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Spiced cherry jam

During the cherry season it’s worth preserving a few jars of jam and chutney for the winter. This spiced cherry jam is super easy to make and perfect for cakes and puddings. I use less sugar than most recipes do, so the jam needs to be cooked a little bit longer in order to thicken. I added vanilla, cinnamon and mandarin to the recipe to create the flavours and fragrance of the winter festivities.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 12 people
Cuisine: British
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg of cherry
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 mandarin
  • 185 g of muscovado sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Juice of one lemon

Method
 

  1. Put a small plate into the fridge.
  2. Wash and pit the cherries, then put them in a heavy-based pan.
  3. Add the sugar, cinnamon stick and vanilla. Squeeze the mandarin juice over the cherries, then cut it into 4 pieces and add to the pan.
  4. Bring to the boil and cook until the sauce thickens but it's still runny. Remove the cinnamon stick and mandarin pieces. Lightly crush the cherries with a potato masher and simmer until the sauce has thickened and started sticking to the pan. Turn down the heat.
  5. Add a few drops of jam onto the chilled plate. Put it in the fridge for a minute, then run your finger through the jam - if it forms a crinkle and is tacky, it's ready. If it’s not quite ready, cook for another couple of minutes at a time and re-test.
  6. Once the jam is ready, ladle it into hot, sterilized jars and place the lids on immediately.
  7. Allow the jars to cool, then store them in a cool, dark place. Once opened, store the jam in the fridge.