Manchu Cherry Jam

[eleny]

I looked all over this place and couldn't find my old waterbath canner. It's 31 years old so I didn't mind getting a new one. But it's a mystery how a pot that size can go missing. Luckily, I found another at the nearby Ace Hardware.

We have had volunteer Manchu Cherries coming up behind our garage. I was going to let the birds have them all but decided to grab a potful and make something. After cooking the cherries there was 9 1/2 cups of cherry juice/sauce. I used Splenda for sweetener and the flavor is good. These cherries have a great aftertaste of sour that comes through after the initial sweetness. It should be good on toasted bagel with cream cheese.

There's a jar and 1/2 in the fridge. They didn't fit in the canner. I think the color is a little lighter than my snapshot. I see that I missed a drip on the stove. :D

[hippywife]

1. I've never heard of manchu cherries.

The jam sounds really tasty, tho. I love having homemade jam in the house. Little bit of summer all year long. :D

[eleny]

2. I didn't know about them, either, until they started putting out fruit this year

It's also called a Nanking Cherry. They're small, tart cherries, and have large pits for their size.

Here's a pic I took when the fruit started turning red. The fruit grows in clusters along the branches.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Omigawd! We have a tree like that right outside our basement slider

It was a 'weed' tree that just showed up a few springs ago. It looks so pretty in bloom and is out of the way right next to our brook. I know the birds love it. I never thought to try the fruit.

[eleny]

4. The original volunteer never fruited

I didn't have the heart to cut it down. I guess it sent out roots around the corner where there's more water. Now there are a couple over there and they went wild with fruit this year.

I cooked the cherries after washing and using veggie wash. Then I put them in a regular sieve with the handle one ladle at a time and worked them over with the wooden potato masher to push the pulp through. It was the only way to deal with the pits since the cherries are small. I lost a lot of pulp but I didn't know what else to do. 9 1/2 cups of pulp seems enough.

My Sure Jell may have been old because it's not going to set up perfectly. The ones in the fridge seem to be thickening, however I don't think it'll attain a true jam consistency. But the tangy/sweet flavor is different from anything I've ever had before. I'm very happy and look forward to trying it on the toast. I think it would be great to spread on a slice of angel food cake with fat free Cool Whip on top.

[Stinky The Clown]

5. I'm not much of a jam and jelly maker, but I wonder ......

.... if the lack of sugar somehow affected how it set up?

BTW, I love your little jelly jars. Our neighbor makes all sorts of jams and jellies every year and uses the same ones. Then we get a half dozen every Christmas. Yeah, they're sugared, but oh-so-good and many are exotic combinations with wild fruits and berries they collect when they go camping.

[eleny]

8. The Sure Jell box contains the recipe for using Splenda

[hippywife]

7. How long has it been sitting?

There have been times I've thought mine wasn't going to gel but it always did. I've never used Splenda before, tho. This last time I used the no-sugar needed pectin and half the normal amount of sugar. It came out fine and my husband loves it. I think it's good, too, just missing that small sparkle on the tongue the full sugar varieties give you.

[eleny]

9. It's been overnight now

I have a 1/2 jar in the fridge and it seems more set. I can hold the jar upside down and it doesn't run. But the jars on the counter look more like sauce when I tip them sideways. So the only downside is that this might not be as spreadable as jam.

[hippywife]

11. The pectin box said that

it can take as long as 24 hours. I've never had it take that long but at the very least, you'll have some lovely sauce for yogurt and ice cream.

[eleny]

12. I was just considering how I can use it

Yogurt is a great idea! The tang of the cherries and the yogurt should be interesting together. Ice cream should be the best!

And I'd like to try it on roast chicken, grilled ham slices and in homemade salad dressing.

I used the jar from the fridge for my toasted bagel this morning and it did get runny. But it was good with the cream cheese.

[pinto]

6. Sounds great. I love sweet/tart...we've a half mile of wild berries along the railroad

right-of-way near my house. Blackberries? Huckleberries? I'm going picking this weekend. It'll be a muffin and pancakes Sunday. Or cooked down with honey and ginger for a ham glaze.

[eleny]

10. Sounds like such a bounty!

[Tab]

13. I wonder if you could employ these things somehow

"Miracle Fruit"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x45224

[eleny]

14. I had some right from the tree but didn't notice it having that effect

I like cranberry sauce spread on turkey sandwich (on toast) but didn't have any in the house today. So I substituted some of cherry sauce and it was delicious. Last night hubby had some sugarless sliced canned apples and he added a few spoons of the cherry sauce. It was a great unexpected combination. We're experimenting. Next I'll slather it on a roasting chicken.

[kestrel91316]

15. Is your recipe USDA approved? Not to be a killjoy, but

the sugar in jam is there as a preservative in addition to a sweetener.

At the least, you'll get mold. At the worst, possible botulism. Unless this is freezer jam, of course.....

[eleny]

16. I used the recipe in the package of Sure Jell for the Splenda version

And I'm keeping the jars in the fridge. They'll probably get used very quickly, so I didn't give it any thought. Do you think they'll be okay for a couple of months? It's going quickly.

[hippywife]

17. I'm sure they wouldn't have

a recipe for Splenda if it weren't going to keep. You should be fine.

[eleny]

18. I think so, too, since they did get a lengthy water bath for high altitude

Btw, did you happen to see the links to free patterns for our Kitchen Aid mixers? I posted them in your thread about your new KA. One is just instructions on draping fabric over, pinning it and then stitching. So easy, it's the one I'll use. At least I know it'll fit. :D

[hippywife]

19. I haven't gotten a chance

to look at it yet. I think I won't be sewing anything til winter, at least. Too much outside stuff going on right now. Altho, with temps like today (105!) I could learn to stay inside in the AC. Whew!

[eleny]

20. I've been spending lots of time indoors, too

It was over 100 on Friday and yesterday. I only go out to deadhead flowers around 7 PM. I'll miss the summertime when it's over but wintry thoughts are kind of pleasant right now!

[kestrel91316]

21. If it's on the package, it's ok. The company attorneys would never ok an untested,

unsafe recipe. Surejell has a fair bit of sugar in it.

I just get nervous when other people do canning. Of course, my OWN canning never makes me nervous, lol. But I always follow recipes and processing instructions exactly when I do it.

[eleny]

22. I've been water bath canning off and on for over 30 years

But I appreciate the concern. Canning can be tricky and you have to be careful especially here at high altitude.

[kestrel91316]

23. I've never heard of anybody getting botulism from jam, anyway, lol.

Mold is the big problem, and that's just an issue of waste. Having to throw away moldy cherry ANYTHING is a crime, given the cost of cherries these days.