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Sour cherry jam is anything but sour! Also known as tart cherries or pie cherries, these bright red beauties pack the most cherry flavor. Once you add a bit of sugar, you’ll have a cherry jam like no other!
Like any good jam, it all starts with the fruit. Sour cherries aren’t generally sold in stores because they don’t transport well. We grow our own crop of tart cherries in our permaculture orchard, and every year I find myself planting one or two more trees to make this sour cherry jam.
This past year we picked our trees clean and then headed down to the pick your own tart cherry farm about 20 miles down the road. An hour later, we left with a trunk full of sour cherries destined for jam, and my home-canned cherry pie filling.
Sour Cherry Jam without Pectin
Cherries, regardless of the variety, are low pectin fruits. Often jam makers add commercial pectin to shortcut the process, but I personally love old-fashioned sour cherry jam without added pectin. It’s just how it would have been made in my grandmother’s day, with a bit of lemon juice to add brightness to the fruit flavor, as well as extra pectin to help the jam gel all on its own.
With a little patience, sour cherry jam without pectin will come together and gel beautifully, and a longer cook time means more intense flavor in the finished jam.
Besides, I prefer the finished texture of pectin-free jams, and this one really stands up beautifully on a spoon…
I like my jams nice and thick, but this sour cherry jam recipe is pretty versatile. Like a runnier jam? No worries, just cook it less.
Start to finish, the cooking time on this extra thick version is about 45 minutes, and you’ll need to monitor the pot every minute. Few fruits foam the way that sour cherries do, and I’ve never had so many close calls with boil overs. That’s saying something, I make literally dozens of types of jam every summer and this one keeps me on my toes.
At about 35 minutes cook time, you’ll have a nice runny sour cherry jam if that’s your thing. Or keep on cooking it until it reaches full gel stage.
How to Make Sour Cherry Jam
Once you’ve harvested the sour cherries, it’s important to process them as quickly as possible. They’re so soft fleshed that any bump or bruise breaks their skin, and if you plucked them without the stems that little wound will begin to brown within hours.
Browning isn’t the end of the world, but they’re at the peak of flavor when freshly harvested. If you can’t make sour cherry jam immediately, get them into the freezer. Freezing them isn’t a bad way to pit them either, they break down in the freezer and then I pick out the pits by hand without a knife or pitter.
Either way, start by pitting the cherries. A sharp knife does the job in a pinch, but if you have more than a few pounds I’d strongly recommend spending the $10 for a small handheld cherry pitter. With an experienced hand, it only takes me about 10 minutes to pit enough for a batch.
Place the pitted cherries in a heavy-bottomed jam pot leaving ample headspace. This year I made it in an enameled cast iron dutch oven (6 quarts) and I really wished I’d used a deeper pot. This jam foams, a lot, and cannot be left unattended.
Add the lemon juice and cook the cherries for about 20 minutes, until they’ve completely fallen apart. If you’re adding pectin, this is when you’d do it, along with the sugar and then you’re jam is complete. (I’ve included this shortcut as an option in the recipe.)
If you’re making sour cherry jam without pectin, add the sugar and keep on cooking the jam for another 20 to 30 minutes until the jam reaches gel stage. Mine took exactly 45 minutes from start to finish on the stove, but stoves vary a bit.
Test for gel stage by spooning a small amount onto a plate that’s been in the freezer, or use an instant-read thermometer. Gel stage is generally 220 degrees, but lower at higher altitudes. For every 500 feet in elevation, it drops by 1 degree. Here at 1000 feet, I finish jams at 218.
Ladle into prepared canning jars and be extra careful to remove bubbles, I had a bit of trouble with de-bubbling this thick jam. Adjust headspace to 1/4 inch and cap with 2 part canning lids.
Canning Sour Cherry Jam
Sometimes it seems a bit silly to can sour cherry jam in my house. The first batch is always eaten up before the month’s out, and canning it almost seems like a waste when it isn’t in the jars for more than a few weeks. Now I just store it in the fridge, and it lasts there about a month.
That said, I always make more than one batch every year, and I squirrel away a few jars of the 2nd and 3rd batches for wintertime. Nothing brings back the warmth of July like a jar of homemade sour cherry jam.
The processing time for sour cherry jam is the same as most other jams, just 10 minutes in a boiling water bath with 1/4 inch headspace.
Be extra careful about de-bubbling your jars as this jam sets up pretty quickly and it can be tricky to de-bubble the jars before they go into the canner. I love these cute anchor hawking jam jars, but next year the cherry jam is going into straight-sided half-pints instead (for easier de-bubbling).
Sour Cherry Jam
Equipment
- Ball Regular Mouth Canning Jar 8 oz. 12 pk
Ingredients
- 3 lbs sour cherries, 2 1/2 lbs pitted, or 5 cups pitted
- 1 medium lemon, juiced, about 2 Tbsp.
- 2 cups sugar, see note
Instructions
- Pit fresh 3 lbs sour cherries. If working with pitted fruit, the total weight should be about 2 1/2 lbs pitted, or roughly 5 cups pitted fruit.
- Place the fruit in a heavy-bottomed jam pot along with lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Cook the cherry mixture, stirring continuously to avoid boil-overs, for about 20 minutes until the fruit has completely fallen apart.
- Add sugar. (If adding pectin, now is the time, see notes).
- Continue cooking the jam until it reaches gel stage, about 25 to 30 more minutes.
- Test for gel stage on a plate that's been placed in the freezer, or with an instant-read thermometer (220 degrees F at sea level).
- Turn off heat and ladle jam into prepared jars. De-bubble, wipe rims and adjust headspace to 1/4 inch. Store in the refrigerator for immediate use (within 1 month), or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for a shelf-stable jam.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sour Cherry Jam Variations
This year I’d planned on making this sour cherry preserve recipe that includes bourbon as a flavoring, but I forgot once the fruit ripened. Really all I needed to do was add a few tablespoons of bourbon to my existing recipe near the end of cooking and I think it’d be just right. Next year.
I came across a recipe for Cherry Almond Jam by Pomona’s Pectin that looks spectacular. This cherry jam recipe is flavored with cinnamon and almond extract. It’s pictured with black cherries, but it’d work just as well with sour cherries.
While I don’t like to put pectin in my cherry jam, smooth cherry jelly is another story. This year I put about 10 pounds of sour cherries into my steam juicer because I just couldn’t pit one more cherry. The bright flavorful juice went into a batch of cherry wine, as well as a smooth cherry jelly.
Cherry jam is pretty flexible, and you can add in whatever flavorings you choose, just do it with a careful hand. Things like almond extract, cinnamon, and other spices are quite strong and a little goes a long way.
Easy Jam Recipes
Want to keep that jam pot cooking? Read on…
Hello, I only have pint jars. Are they ok to use if I double the recipe? Thank you.
Yes, you can use pint jars, that works just fine. Canning times are the same for both pint and half pint jars. Enjoy!
Superb!! I added almond extract with the sugar and it’s just delicious.
That sounds delicious!
I saw you use gel pectin for pie filling. Do you use that or powdered for the jam? Regular or low sugar?
Thanks for the recipes. I have a 6 year old tree that is very prolific and 3 two year old trees. I got 15 pounds this year.
This particular recipe doesn’t use pectin, it just cooks with fruit and sugar. If you want to use pectin, I generally recommend Sure Jel pectin. Clear Jel used for pie filling isn’t used for jam, and can only be used in recipes specifically tested for clear jel.
I love your blog! I come here so often and have tried many of your recipes. The only critique: it’s hard to find a way to contact you. Is there a email somewhere? Anyway, please write a book or better books. I would love to have all the wisdom from this website in print. All the best
Thank you for your kind words. We’re so glad you’re enjoying the blog. Are you subscribed to the Substack emails?
The most important part of the instructions should be to cook to 220 degrees – not for 25 to 30 minutes more. I used the time reference, which is listed first, and that was far too long. My jam burned. Coolktops are different so it seems that only the desired temperature should be listed instead of blithely saying so another commenter that they cooked it too long.
I’m sorry that happened. I’m not sure if you used pectin or not but the directions are very specific in both the post and the recipe card giving both the time and the temperature along with tips on how to check for gel stage. You are correct that all cooktops are different which is also mentioned in the post. If it burned on the bottom that was most likely an issue with having the heat too high, not keeping a close eye on it while cooking or not using a pot with a heavy bottom. When I am making a recipe for the first time I always try to read through the complete instructions multiple times to make sure that I have a good understanding before starting the process. I hope that’s helpful and that you will try the recipe again in the future.
Just made tart cherry jam with pectin and sugar. Your notes about amount of lemon juice and sugar was helpful. The result is delicious. Thank you for posting the recipe. I printed it out and keeping it in my cookbook notebook for future.
You’re so welcome. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I have made this recipe for many years now. Every other year it has set just as described in your blog post. For whatever reason(s) this year, it did not. I debated rebranding what I had as cherry sauce or syrup, but my heart really wanted jam. So I reheated it, added a mix of more sugar with a little pectin, boiled it for about 5 minutes. It has set beautifully now! Another win. Thank you so much for such a delicious recipe!
Yay! So glad you were able to save it.
I came into possession of some fresh sour cherries this spring for the first time in a long time. This recipe is simple and results in a very delicious, minimally processed jam. I opted to go the longer route and didn’t add any pectin. I am so pleased with the consistency of the jam. It doesn’t weep or ooze. It’s gelled but still very spreadable. And the sugar content is perfect. The flavor that comes through most is intensely cherry, not simply sugar. The author is right, the smaller but higher quality yield is preferable to a larger yield of lesser quality.
So I followed this recipe to the t, and added the sugar after the initial 20 min, and I could tell a few minutes into it that it was ready but you had said 25 more minutes, so I kept going. When I still had 13 min left, I tried the jam on the frozen plate and it congealed and was so thick. I immediately poured it in the can, but I can tell it’s way too thick. Are you meant to turn the heat from medium high down to medium? It doesn’t say that, so I kept it at medium high. Anyway, flavor is amazing but you might not want to recommend 25 minutes after adding sugar if so many of us have it come out to a harder consistency. Shane to waste all those cherries we picked and seeded.
Every stove is different and every fruit is different. Humidity and environment can also be a factor. Personal preference can also make a difference because some people prefer thicker jams while other prefer them more runny. The times in the recipes are just given as a guideline. If you can tell that a jam is ready then it’s best to go ahead and test it at that time.
I made the wild black raspberry jam without commercial pectin and it was A1! I even added less sugar than recommended. Is it possible to make cherry jam with less sugar
Yes, you can make it with less sugar, but it won’t have a firm set. Still really delicious, but a bit more runny. If you want, you can reduce the sugar in this recipe to 1 cup (from 2 originally) and see if you like it. It will need a bit longer cook time. I just made this recipe and it took exactly 45 minutes, but I’d guess with lower sugar you’d need to cook it another 10-15 to get a good consistency (that’s a guess though). Let me know how it goes!
Its out of season but I have a jar of pitted red sour cherries and would really like to try making this jam.
They are Monde Naturel Pitted Red Sour Cherries (540mL)
Presumably it would be a mini batch – is this just a silly endeavour? Default to making a pie?
You could totally make a single jar of jam out of that. I’m not sure if it contains sugar to start, but I’d assume so? You may be able to just cook it until it thickens (cherries and liquid together) to make a jam, as I assume they probably put quite a bit of sugar in there. The sugar in canned fruit helps it hold together during canning, and firms up the fruit, so canned fruits usually have plenty of sugar already. I’d try just pouring the contents into a pot and cooking it until it turns into jam and see how it goes. Good luck!
Thank you!! I ended up trying it last night but decided to drain them / taste then added lemon juice to balance the tart cherry/sour lemon then cooked until the cherries could break down a bit more but only had to simmer about 10 minutes as the canned ones are already semi-soft. Then i added 2/3 the sugar called for and cooked 20 mins as per your recipe. It’s delicious!!!! thanks so much for your response and your recipe! Im notw hunting my local stores for a bigger bag of frozen sour cherries cuz this small amount is going to go very fast!!
I’ve found that lots of big chain grocery stores carry tart cherries in their frozen fruit section around here. You’d think it’d be the specialty places, but I’ve actually found them at the big supermarkets and no where else (at least here). Best of luck!
Great recipe. Lots of good tips. Got a delicious result. I used a product that is available in German Sugar with Pectin.
Have made this twice now (without pectin) and am very pleased with it! I do wish I had read all the comments prior to my second batch though, as I doubled it and it made the cook time a LOT longer! It does seem to have turned out just as well as the first (single) batch though. What I am seeing though is I keep coming up short on yield, the regular batch I used 3lbs of tart cherries and got three half-pints instead of four. The double batch I weighed them after pitting and used 5.25 pounds and did get 8 jars, but the last one was probably 3/4″ short. I’m using an instant-read thermometer and going to 220F, so I can’t figure why I seem to be over-reducing it. Either way, it tastes fantastic and looks to have set up properly.
It’s very difficult to get a canning recipe to work out perfectly every time. I usually just put those jars straight into the fridge.
Hi,
I have a sour cherry tree prolifically fruiting in my yard in Australia (as I type) and made a jam with vanilla extract. It has the faintest hint of Maraschino cherries/liquor which I actually really dislike. I was wondering if using just sugar would avoid the Maraschino flavouring, or is that inevitable? Don’t really want to go to all that effort for another jar of a jam I can’t eat! Another friend suggested adding a sweet port?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
I really love tart and sour foods, so was excited for this jam!
I would try following this recipe as written and see how you like it.
Thank you for sharing your recipe …made 4 batches yesterday , OMG so so good…..came out perfect not sweet , not sour just perfect …..will be making this again for sure..
You’re very welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Any tips for how to achieve your expertise piitting a pound of cherries in just two minutes? We have the same pitter. Maybe a video?
Thank you for posting this recipe! Followed as written with 2 cups sugar and found that my instant read thermometer was the best way to determine when it was complete. Cooked until it stayed consistently at least 112°F on the front range here in Colorado. Made the perfect jam. We had loads of cherries from just one tree, so made many double batches!
That’s wonderful. Thanks for sharing. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Used the fruit from our Meteor cherry tree. Followed the recipe and the flavor is great, but it hardened when cooled. The second stage cook time (after adding the sugar) was 30 minutes. Noticed that the temperature was at 222 degrees about ten minutes into that second stage. Elevation is about 950′, similar to what was mentioned in the article. Next time should I follow the temperature and stop at 220 or just shorten the second stage cook time to maybe 20 minutes?
Thank you for the recipe.
The temperature for gel stage is generally 220 but higher elevations will reach a gel at a lower temperature. I would try about 218 and see if that works better.
I made your recipe for sour Cherry jam and it turned out great so I decided to make it again but double the recipe. I did this twice and both times it came out runnier then I usually like. I cooked it longer after adding the sugar but it still did not firm up. I’m scared of over cooking but should I take it to a rolling boil? It may be time for a thermometer. Can you suggest one?
Thanks a lot!
It’s actually not recommended to double jam recipes. The jam just doesn’t cook as well or effectively. You don’t have as much surface area for evaporation to occur and the cook time is much longer.
I had 10 cups of pitted sour cherries and used 3 cups of sugar (no pectin); this was plenty sweet enough for my taste. The second part after adding the sugar took me only about 15 mins to get to 220F. I like a runnier jam, so next time I may stop at 218F. Delicious jam though – thanks for the recipe!
You’re very welcome. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
I would realy like to know how you pick that many cherries in such a short time. I have 2 small trees and spent hours picking, and didn’t even put a dent into what was there. the birds got 3/4 of what was on the trees!