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How to Make Cherry Jelly - Easily! With Step-by-step Directions, Photos, Ingredients, Recipe and Costs

Yield: 3 pint jars  or 6 eight-ounce jars

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Making and canning your own cherry jelly is also quite easy. The subtle differences cherry jellies tend to be more smooth and the fruit is more finely chopped or group, while cherry preserves have more whole fruit pieces.

Just scroll down this page to see how to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for other small pitted fruits.

• For information about cherry festivals, see the cherry festivals page.

Ingredients

• Cherries -  4 cups cherry juice (about 3.5 pounds or 2 quart boxes of fresh cherries and ½ cup water)  Frozen cherries (without syrup works, too).  You can use either sour or sweet cherries.
• Pectin (it's a natural product, made from apples and available at grocery stores (season - spring through late summer) and local "big box" stores. It usually goes for about $2.00 to $2.50 per box. I use 1.25 boxes per batch - that's right one and another quarter of a box. See here for more information about how to choose the type of pectin to use.
• Lemon juice - 2 tablespoons - for sweet cherry jelly, not needed with sour cherries.
• Sugar - About 3 or 4 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar with sweet cherries or 4 or 5 cups of sugar if you are using sour cherries. If you use the no-sugar pectin, you can make jelly without added sugar, or with Splenda, Stevia or honey, but see my note in step about how it affects the jelly.

Equipment

• Jar funnel ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online - see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the jar grabber.
• Jelly strainer - Here's what they look like and where to get one.  Cheesecloth from the grocery store can be used in a pinch, but it wastes more and is more difficult to use.
            
• Cherry pitter: without one of these, it's pretty hard to remove the pits from a fresh cherry.
  
• At least 1 large pot ; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Teflon lined pots for easy cleanup.
• Large spoons and ladles
• 1 Canner (a huge pot to sterilize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery stores.). Note: we sell canners and supplies here, too - at excellent prices - and it helps support this web site!
• Ball jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, as do some big box stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jars including the lids and rings)
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be used once.
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocery stores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - see this page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the canner and take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has everything you need, and at a pretty good price:
  
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

• Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sterilize them. ($2 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

Cherry Jelly making Directions

The yield from this recipe is about 6 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 3 pints).

Step 1 - Pick the cherries! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!

As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen cherries (those without syrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jam in December to give away at Christmas!

How much fruit?

You will need about 4 cups of finely chopped, pitted cherries (which is about 3 pounds or 2 quart boxes of fresh whole cherries).  You can use sweet or sour cherries, but obviously, you'll need to add more sugar with sour cherries to overcome the sourness!

Jelly can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 4 cups at a time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the jelly won't "set" (jell, thicken). (WHY?  Alton Brown on the Food Channel says pectin can overcook easily and lose its thickening properties.  It is easier and faster to get an even heat distribution in smaller batches.

Step 2 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sterilize" cycle, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sterilize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If unsterilized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more minutes. However, since this additional processing can result in a poor set (runny jelly), it’s better to sterilize the jars.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.   Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jelly.

Step 3 -Wash and pit the fruit!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in plain cold water.

With cherries you must remove the pits. There are inexpensive cherry pitters that work fine for occasional use, or larger more sophisticated pitters if you're going to be doing a lot. As with other fruit, also pick out any stems and leaves.

 

Pit the fresh cherries, and keep them in cold water with 1/4 lemon juice add (to prevent browning)
              . 

A cherry pitter is inexpensive and easy to use, once you learn the trick.  The goal is to push down so the metal stem holds the pit down against the opening in the bottom of the cup.  The pits will not go through the hole; it is just to help trap them.  then releasing your grip, the cherry rides up on the metal stem, while the pit remains trapped in the cup, stuck in the hole. Then just push the cherry off and use your thumb on the underside of the cup, to push the pit back out.

 

I'm trying this one out right now. Reviewers say it can handle larger volumes of cherries reliably!

 

Step 4 - Finely chop or grind the cherries to extract the juice

For cherry jelly, you will want to either finely chop the cherries or grind them (a food processor, blender or chopper works, and a juicer is absolutely ideal! Also, chopping, grinding or crushing them releases the natural pectin so it can thicken. You'll need about 6 to 8 cups, chopped up to yield about 4 cups of juice.  It varies a lot, and you can add some water to it to make up the difference.

 

 

 

Step 5 - Heat the crushed cherries on the stove

We just want to bring the cherries to a boil to help release the juice and break down some of the fruit to help it pass through our jelly strainer. Put the crushed cherries in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning) for until it starts to boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  If you used a juicer, then you can skip this step and go straight to step 8.

 

Step 6 - Sieve the cooked cherries

You can either put the soft cooked cherries through a jelly strainer (about $9.00, see ordering at right) which results in the most clear jelly and is easiest to use, or pour them through cheesecloth in a colander. Or if you don't mind chunky jelly, just let the juice stand for 20 minutes, and decant (pour off) the clear liquid to use and leave the solids behind.

You may also want to run the crushed cooked cherries through a Foley food mill  (about $20 - see this page) BEFORE the jelly strainer - it helps to extract more juice and jet out the large skins that will clog the strainer.  It's not necessary, but helps you get the most out of the cherries.

If you need a stopping point and want to finish up the next day, this is a good place. Sometimes, jelly gets crystals, called tartrate crystals, forming in the jelly.  They're not harmful and don't affect the taste, but some people don't like the appearance.  I rarely even see them! But if you do, let juice stand in a cool place overnight, then strain through two thicknesses of damp cheesecloth to remove any crystals that have formed.

Step 7 - Add the pectin to the hot strained juice and bring to a full boil

 

Mix the 1 and a quarter boxes of dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. If you are not using sugar, you'll just have to stir more vigorously to prevent the pectin from clumping.  This helps to keep the pectin from clumping up and allows it to mix better!

 

Stir the pectin into the cherry juice and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).

 

Step 8 - Measure out the sugar

If you are using the no-sugar pectin, you can avoid adding any sugar, OR you can add Splenda to taste, or plain sugar, to taste. I generally add about 3 to 4 cups of sugar to sweet cherries or 4 to 5 cups to sour cherries.  It is to suit your taste!  It seems to give the best results.  The no-sugar or Splenda versions just don't have the bright color and the flavor is definitely more bland. You can try using 1 cup of white grape juice instead of sugar - that works better than no sugar, but I still think sugar works best.

Why use pectin? b> You may run into grandmotherly types who sniff " I never used pectin!" at you. Well, sure, and their generation took a horse and buggy to work, died of smallpox and ate canned meat and green beans that tastes like wet newspapers.  Old fashioned ways are not always better nor healthier.  Pectin, which occurs naturally in fruit, is what makes the jelly "set" or thicken.  The pectin you buy is just natural apple pectin, more concentrated.  Using pectin dramatically reduces the cooking time, which helps to preserve the vitamins and flavor of the fruit, and uses much less added sugar.  But, hey, if you want to stand there and stir for hours, cooking the flavor away, who am I to stop you! :)  Having said that, there are some fruits that have naturally high amounts of pectin ( see this page for a list ) and they simply don't need much or even any padded pectin.

Notes about pectin: I usually add about 25% more pectin (just open another pack and add a little) or else the jelly is runnier than I like. With a little practice, you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like.

Another tip: use the lower sugar or no-sugar pectin. You can add sugar to either and it cuts the amount of sugar you need from 7 cups per batch to as little as 2.5 cups! And it tastes even better! On the other hand; as I said earlier, I have never had success with the No-sugar pectin without adding ANY sugar. It always turned out runny and bland. You might want to try using the low sugar or no-sugar recipe with a mixture of sugar and Splenda; sugar and white grape juice, or just white grape juice - that will cut down the sugar, but still preserve the flavor.

Is your jelly too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectly set jelly every time. Made from natural apples, there are also low-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by almost half!
Get it here at BETTER prices!

StStep 9 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

Lids: put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids. p>

 

 

 

Need lids, rings and replacement jars?

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Step 10 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil again for 1 minute

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar (about 4 cups of sugar per batch of cherries) and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute... If you bring it back to a full boil fairly slowly (on medium heat rather than high) that will help reduce foaming.

Remove from the heat. p>

StStep 11 - Skim any excessive foam

Foam... What is it?  Just jelly with a lot of air from the boiling.  img border="0" src="cherry/foam.jpg" width="142" height="139" align="right"> But it tastes more like, well, foam, that jelly, so most people remove it.  It is harmless, though.  Some people add 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine to the mix in step 6 to reduce foaming, but food experts debate whether that may contribute to earlier spoilage, so I usually omit it and skim.

But save the skimmed foam!  You can recover jelly from it to use fresh!  SeSee this page for directions!

 

 

Step 12 - Testing for "jell" (thickness)

I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jelly is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin (about 1/4 to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute. /p>

Notes about "set" (thickening or jell): It takes 3 ingredients for jams and jellies to set: pectin, sugar and acidity. The amount of pectin that is naturally occurring in the fruit varies from one type of fruit to another and by ripeness (counter intuitively, unripe contains more pectin). See this page for more about pectin in fruit. It takes the right balance, and sufficient amounts of each of pectin, sugar and acidity to result in a firm jam or jelly. Lastly, it takes a brief period (1 minute) of a hard boil, to provide enough heat to bring the three together.  Generally speaking, if your jelly doesn't firm up, you were short in pectin, sugar or acidity or didn't get a hard boil.  That's ok - you can "remake' the jelly; see this page !

StStep 13 - Optional: Let stand for 5 minutes and stir completely.

Why? Otherwise, the fruit will often float to the top of the jar. This isn't a particular problem; you can always stir the jars later when you open them; but some people get fussy about everything being "just so", so I've included this step! Skipping this step won't affect the quality of the jelly at all. I usually don't bother.

YoYou’ll also notice that the less sugar you use, the more the fruit will float (chemists will tell you it is due to the decreased density of the solution!)

Step 14 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill them to within ¼-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jelly off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

 

TThis is where the jar tongs come in really handy!

 

Step 15 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 10 minutes, which is what SureJell (the makers of the pectin) recommend.  I say "in general" because you have to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use larger jars, or if you did not sterilize the jars and lids right before using them.  The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly.  The directions on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative.  Clemson University says you only need to process them for 5 minutes.  I usually hedge my bets and start pulling them out after 5 minutes, and the last jars were probably in for 10.  I rarely have a jar spoil, so it must work. But you don't want to process them too long, or the jelly will turn dark and  get runny.  See the chart below for altitude adjustment to processing times, if you are not in the sea level to 1,000ft above sea level range. p>

Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the jelly and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!

StSStep 16 - Remove and cool the jars - Done !

Lift the jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them!  Another trick is to keep the uncooked cherries or other fruit in the freezer and make and can the jelly as needed, so it's always fresh. r>

 

Other Equipment: From left to right: Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing ) Lid - disposable - you may only use them once Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you don't need them Canning jar funnel - to fill the jars	You can get all of the tools in a kit here:

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FAQs - Answers to Common Questions

• As my jars are cooling after i take them out of the canner, they sometimes make a popping or hissing noise.  Is this normal and safe?
  Yes, the lids are designed to flex and that's actually a key selling point.  You can tell if a jar hasn't sealed properly (after it has cooled completely) if the lid flexes and makes a popping sound when you press the center of the lid with your finger.  The popping sounds while it is cooling is the lid being sucked down by the vacuum that is forming inside the jar - which a normal part of the sealing process.  Hissing sounds are usually just escaping steam or hot water evaporating on hot surfaces, also normal!
• Why should cooked jelly be made in small batches?
  If a larger quantity of juice is used, it will be necessary to boil it longer thus causing loss of flavor, darkening of jelly, and toughening of jelly. It really doesn't work. Trust me; I've tried many times!
• Can I use frozen cherries instead of fresh?
  Yep! Raspcherries can be particularly hard to find fresh and are expensive! Frozen cherries work just fine, and measure the same. Just be sure to get the loose, frozen whole fruit; not those that have been mushed up or frozen in a sugar syrup!
• Should jelly be boiled slowly or rapidly?
  It should be boiled rapidly since long, slow boiling destroys the pectin in the fruit juice.
• What do I do if there's mold on my jellied fruit product?
  Discard jams and jellies with mold on them. The mold could be producing a mycotoxin (poisonous substance that can make you sick). USDA and microbiologists recommend against scooping out the mold and using the remaining jam or jelly.
• Why did my jellied fruit product ferment, and what do I do?
  Jellied fruit products may ferment because of yeast growth. This can occur if the product is improperly processed and sealed, or if the sugar content is low. Fermented fruit products have a disagreeable taste. Discard them.
• What happens if my jam or jelly doesn't gel?
  Remaking cooked runny jam or jelly instructions can be found on this page
• What is the best way to deseed cherries for jam? I heard a few different ways. A food mill, a ricer, and cheese cloth.
  For large seeds (blackcherries, apples, and larger) I find a Foley Food Mill works best - it's certainly faster and easier than the other methods. Raspberry and smaller seeds are a real pain. They get stuck in (and clog) or pass through a food mill. The Villaware mill has a smaller screen that works great for them! S ee this page for more information about both strainers .  Cheesecloth and jelly strainers are messy, take forever and you lose most of the pulp. For these, I find a metal sieve or colander (with small enough holes) and a spatula to help mush them and push the pulp through, is best. Also, heating the mushed up cherries almost to boiling really helps to separate the seeds and pulp.
• Click here to see our complete list of frequently asked questions on this page!