Jam of Kentish or Flemish Cherries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Stone the cherries and weigh the fruit.
Heat the cherries slowly to draw out the juice before boiling.
Cook the jam
Stew the cherries until tender, then boil quickly for 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sugar until dissolved.
Boil rapidly for an additional 20 minutes, skimming off any scum that forms.
Stir gently but constantly to prevent sticking.
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, juice and pectin that set the jam and give its flavour.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep by drawing water out of the fruit.
The step that matters
Stirring the sugar in off the heat. Sugar added while the fruit is still boiling can scorch or crystallise, and dissolving it fully first helps the jam set evenly and avoids a gritty texture.
“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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