Preserves

A few weeks ago, Paul and I picked up a quart of Michigan tart cherries at the South Bend Farmers' Market. I used them to make my first batch of preserves (in fact, it was my first solo canning attempt).
I'm quite proud of how they turned out. Following is what I did--I hesitate to call it a recipe, really, because so much depends on the particular fruit being used, the humidity of your kitchen, etc. I also didn't really follow a recipe. I read several, along with some general jam-making tips, and then I wrote down what I was doing as I did it by sight and taste.I pitted (by hand with a wee paring knife, because I don't have a cherry pitter) 1 qt. of tart cherries, and chopped them up a bit. I was lazy about the chopping, because I tend to like big pieces of fruit in preserves. I'd say I left about a quarter of them as halves, cut a quarter of them into eighths, and did the remaining half in quarters (enough fractions in that sentence?). To these, in a large pot, I added 4 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 cups of sugar and let it all sit for 10 minutes. While that was mascerating, I stuck a saucer in the freezer.

Then I turned on the heat and added a half-tablespoon of butter (unsalted, because that's what I had, cut into small pieces so it would melt down faster and be evenly distributed throughout the mixture). My homemaking coach (my grandmother) gave me this tip, and it really did keep the hot, sticky mess from popping and spattering out of the pot. You couldn't taste the butter. I also added, at this stage, 2.5 tablespoons of port, for flavor (and because we had the end of a bottle that needed using).

I cooked it at high heat for 27 minutes, stirring frequently (see the photos above for how it changed throughout the cooking process). It wasn't thickening quickly enough for my liking, so I added another half cup of sugar. I cooked it an additional 15 minutes after putting in the extra sugar, and it finally passed the "frozen saucer test" (drop a bit of the preserves on the saucer you've put in the freezer. When it wrinkles when you push it across the saucer, or when you can drag a fingernail through it and it doesn't rush back together, it's ready). I got 3 and a half 8-ounce jars of preserves.

It's particularly delicious spread on my zucchini bread muffins.
I'm terribly excited about my new skill. I also made strawberry preserves, using largely the same method (substituting a splash of Grand Marnier for the port). I should have used more lemon juice with the strawberries; they didn't set up quite as well. I'm very proud of myself, though, and I'm looking forward to trying several other fruits (and maybe some pickles) as the summer wears on.