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Cherry jam is a simple and familiar dessert that has not lost its popularity for many centuries. The bright taste, delicate aroma and benefits of this product will provide it with a “long life” among our preparations for the winter. But even such a familiar dish can be prepared in an unusual way to surprise guests, to please yourself and household. Those who have not cooked their own jam should start with the classic recipe. And experienced chefs will appreciate the unique options of this dessert. About all the intricacies of harvesting cherries for the winter in order.
The first stage: the preparation of berries
You can make cherry jam using any of its varieties; small sour berries and large sweet fruits will do. Prepare jam from decorative felt cherries, if there is such a shrub, you can safely break it and harvest it for the winter. Delicious cherry jam is obtained from varieties with moderate sweetness: Shpanka, Shubinka, Turgenevka.
So, we collect or buy berries and prepare them for future conservation. First you need to fill them in a deep container and pour water so that it completely covers the fruits. Spoiled cherries will pop up, as well as unnecessary light garbage (twigs, leaves). Everything that went up must be removed, even if the berries look normal – they can be spoiled inside. The remaining fruits should be washed several times.
Next come in two ways: get rid of the bones or leave them. Each of these options has its advantages. In jam with stones, more useful substances are preserved and the aroma is brighter, such a blank can be used for tea drinking, decorating pastries. Spin from empty cherries are more practical, as you do not need to get the bones in the process of eating, the taste is thin, and the texture is soft.
If the choice fell on seedless cherry jam, remove the core from each fruit. The recipe with pits is easier at the preservation stage, as the washed cherries are ready for cooking.
Stage Two: Cooking
For any kind of jam, you need a cooking container, a spoon for spilling and mixing, jars and lids. All inventory must be sterile. To do this, you can warm the banks in the microwave, scalded with boiling water or hold over steam. Covers need to boil a minute in boiling water. Before twisting jars and lids should be dry.
Boil the cherry billet to be in an enamel-coated container, stainless steel is also suitable. Other types of metals are not suitable, as they can react with cherries acids and emit heavy components in the dessert, and this we do not need. It is advisable to cook the jam in small portions. If you cook a large amount at once in a deep bowl, the cherries will melt, lose their shape. In addition, a large portion of jam need to cook longer, and this process will deprive the berry of most of the nutrients.
If large-scale conservation is planned, it will take several basins to distribute everything in parts. It is better to stir the jam with a wooden spoon or stainless steel, it must also be sterilized before use.
So, the cherry is prepared in the correct container, there are jars, lids too. Next, the case for culinary fantasy.
Stage Three: Cooking Jam
It is best to cook several types of such jam to diversify the winter diet. The classic version of this preparation will be enjoyed by culinary “conservatives”, and a couple of unusual recipes will delight the “innovators”.
The classic recipe for seedless cherry jam can be repeated by an experienced housewife or any beginner. For it, you will need to stock up in equal quantities with cherries and sugar, per kilogram of fruits you need as much granulated sugar. Next, we follow the scheme:
- Washed and peeled fruits should be dried. It’s easier to do this by spreading the whole cherry on paper or textile towels. This is necessary because excess water will break the texture of the jam.
- When the berries dry out, they must be returned to the basin and sprinkled with sugar on top. It is not necessary to reduce the amount of sugar, even if the fruits are sweet. In this form, the cherry should stand until the juice is allowed, it can take from 3 to 6 hours.
- After the allotted time, the berries were already saturated with crystals and allowed enough juice. Bowl or bowl need to be thoroughly shaken to sugar fell to the bottom. We put everything on fire and wait for it to boil. The contents are gently stirred, so as not to burn.
- Boil the jam should be held on the fire for another five minutes. Then remove the pelvis from the stove and set aside in a cool place. The berries should stand for at least three hours, you can leave for the night, and then boil 5 minutes again.
- To make a rich and tasty cherry jam, it must be boiled 3-4 times. During the last cooking you need to prepare the lids with cans. Ready dessert poured into a glass container hot, immediately roll up. Inverted jars need to wrap and leave to cool.
This jam got its proud name – “Royal”, due to its taste and aroma. It turns out equally tasty both from felt cherries, and from ordinary. Using the described cooking scheme, you can spin any berry for the winter: plums, cherries, raspberries.
“Five minutes” for the lazy is made from cherries with a stone, cooking here is even simpler than the previous one, but in this case the berries will retain more benefits. For jam, you need to take the same ingredients, keeping the proportions:
- 1,5 kilograms of cherry;
- 1,5 kilograms of sugar.
Washed and dried fruit should be cleaned of the legs, pour into a bowl and cover with sugar. Berries should stand for a couple of hours to put the juice, and when it will be enough you can start cooking. Bowl or bowl should be put on low heat and bring to a boil. It is important to stir the contents frequently, as it can burn slightly without additional water.
After the dessert begins to boil, it must be kept on low heat for another five minutes and removed from the stove. Ready “five-minute” is laid out in sterile dry jars in hot form. Cherry jam with pits is obtained with a translucent syrup and dense whole cherries. In winter, you can make stewed fruit from it, decorate cakes or other pastries, eat with hot tea. You can store jam with bone no more than one winter. By the next winter, the bones will begin to release toxins into the treats.
Cherry jam can be prepared in conjunction with other berries, or use only cherry. Since these fruits do not have increased gelling properties, jam is prepared with gelatin. For winter harvesting you will need:
- gelatin – 5 g;
- water – 500 ml;
- cherry – 1000 g;
- sugar – 900
The berries should be peeled and well washed. Gelatin needs to be dissolved, according to the instruction in cold water. While it swells, you need to do sugar syrup, to do this, combine all the sugar and water, put them on fire. Before the syrup boils in it you need to pour the gelatin, and after boiling pour the berries.
Cherry jam is cooked on low heat with constant stirring. White foam on the surface of the dessert should be removed. After the contents have completely thickened, you need to turn it off and put it into glass jars. You need to pack the jam hot, then turn the container over and let it cool.
Multicooker jam is the easiest way to make a delicious and healthy cherry dessert for the winter. This cooking option will take a minimum of effort, but will save more nutrients and vitamins. To prepare you need to take:
- 5 glasses of cherries;
- 5 glasses of granulated sugar.
The berries should be freed from the bones, trying to preserve the initial shape of the fruit. Since the volume of the workpiece is small, you can use a normal pin. Peeled berries filled with sugar immediately in the bowl. It is not necessary to insist on such jam, immediately send the contents to the slow cooker and set the extinguishing mode. In this mode, the cherry should languish 20 minutes, at this time it will need to be mixed several times, and the foam formed should be removed.
After the first stage of cooking, you need to evaluate the syrup, if it is completely liquid – return the bowl to the extinguishing mode for another minute on 10. If the jam immediately turned thick and volatile, you can roll it in sterile jars. The density of this jam will depend on how much is cooked, the main thing is not to overdo it so that an unsightly cherry mass does not turn out.
Other ingredients can be added to any cherry jam recipe described. The classic version can be brightened with spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom. Spices are added during the last cooking of the goodies. Such a dessert perfectly harmonizes with citrus peels, they can also be added, but during the first heat treatment.
In addition, during the cooking process with gelatin or in a slow cooker, you can add 100 g of rum or cognac, the dessert will get a new piquant note. Mix part of the hot cherry jam with pieces of dark chocolate, wait until it melts, mix and roll into a jar – the chocolate-cherry jam is ready.
Application and use
Fresh cherry, like many other berries, is just a storehouse of useful components that we need. In the process of heat treatment, some of these useful substances disappear, but the other part still remains. In winter, our body suffers a shortage of vitamins, most minerals and beneficial salts. Eating such a natural dessert will not only be a tasty meal or tea-drinking, but also a replenishment of the supply of useful substances.
In cherry jam there are vitamins A and PP, the beneficial effect of which will especially appeal to the ladies. These components are useful for the structure of hair and skin cells, they improve their firmness and elasticity, thereby prolonging youth. Delaying the early aging of cells is useful for both young and old people.
The most common use in folk medicine for cherry jam was due to vitamin C. In this dessert, of course, it is less than in citrus fruits, but this is enough for effective prevention of viral diseases. In the period of colds and SARS, breakfast with such jam will be an excellent substitute for medications for the prevention of such diseases.
B vitamins, which are also stored in jam, will ensure the healthy functioning of the nervous system. In the cold season and autumn, such a treat will be a tasty remedy for stress, spleen and depressive states.
In addition to the vitamin composition, there are also mineral components. Among them: iron, potassium, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus. These substances are useful for bones, muscle joints, including the heart. It is believed that cherries and dishes made from it can lower blood cholesterol, and in return increase hemoglobin. Such a treat saturates the blood with essential minerals, and prevents increased coagulation.
In order to get the benefit and enjoy the dessert at the same time, you can use cherry jam for cooking, in addition to regular tea drinking. The most practical recipe in this regard is seedless, in this form jam or jam will be the best filling for buns, homemade croissants, tubules. One spoonful of such an additive will make an uninteresting porridge for your child a new interesting dish.
Jam with stones can be diluted in hot water, add spices, allspice, citrus peel, boil – a healthy non-alcoholic mulled wine is ready. If you experiment with dark chocolate during a spin, you’ll get a natural paste for toast and waffles.
It is easy to make jelly or jelly from jam syrup. You just need to boil it, add diluted starch, agar-agar or gelatin, it depends on what you want to cook. The cooled syrup is now a new healthy dessert or a thick hot drink.
Possible harm, calorie and contraindications
Refined sugar will make up half of such a treat. This means that a treat may not be useful to everyone. First of all, jam should not be eaten by those who are concerned about high blood sugar. Sometimes jam is prepared on sugar substitutes: cyclamate, saccharin, aspartame and others. But in the case of diabetes, you should definitely consult a doctor, since the berry itself contains part of the fast carbohydrates.
In view of the same fast carbohydrates, it is better to limit such jam to people with problems of excess weight. The calorie content of jam is approximately 300 kcal, which is even considered to be a high indicator even among desserts. For the safety of the figure, you can use this delicacy in small quantities in the morning.
Cherry contains acids that may be undesirable for problems with the stomach or digestion in general. Also, this berry is a highly allergenic product, so it should be limited when breastfeeding and carrying a child.
If you do not belong to any of these categories of people, a little effort in the summer will allow you to enjoy a tasty and natural delicacy all winter, draw benefit from it and a good mood.