Jam Op Kentish or Flemish Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Stone the cherries and weigh them.
Cook the jam
Heat the cherries slowly to draw out the juice before boiling.
Stew the cherries until they are tender, about 1 hour.
Boil the cherries quickly for 45 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking.
Gradually stir in 1½ lbs of sugar (½ lb for each pound of cherries).
If the cherries are very acidic, add an extra ounce or two of sugar.
Continue boiling rapidly for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cherries
- Provide the fruit body, juice and main flavour that the jam is built from.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, balances the cherries' acidity, and helps the jam thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Boil quickly while stirring constantly. Once the thick fruit and sugar mixture is hot, it scorches easily on the base of the pan. Constant stirring prevents sticking and burning, and a rapid boil drives off water so the jam thickens properly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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