Jammin'

My family is dispersed all over the world. One member is in Kenya, Gran Canaria, Nice, etc.; another is in Florence, Pisa and Palosuelo so my youngest and I decided a visit to my hometown was just the ticket!   What's really great about that is catching up with relatives, childhood friends, schoolmates, neighbors and families.

During one of our outings we picked cherries in an orchard belonging to a family we've known for decades; and brought our farm-fresh bounty back to base camp (a.k.a. the home of my friend, the Michigan Martha Stewart) and within two hours had made jam!  Wow!  Farm to table in two hours.  Not any ol' jam--fresh cherry jam:  sweet cherries, black sweet cherries and sour cherries.

We picked 'em:
 

We cleaned and pitted 'em:

  

 And we made jam!

 

Go here for sugar free jam making.

Jam

 Yield: 8 half-pints.

1 quart cherries (4 cups equals 1 quart) 

 8 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
  2 (3 ounce) envelopes liquid pectin

1 tsp. butter

Directions:
Combine fruit, sugar, butter and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Once you reach a rolling boil stir in liquid pectin. 

Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. 

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. 

Adjust lids and rings. 

Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner. (Note: Add appropriate additional processing time for high altitudes). 

For more information on jam making click here: JAM MAKING.

I'm only speculating but I think we'll be jammin' all summer.