry stones and crack them with a meat tenderising hammer or a rolling pin. Put the cracked stones into a little piece of muslin and tie it up securely with string. Pop this bag into the pan with the cherries and add the sugar and leave this for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Add the lemon juice and bring this to the boil and boil till you reach the setting point at 105C
- Skim off any foam from the surface.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before carefully ladling into sterilised jars.
Cherries are great in any form. Thanks for the recipe. I’m planning to make some in a slow cooker. Have you tried making the conserve in a slow cooker / crock pot?
Hi there,
I don’t use a slow cooker/crock pot so I’m afraid I can’t help on this one. Maybe one of my other readers will see this and offer some help. Personally I would trot over to the punk domestics web site as they have loads of excellent preserving info, Sean is a master at this sort of thing.
Hope this helps.
K x
We just made a double batch of the recipe this evening, and it turned out FABULOUSLY. It was our first time making a conserve, and we followed the recipe as closely as we could. There was a wee bit left that wouldn’t fit into our sanitized jars, so we put it on ice cream – highly recommend!
Hi Teri
SO thrilled that you liked this recipe so much that you made a double batch. Even more pleased that this was your first time making a conserve and you’re so happy with it. It would have been rude to waste that last little bit that didn’t fit the jars, ice-cream topping sounds like a very good use to me.
K
Sorry if I am being obtuse, but you mention at Step 2 to save the cherry stones, crack them and put in a muslin bag. Are they used again in this recipe? There is no mention of them after step 2.
Thank you.
Chris
Hi Chris
So sorry for any confusion. You add the muslin bag of stones into the jam. Have amended the recipe to state this clearly.
K
I’m not sure what I did wrong it 500 g of sugar turned this into a non-edible overly sweet Syrup.
Hi Jody
I use 500g sugar and do the steps I show in the recipe and it turns out great every time. Sorry it didn’t work out for you.
K
You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m a seasoned cook and followed the recipe exactly as written, brought the conserve to 105C with a new thermometer. It did not set. It’s just a thin syrup. The only use for this now is for ice cream topping. My guess is it needs to cook longer and reach a higher temperature. So disappointing, as the cherries were not cheap.
Hi Nancy
Sorry your jam didn’t set. I wrote the recipe exactly as I do it every year and mine sets fine. I’m sure you are disappointed at cost of cherries but it really isn’t my fault. Why didn’t you just reboil it?
K
Have you ever preserved this in a water bath canner? I’m in the U.S. and we normally would add to mason jars and water bath can the conserve to preserve it and let it sit at room temperature without spoiling.
Hi Marion
Here in the UK and Europe we don’t tend to use canning processes and our preserves keep perfectly well in sterilised jars. As I said in this post this jam will keep up to a year (and often longer) in a cool cupboard and it doesn’t spoil.
K